It implement-a-social-media-program-storyboard-ver3

Info-Tech Research Group 1

Implement a Social Media ProgramDevelop, execute, and govern a cohesive social media program across your entire organization to unlock the full potential of your social media strategy.


Most organizations understand the value of leveraging social media for customer interaction, but executing an effective strategy can be a daunting task. Successfully coordinate and align the social initiatives of different business process domains by including a steering committee, process workflows, and determining if a physical command center is appropriate.

Introduction

IT managers advising the business on technology and information security issues around social media.

IT professionals involved with selecting and managing social media technologies – the services themselves, as well as CRM suites, and social media management platforms.

Sales, marketing, and customer service professionals tasked with integrating social channels into their business processes.

Implement an appropriate social strategy based on your organization’s size, industry, and business model.

Determine your organization’s maturity level, and put governance structures, like a Social Media Steering Committee, in place.

Outline and delineate departmental responsibilities for social media initiatives.

Incorporate a Social Media Command Center into your strategy to drive in-band engagement and analytics to the next level.

This Research Is Designed For: This Research Will Help You:


Executive Summary

• IT has an invaluable role to play across all social media maturity stages. It’s a crucial advisor for technology enablement and risk mitigation. It can also help start the business thinking about social media coordination.

• Before launching a social media program, clearly define the business objectives. Social media can be used to achieve a variety of goals across marketing, sales, and customer service. After goals have been defined, a formal social media program can begin. Failing to put strategic forethought behind this program is a major blunder that organizations make. Don’t let your company run a disorganized and uncoordinated social media program!

• Identify where your organization falls on the spectrum of social media maturity, and plan program implementation accordingly. Most companies begin their social media initiatives in a distributed stage (departments acting independently), then transition to a loosely coupled model (greater coordination between departments), and finally move to having a Social Media Command Center (highly centralized oversight of social media initiatives, often with a physical office component).

• Moving from the distributed stage to the loosely coupled stage will create significant gains for organizations pursuing a social media strategy. In particular, putting a Social Media Steering Committee in place will provide coordination and shared governance that allows companies to effectively address customer interactions over social channels. A Steering Committee must work to coordinate the efforts of different business units and departments.

• Executing the social media program consists of four critical steps: o Creating strong leadership o Optimizing process workflows o Enabling the right social media technologieso Putting prudent governance policies in play.

• When warranted by sufficient volume and complexity of social interactions, consider building a physical Social Media Command Center to handle all monitoring, analysis, and inbound/outbound social interactions.


The Info-Tech Social Media Research Agenda

Info-Tech’s social media research covers all the bases of running a best-of-breed social media program. If you’re at the greenfield stage, start with the first set, which covers program deployment and governance.

Implement a Social Media Program

• Creating a structured program that unifies the social media aims of IT and different business domains is vital for success.

• As needs mature, firms need to implement the right governance and process management capabilities for the social media program.

VL Plus: Social Media Management Platform

• SMMPs empower managers with a variety of tools for analyzing and managing social media.

• Selection involves defining functional requirements, creating a shortlist, evaluating offerings, and choosing the vendor.

Formulate a Social Analytics Strategy

• Social analytics can help companies measure and influence their efforts to strengthen their brand, drive sales, and improve service.

• This set will help you understand the importance of social analytics and how to form a strategy to manage your efforts.

Leveraging Social Media for Customer Interaction

• Build a social media strategy that adds social networks to your existing multi-channel customer interaction framework.

• Select the social media services that best complement your existing channel interaction strategies in marketing, sales, and customer service.

Social Media Strategy & Technology Selection

Social Media Implementation

http://www.infotech.com/research/ss/vendor-landscape-plus-social-media-management-platforms


http://www.infotech.com/research/ss/it-formulate-a-social-media-analytics-strategy


http://www.infotech.com/research/ss/leveraging-social-media-for-customer-interaction



What’s in this Section: Sections:

Adopt a Roadmap for Your Social Media Program

Adopt a Roadmap

Assess Maturity

Build a Steering Committee

Execute the Program

Create a Command Center

• Create and follow an overall roadmap for managing your organization’s social media program.

