The Social Media Blueprint
I’ve been working away behind the scenes on an initiative that I’m hoping is going to be helpful to you, and is going to put my money where my mouth is for all the times I talk about doing and building rather than just talking.
I’m building the framework for a social media blueprint, and I want to share it with you. I’m going to do that in a couple of different ways.
Right Here: The Blog
The blog is home base for me, so over the course of the next few months, I’m going to be building and riffing on the social media blueprint. I’m sure I’ll end up on tangents once in a while (after all, sometimes post inspiration strikes in strange places). But by and large, I’m going to keep taking about different concepts and practices dedicated to these areas:
Research, Listening and Observation: Best practices, case studies, and resources to learn all you can about the social media space before building a plan of your own.
Auditing and Readiness Assessment: Asking the practical (and sometimes tough) questions about the current state of your business and what challenges and opportunities you’re likely to face when starting out in social media.
Goal Setting: We’ll talk about how to define your measures of success, determine what your customers really want from you, and what the internal expectations of your colleagues and management are for your social media endeavors.
Resource Planning: Practical explorations of the human and monetary capital that social media requires, as well as determining the roles, responsibilities, and time commitments appropriate for your company.
Internal Education & Training: Initiating discussions about fears and hesitations about social media across the business, establishing communication policies, and empowering both employees and management to reap the benefits of social media.
Immersion and Participation: The “just do it” part of the process, where we’ll talk about specific tools and sites, strategies for corporate blogging, responding to detractors, and staying focused on building customer relationships.
Integration: It’s important to address the notion of building on and adapting what you’re already doing, and integrating social media into your existing business landscape (versus constantly reinventing the wheel).
Measurement and Learning: All of your social media endeavors are for naught if you aren’t going to assess how well you’ve done against your goals, learn something about your business and your customers, and then do something with that information.
We’ll be talking in and out of these themes probably throughout the year, but I want to hear from you about the real world challenges and questions you’re facing. There’s no issue too basic or complex: let’s try and deconstruct it together. I’m even going to recruit some guest experts to post on relevant topics. Leave a comment here or send me an email about what you’d like us to address.
The E-Book
It’s under construction right now, but it’s going to be an overview of all of the above topics in a light framework format that you can take back to your office and start digging into right away. It’ll have questions for discussion and examples of relevant tools and resources. And it’s going to be free.
Why? Because I believe my value to you as a blogger is to provide as much information and best practices as I can. And I think my value to you then as a consultant is to help you take the general framework and do the heavy lifting to customize it and apply this to your business.
So it’ll be available in a week or so. Watch here for details. In the meantime, if you’re just getting started, check out my previous e-book on Getting A Foothold in Social Media. The guide is aimed at small business, but the basics apply regardless. It should give you a good start.
Your Turn.
This blog is here to help you. It’s a great place for me to develop ideas, but ideas don’t sell stuff. So I spent a lot of time contemplating my aims for this year, so this is how I intend to deliver. But you’re the ones who have to sell this stuff to your boss or to your clients. You’re the ones doing the work in the trenches.
So please keep the feedback coming. Tell me what topics you need me to weigh in on, because I’m typically going to shy away from the topics you can probably find better elsewhere. (You’ll rarely find a list post from me, because Mssr. Brogan does them so much better than I do, anyway).
I want to help be your architect *and* your builder. We’ve still a lot to learn together, and I for one am ready to roll up my sleeves and start digging into the hard stuff. How about you? Will you tell me what you need?
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Amber: It might be interesting for us to compare notes . . . because I am working on a similar project on behalf of my company (a fortune-100 health company). I’ve put together a deck outlining the platform that we can use as each of our departments builds their own social media capabilities.
In any case, I look forward to seeing what you come up with; thanks for sharing!
Amber,
I just have to say that it will be nice to have all of this info coming from a single space with a single voice. There is so much out there it’s hard to keep it all straight.
I trust your instincts and luv the writing style so I plan to participate in the discussions as they arise.
Cheers!
George
Tumblemooses last blog post..Are you a closet writer?
This is awesome, Amber. You have put so much thought into this, and I know it will be extremely valuable.
Connie Reeces last blog post..Podcast: Connie and Sheila talk social media
Amber! What a great and fantastic idea to help your community and to be such a valuable member of this growing industry.
People would be a fool if they didn’t take advantage of your teaching and collaboration on SM practices.
Sonny Gills last blog post..sunset on 2008
Interesting development. I am working on the same sort of thing for my company (not-for-profit payer). Ours is divided up into internal and external segments as needs and security/legality will vary.
I love the way your writing flows and keeps my mind engaged from conceptualizing to doing. Looking forward to reading the blueprints with you.
Marks last blog post..Hey Tweeps, Your Wash is Done!