• Identify opportunities to leverage social media in a variety of business process domains.

• Understand why it’s necessary to avoid the pitfalls of poor social media execution.

• Begin thinking about how to confront the challenges posed by social media program execution.


Having a world-class social media program doesn’t happen by accident: take a structured approach to program managementCompanies that excel at interacting with prospects and customers through social channels take a carefully planned approach to managing their social media initiatives. They start by determining their business goals and opportunities, then put the right social media governance structures in place. They build a cross-functional team to manage social media, and fine-tune processes in marketing, sales, and customer service. When the volume and complexity of social media interactions warrants it, they build a centralized Social Media Command Center (SMCC).

An important note: This research assumes that your organization understands the business value of social channels and has already completed the first step – defining goals and opportunities. The focus of this set is ongoing program management, not the initial business case.

If your organization hasn’t determined goals and opportunities, refer to this solution set first.

Info-Tech’s Five-Step Social Media Program Management Roadmap


Info-Tech Research Group 7Info-Tech Research Group 7

Put strategic forethought behind executing your social media program, or fall into one of the many pitfalls that awaits you! Failing to plan is planning to fail. While Info-Tech found that nearly 75% of organizations are leveraging social media, many have not put the necessary planning and governance structures in place to unlock the full value of their social media initiatives.

• Most organizations are now leveraging social media for customer interaction in one or more business process domains (e.g. marketing, sales, customer service, and/or public relations). The enterprise use case for social media is now widely understood.

• However, social media programs face a number of challenges on the road to success. Deciding to move into social media is easy – executing a world-class program that fully realizes your specific business goals is not.

• As companies increase their investment in social media, there needs to be corresponding steps taken to protect that investment.

• Organizations must establish cross-functional governance structures and fine-tune their social media processes. See the list on the right for some of the most common challenges facing managers involved with social media.

• Lack of necessary coordination: Insufficient shared planning between departments leads to social media programs that are inconsistent or ineffective in their messaging. This directly undermines the customer experience over social channels.

• Redundant effort: Unnecessary duplication of social media effort across departments, and wasted opportunities for realizing cost efficiencies (e.g. volume licensing of social media management tools).

• Inadequate risk mitigation: poorly trained end users who inadvertently open social channels up as a malware vector.

Pitfalls of a Poorly Executed Social Media Program

IT has an indispensible role to play in advising the business on a social media program. Acting as a champion for social media governance and process execution will help steer the business clear of the pitfalls, and strengthen IT’s reputation as a valuable partner for getting the most out of enterprise apps.


A variety of organizations are rapidly implementing social media, furthering the need for strong program governance

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Asia-PacificEurope

79%

North America

86%

A recent survey by Info-Tech revealed that there is no difference in the rate of social media implementation by company size or industry/vertical. Don’t discount the value of undertaking a social media program just because your company is not a large enterprise – SMBs also stand to realize significant value from social media.

Info-Tech estimates that the highest implementation rate of social media programs is in North America (86%), with Europe trailing not far behind (79%). Adoption of social media services in Asia-Pacific lags noticeably behind North America and Europe at only 50% – however, adoption is gaining speed, and Info-Tech predicts that Asia-Pacific will rapidly close the gap over the next two to five years. As program adoption increases, it’s time to understand how to manage your efforts.

Distributed Stage; 42%

Loosely Coupled

Stage; 33%

Command Cen-ter Stage, 26%

However, over 40% of organizations have yet to put strong social media governance structures in place

North America leads the pack in social program implementation

Social Media Maturity Index : Info-Tech Research Group N=89N=75


Identify the most common risks of executing a social program, and take an aggressive and proactive stance to mitigate them

Over half of organizations agreed lack of domain integration was their most serious challenge.

A recent survey by Info-Tech identified the top risks faced by managers executing a social media program. Lack of buy-in by end users was ranked highest, followed closely by lack of business process domain integration. The latter highlights the need to build shared planning processes between departments. Interestingly, lack of executive support and insufficient tools were the least likely to be rated as serious concerns. The former can be attributed to increased awareness of the social media value proposition by senior executives. The latter owes to the robust market for social media management tools that has emerged in the last 18 months.

Source: Info-Tech Research Group, N=75


IT has an integral role to play in advising and supporting the business across the entire spectrum of social media maturity

Ownership of social media processes is typically spread across multiple business units (even when there is coordination), with IT in a critical support role.

• Executive oversight of social media initiatives should come from a Social Media Steering Committee with deep familiarity of social media services and tools.

• IT must have a seat at the table. IT should conceptualize itself as a critical advisor in two key areas: technology enablement and risk mitigation.

Who should be responsible for what?

Business

IT

Initial Strategy:The business stakeholders must create the overall strategy for using social media. This involves specifying the business objectives and social media services to be used.

Ongoing Use:The day-to-day use of social channels will be most effective by the individual business domains. Major operational changes belong to the business.

Initial Strategy:IT should be involved with creating the strategy, but should not be driving it. A knowledgeable member of IT should serve as a resource for educating the business on the basics of social media services, social media management tools, and acceptable use policies.

Ongoing Use:IT needs to serve as an advisor for technology enablement, as well as a consultant for risk mitigation and governance best practices.



Assess Your Organization’s Social Media Maturity

Adopt a Roadmap

Assess Maturity


Execute the Program


• Determine your organization’s level of social media maturity, and how to move to the next level.

• Identify what the business needs to do at each maturity stage.

• Identify what IT needs to do at each maturity stage.

• Establish how IT can serve as a central coordinating force for the social media program.


Organizations fall along a spectrum of social media maturity: assess your present state and how to move to the next level

• Social media maturity refers to the degree of organizational integration from a governance perspective. Mature organizations have permanent governance structures in place for managing social media. For example, mature companies leverage Social Media Steering Committees (SMSCs) to coordinate the social media initiatives of different business units and departments. Large organizations with highly complex needs may even make use of a physical command center.

• Compared to traditional apps projects (like CRM or ERP), social media programs tend to start as grassroots initiatives. Marketing and Public Relations departments are the most likely to spearhead the initial push.

• This organic adoption contrasts with the top-down approach many IT leaders are accustomed to. Bottom-up growth can ensure rapid response to social media opportunities, but it also leads to insufficient coordination. A conscious effort should be made to mature your social media strategy beyond this disorganized initial state.

Social media initiatives typically start organically – from the ground up in one or more departments. You must coordinate efforts across constituent stakeholders or your program will fail.

Social media maturity is directly linked to overall maturity of customer interaction strategy. If your organization silos other channels (e.g. telephony and email) across departments, then integrating social media initiatives will require more effort than if there are already shared planning processes in place between departments. Whenever possible, take advantage of pre-existing departmental relationships and committees to help build the case for social media cooperation.


Maturity Stages

Assess your organization’s social media maturity to determine where you are starting and where you need to go

42% of Organizations

• Open source or low-cost solutions are implemented informally by individual depts. for specific projects.

• Solutions are deployed to fulfill a particular function without an organizational vision. The danger of this stage is lack of consistent customer experience and wasted resources.

• More point solutions are implemented across the organization. There is a formal cross-departmental effort to integrate some point solutions.

• Risks include failing to put together an effective steering committee and not including IT in the decision-making process.

• There’s enterprise-level steering committee with representation from all areas: execution of social programs is handled by a fully-resourced physical (or virtual) center.

• Risks include improper resource allocation and lack of end-user training.


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Organizations pass through three main stages of social media maturity: distributed, loosely coupled, and command center. As you move along the maturity scale, the business significance of the social media program typically increases. For example, organizations move into the command center stage because social media is considered a mission-critical business activity. Companies at the distributed stage place less business significance on social initiatives.