Can’t wait for this and think this is a great idea and will be a very successful e-book. Although have been involved in the industry for past 6 months, I know I need continuous training and to learn how to measure goals. Thing I really want to work on and glad you are going to be helping everyone out.
Looking forward to reading, commenting and discussing these topics with you and the rest of the gang here during the next few months!
David Mullens last blog post..Want Consumer Loyalty? Use These Magic Words.
@Greg I’d love to hear more about what you’re doing. I’m especially interested in the healthcare space since it’s got so much more red tape than so many other industries. Feel free to shoot me an email anytime so we can chat.
@Eric I’m a big believer that internal social media initiatives are going to be huge as organizations get their feet wet with this stuff. If I can help, let me know.
To the rest, thanks for all the kind words. I mean it when I say tell me what you need. This stuff is meant to be helpful. Make me deliver.
Looks like you have a busy year ahead, Amber. But, one also filled with excitement and learnings.
Funny how your blueprint follows the traditional four-step PR and communications planning process. Gee, who woulda thunk?
I think one of the keys right now is ensuring tight alignment between any use of social media tools and corporate/organizational goals. As with other communications approaches, the more you can demonstrate how your strategies and tactics will directly impact the organization’s bottom line, the better.
I also would be interested to hear your thoughts on how social media tools can be used to build momentum, alignment and engagement internally with employee audiences. I know there are case studies out there, but they’re tougher to find given the nature of the subject matter. I’ve been looking, too.
In any event, best of luck in your year ahead and keep the ideas flowing.
@Arik The funny thing is that I’m not a classically trained marketing/PR person so that “traditional four step process” is unfamiliar to me. Glad I hit it by accident.
You’re right about goal alignment. It’s the key. Assuming, of course, that the goals are the right ones in the first place, which is an entirely different discussion.
To your point, I also think internal uses of social media are going to grow a great deal over the next year or two as companies learn to adapt their culture within the walls to a more socially-ready environment. Having the right foundation in the company is critical to making it work externally, too.
There are a few examples of companies building internal social networks in this article: http://www.computerworld.com/action/article.do?command=viewArticleBasic&taxonomyName=Networking+and+Internet&articleId=322857&taxonomyId=16&pageNumber=1
I don’t know that I’m anywhere near as prepared or organized as you are, but that’s more or less my goal with Cops 2.0: blueprint (or at least talk about) social media with regard to the law enforcement community. And really, government at large, though I know less about other agencies than I do about LE. I look forward to seeing what you come up with (and hopefully sharing ideas) this year!
Christa M. Millers last blog post..Humor in community policing
What do I need? I think you just about covered every topic I could think of. Let me ask you a question. I know you are geared toward for-profits…do you think this is geared to non-profits? Stupid question, I know, but had to ask.
Thanks Amber.
Demian Farnworths last blog post..A Crude, Skeptical Curmudgeon Looks at God’s Love
@Demian Absolutely. Having worked in non-profits myself for nearly seven years, I can say that there are other stakeholders you need to consider like your volunteers and your board. And depending on the organization, there are specific considerations you have to give to regulations, funding sources, confidentiality, etc. But in some ways I think social media is even more ideally suited to non-profits given their community/mission focus.
Are you familiar with Beth Kanter? She writes a great blog about social media for non-profits. Check her out if you haven’t already.
Amber Naslunds last blog post..3 Words For Each of Us
Add me to the list of folks to chat with as you develop best practices, as that is the nutshell of a new group blog I am contemplating creating, if I don’t keep it on my blog as-is.
And e-books is something else I’ll be doing this year…
Ari Herzogs last blog post..How One Post Quintupled My Blog Visitors
Hi Amber,
Your project is great and will be very useful for people like me who are planning to add social media to the general marketing plan, but facing many unknowns…
What I would really appreciate is examples extracted from experience, since there is too much “theory” sounding often a bit too empty here.
Another issue: you see, I’m talking about a marketing plan including social media, you talk about communication: I think that hereunder there is something to digg more deeply, about the ultimate goal: customers acquisition vs loyalty (= existing customers).. For me it is a real issue, would you think of it and give your point of view? I would appreciate it so much!
I had a conversation with Beth Harte on this matter (on my blog), and I have the feeling that there might be kind of a hypocrisy about it.. OR I’m wrong and didn’t get it?
So, I’m looking forward to following your progress on your project and learning more and more.
Thank you for your committment on helping us!
Claudia
Claudias last blog post..You know it’s the crisis, when …
PS: when I say “here”, I mean the blogosphere, NOT your blog, it seems a bit confusing, sorry.
Claudias last blog post..You know it’s the crisis, when …
Amber -
As you know, we are trying, this year, to implement a social media foundation for local information in Eastern Iowa. As the local media company, committed to being the “information provider of choice” and “strengthening our communities” we realize that we cannot even do our job well with our traditional media products (newspaper, television, online) without both being engaged in critical community topics using social media tools, but also providing the “elegant organization” so that the numerous micro-communities of specific geography, relationship or affinity can thrive.