Marketing

SalesCustomer Service


MarketingPR


Distributed Stage

Command Center StageLoosely Coupled Stage

Source: Info-Tech Survey, January 2012, N=89

MarketingPR



The majority of organizations begin social media initiatives in the distributed stage. During this phase, independent departments pursue disparate social media goals without central coordination. While the distributed approach is not as effective or efficient as later stages, it’s often necessary to kick-start a social media program. Centralized coordination takes time to implement, so organizations at the greenfield decision level should not discourage social media initiatives by individual departments. However, as the scope of distributed initiatives proliferates, steps must be taken to coordinate the overall program.

Begin in the distributed stage in order to kick-start an enterprise social media program, but don’t linger too long

What the business must take ownership of: How IT creates value at the distributed stage:

• IT owns the role of advisor to the individual business units. Early on, IT should identify an employee with above-average familiarity with social media services. This individual should be prepared to explain the basics of social media to decision makers unfamiliar with the underlying services.

• IT should also provide consultation around the risks of social media, and offer to provide end-user training for mitigating the risks of malware and unacceptable corporate use.

• Where requested, IT should provide selection assistance with social media management tools.

• The best IT can do in this stage is coordinate the different business domains. IT should seek out a champion in the business who can help with forming a steering committee.

• Each business unit must determine their own social media opportunities and goals. Enterprise use of social media should be directly linked to specific business requirements (e.g. increasing brand awareness).

• Each business unit determines their specific process execution strategy (e.g. the workflows for dealing with posts on social networks).

• Each business unit independently engages IT as necessary for security and technology issues.

• The business must own the data generated from social media initiatives (e.g. marketing collateral and brand positioning/messaging).

Marketing



As social media initiatives mature, organizations move to the loosely coupled stage of program governance. At this stage, different departments and business units begin to coordinate processes with one another to deliver a consistent, coherent message over social channels. The goal of this stage is to have all departments actively participating in a unified Social Media Steering Committee. The greater the integration, the more consistent the program, and the lower the overall costs. The end result of the loosely coupled stage should be the ability of the organization to function as a virtual Social Media Command Center, supporting central process orchestration.

Move to the loosely coupled stage to build a consistent social customer experience and take advantage of economies of scale

What the business must take ownership of: How IT creates value at the loosely coupled stage:

• Social media champions across different departments must band together to create a steering committee.

• The steering committee must identify target segments and how to best interact with them through social media channels. This involves setting common escalation processes and workflows.

• The steering committee must be the sponsor for all social media technology selection projects, and represent all stakeholder requirements with as many common technologies as possible. This will drive cost-effectiveness in implementing social media programs across the entire company.

• IT needs to continue its risk mitigation role from the distributed phase.

• At this stage, IT plays a key role in facilitating all of the business stakeholders to develop shared business requirements to be used for technology selection.

• IT will lead any technology selection projects (e.g. social CRM, SMMP) to help the business stakeholders understand what different technologies will and will not do for the business. IT will ensure that economies of scale are realized in technology selection by selecting as few tools as possible.

• IT must assist with physical technology implementation and operation of any procured social media platforms.


Businesses with highly complex social media needs should move from the loosely coupled model to creating a physical Social Media Command Center (SMCC). An SMCC is an organizational structure with complete control over inbound and outbound social media interactions across marketing, sales, customer service, and PR according to agreed-upon workflows. An SMCC provides centralized reporting and analytics capabilities. A physical SMCC is not a mandatory requirement. Typically, a command center is warranted when the volume and complexity of social interactions (or “share of voice”) relevant to the company hits a certain saturation point (see the last section of this storyboard for specific guidance on when to move to the command center phase).

When needs warrant it, build a physical Social Media Command Center as the pinnacle of a social media program

What the business must take ownership of: How IT creates value at the SMCC stage:

• The decision to create a command center rests with the business. Companies with lower-order social media needs will be best served by the loosely coupled model, as a command center requires significant investment.

• The business must determine the high-level strategic intent and objectives of a Social Media Command Center. It must also decide how to allocate resources (especially people) to the SMCC.

• The business must specify how the SMCC fits into a broader customer interaction strategy, and determine specific cross-channel escalation policies.

• The business must define the leadership and management reporting structure of the SMCC. The business must also provide the necessary staff for the command center.

• IT’s role in technology enablement takes center stage with an SMCC. IT will need to provide extensive assistance for the selection, implementation and upkeep of the technology leveraged by an SMCC (both hardware and software).

• For large command centers, a dedicated IT resource (such as a systems analyst and/or technicians) may be necessary.

• IT can also serve as a valuable sourcing ground for employees to staff aspects of the social media command center (e.g. business analysts with prior social media experience).

• IT should continue to assist with end-user training, and have a seat at the table for SMCC governance.

MarketingPR



Case Study: Dell’s Command Center is now a textbook example of leveraging the full potential of social media

The center categorizes interactions into three categories, depending on the most effective approach:

Customers seeking help

People sharing ideas

Customers reinforcing success

The command center carries out the following activities:

• Tracking mentions of Dell in the social cloud

• Sentiment analysis

• Connecting customers who need assistance with experts who can help them

• Social media training

• Maintenance of standards for social media interactions

• Spreading best social media practices across the organization

With a truly global customer base, Dell gets about 22,000 mentions on the social web daily, and does not sit idly by. Having established a physical Social Media Command Center in December 2010, Dell was one of the companies that pioneered the command center concept.

Today the company claims impressive results, including:

• “Resolution rate” of 99% customer satisfaction

• Boosting its customer reach with the same number of employees

• One third of Dell’s former critics are now fans

Sources: Bazaarvoice.com,1on1media.com, ft.com, Mashable.com

Tools:• Radian6 SMMP• Three rows of monitors, offering

instant insights into customer sentiment, share of voice,and geography

Staff: • The center started with five people;

today it is staffed by a team of 15 interacting with customers in 11 languages.

• Dell values human interaction; the center is not running on autopilot, and any ambiguous activity is analyzed (and dealt with) manually on an individual basis


Determine your organization’s social media maturity level with Info-Tech’s Maturity Assessment Tool

Are you trying to put together a Social Media Steering Committee? Perhaps you’re having trouble positioning your organization’s efforts relative to your competitors? Or are you looking to invest in a Social Media Management Platform (SMMP)? There should be one major consideration behind any steps you take: how mature are you with respect to your social media program? The question is simple, yet more than often, top executives struggle with the answer.

You can't know what to do and where to go if you don't know where you're starting from.

It’s not easy to objectively evaluate your organization’s level of maturity. Sometimes it’s a matter of collecting enough information about the divergent initiatives across multiple business domains. Sometimes, even having all the information on your hands, it’s not easy to assess your maturity level – either because you are not sure which criteria to look for, and how to weigh those criteria, or even because you find yourself lost in the details, unable to decipher the big picture.

Info-Tech’s Social Media Maturity Assessment Tool will help you determine your company’s level of maturity and recommend steps to move to the next level or optimize the status quo of your current efforts.

http://www.infotech.com/research/it-social-media-maturity-assessment-tool





Build a Social Media Steering Committee

Adopt a Roadmap

Assess Maturity


Execute the Program


• Understand how IT is in a unique position to fan the embers of a Social Media Steering Committee (SMSC).

• Create an SMSC charter to define the structure and composition of the committee.

• Recognize the four main functions that an SMSC provides: leadership, governance, process integration, and technology procurement.


Take advantage of IT’s centralized position to get other departments thinking about social media coordination

IT should use the following tactics to get business stakeholders onboard:

If several departments bypass IT’s input and manage social media initiatives autonomously, they fail to unlock cost synergies between different process domains – there’s duplication of effort, no volume discounts, and contradicting security policies. The faster you can govern initiatives between departments, the faster cost and effectiveness synergies will be realized.

In many organizations, IT tends to be more centralized than its counterparts in the business. This makes it uniquely positioned to encourage greater coordination by helping the business units understand their shared goals and the benefits of working together.

Info-Tech’s recent survey showed that the “urge to silo” is the second most sensitive pitfall in implementing social media programs, with 51% of respondents agreeing that lack of process integration between departments blocks success. In this way, IT’s role as a “salesman” for the loosely coupled stage is just as important as IT’s role as an initial advisor on the technologies and risks.