We will be outlining our architecture at http://cpetersia.wordpress.com. We have started with key tasks, attitude and organization, and will be getting more granular with specific projects, technologies and approaches soon.
I think there should be some value in comparing notes!
Thanks for doing this.
Chuck
Chuck Peterss last blog post..Transparency and Engagement
@Amber, great though leadership here, looking forward to where you go with it! I hope you don’t mind me chiming in here in response to Claudia. I know that you and I have kicked around the ROI debate more than enough, so I don’t want to go down that path. Besides, there might be tumbleweeds on it by now…
@Claudia, you might get a different answer from Amber than me because we come at social media from different experiences/backgrounds (which is what makes this space so great). The question I asked on your blog was “is there a way to continue the conversation, have a plan and, yet, not objectify people?” (Because some people felt that my post on SM/ROI might be objectifying people to make money). Business is about making money, isn’t it? Customers know that, but they want to spend their money with someone they trust, respect and know will help solve their problem, challenge, etc.
@Amber, thanks the Beth Canter tip! And looking forward to your SM blueprint.
Demian Farnworths last blog post..A Crude, Skeptical Curmudgeon Looks at God’s Love
Amber:
I’m so delighted that you’re doing this and am looking forward to learning more from you. One plea – can you offer your thoughts on B2B implications wherever possible? It’s been hard to get at real examples in that area. I’m especially interested in implications for professional services, financial services and healthcare.
Also, nothing is too nitty-gritty, in my opinion. Social media conversations sometimes feel a little too theoretical. I want to figure out the right tactics, not just a persuasive strategy.
All the best,
Elizabeth Sosnow
@Claudia Perhaps I’ll flesh out this answer in a separate post, but I think the goal of social media should be to cultivate a strong *cycle* for your customer relationships. It’s not either/or (acquisition or retention). It’s about stewarding that customer’s relationship with you at ALL touchpoints – entry, research, purchase, post-sale, renewal, referral. Customers don’t separate themselves into categories.
@Elizabeth Sure, we can talk about B2B. The biggest difference to me in a nutshell is the length and nature of the sales cycle. As for the nitty gritty, we’ll talk about that too. Everything from the ins and outs of setting up a corporate blog, crafting a web 2.0 communication guideline for your company, selecting appropriate tools…. there are lots of possibilities. If there’s something specific you’re hoping for, let me know.
Amber Naslunds last blog post..3 Words For Each of Us
Hi again:
In terms of specifics, one thing I’m working on right now is trying to do effective social media audits that cover the bases, without trying to assess everything under the sun. So, smart pruning would greatly interest me.
It was a lucky day that I found you on Twitter.
Elizabeth
Re-reading this again today. Very nice, methodical framing, Amber. I look forward to the eBook.
There is another dicussion about the question: what will change the world? (started at edge.org) The question was asked and answered by over 100 of the brightest(it is not a blog) so I have summarised their views on my blog. One answer is ‘social media literacy’ – and I wonder what you think?
Denniss last blog post..The BIG question is…
Well, I, for one, can’t wait. I can’t think of any suggestions, though, because I eat your junk like candy and so far nothing has given me indigestion, so you party on with your bad self.
I have yet to implement your suggestions on my “situation,” though, because holidays and all have gotten in my way, but I have a meeting next week and will have to lay it down before then. Wish me luck.
Amber –
Love the blueprint you’ve put together and I look forward to your future posts detailing each of the topics you’ve put together. I’m starting up a social media strategic services department at my company, Vitrue (http://www.vitrue.com) and I’ve been collecting notes on methodology, best practices, case studies, client interview questions, measurement tools, assessment methods, etc.
I would love to share notes with you in this regard as there are so many things to consider and there’s something new everyday.
For example, Vitrue has developed a Social Media Index (SMI) which is free and available for anybody to use @ http://www.vitrue.com/smi which is basically a very simple search aggregation tool for measuring social media mentions on the most popular social sites. Measuring against competition or over time is very compelling information and can be used as a needle to determine if a recent social media campaign has had any impact.
I’m following you now on twitter and look forward to future updates.
Chad
Amber,
We’re on a similar track – I’m pulling a lot of this stuff together for nonprofits. I’ve called it a social media strategy map
http://beth.typepad.com/beths_blog/2009/01/creating-your-organizations-social-media-strategy-map.html
Looking forward to digging into your post
Beth Kanters last blog post..Creating Your Organization’s Social Media Strategy Map
Amber. I enjoyed reading your post. Perhaps you can help us with this blueprint we put together. We would welcome your expertise and recommendations.
bit.ly/WKvFO
Thanks,
Nelson Bruton
Interchanges.com