• It is difficult to calculate the exact ROI on social media in general, but it is possible to set cost cutting goals for specific projects. For example, stress that buying an SMSC-approved social media management platform will save 20% over procuring it independently due to bulk prices.

• Ask about their goals. Demonstrate how other departments have complementary objectives.• You can help them get a better deal on their SMMP solutions (e.g. volume discounts). • You will guide them through implementation and help out with end-user training.

• Using stories that resonate with your organization’s current challenges will help your business partners visualize how buying into centralized coordination will help them. Use success stories from departments working together in your organization, from your contacts at other firms, or from the quotes and examples provided in this report.

Describe the ROI using specific

examples

Outline their gains and shared goals

Share success stories


Leverage a Social Media Steering Committee to provide executive participation and cross-departmental alignmentCreating a Social Media Steering Committee is a reliable governance technique for moving from the distributed stage to the loosely coupled stage. Create a committee to boost cooperation and better realize social goals.

In addition to aligning the organization’s social media goals and messaging, the composition of the team serves as an ideal channel to drive organizational buy-in. Involving multiple stakeholders across different business process domains will help gain recognition of the committee as a critical player in the social media program.

Purpose of the Committee

Composition of the Team

The team should consist of departmental stakeholders and decision makers: all permanent members of the SMSC should have the authority to make decisions for the business unit(s) they represent. Ensuring broad participation from the executive side is critical because large-scale projects will cross many different departments and business units. Key executives include senior managers in marketing, sales, customer service, PR, and IT.

1. Providing strategic leadership, by mapping social media goals to business objectives.

2. Prioritizing social media initiatives and coordinating process integration.

3. Leading technology procurement efforts, with IT, to satisfy as many shared requirements with as few tools as possible.

4. Act as a governing body for the ongoing social media program.

Key Functions of a Steering Committee:

We’ve put a [Social Media Steering Committee] in place… and it has worked out quite well for us.

- Robyna May, IT Manager, Barea Pty Ltd.

The Social Media Steering Committee must have high-level executive sponsorship and support, or it will likely fail!

Info-Tech Insight


Don’t skip out on a steering committee: social success is greatly boosted by bringing multiple departments into the fold Info-Tech’s research shows that the more departments get involved with social media implementation, the higher the organization’s success score (calculated based on respondents’ report of the positive impact of social media on business objectives). On average, each additional department involved in social media programs increases the overall social media success score by 5%. For example, organizations that leveraged social media within the customer service department, achieved a higher success score than those that did not.

The message is clear: encourage broad participation in coordinated social media efforts to realize business goals.

High

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68%

47%No

20% 40%

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Social Media Success Score

Customer Service Involvement Boosts Success

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Our research indicates that the most important stakeholder to ensure steering committee success is Customer Service. This has a major impact on CRM integration requirements – more on this later.

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Having a clearly defined Social Media Steering Committee Charter defines roles and ensures the committee delivers valueLeaders must ensure that the SMSC has a formal mandate with clear objectives, strong executive participation, and a commitment to meeting regularly. Create an SMSC Charter to formalize the committee governance capabilities.

Developing a Social Media Steering Committee Charter:

• Outline the committee’s structure, composition, and responsibilities using the Info-Tech Social Media Steering Committee Charter Template.

• This template also outlines the key tasks and responsibilities for the committee:

o Providing strategic leadership for social mediao Leading technology procurement effortso Providing process integrationo Governing social media initiativeso Ensuring open communications between

departments with ownership of social media processes

• Keep the completed charter on file and available to all committee members. Remember to periodically update the document as organizational priorities shift to ensure the charter remains relevant.

http://www.infotech.com/research/it-social-media-steering-committee-charter-template


The SMSC must provide strong leadership and advocacy for enterprise social media initiatives – this is its foremost taskA Social Media Steering Committee shouldn’t be a figurehead organization. It must take an active role in charting the strategic course of the social media program.

• The SMSC should be the driving force in the organization for all major social media initiatives. Regardless of business process domain, high-level issues pertaining to social media should be addressed primarily through the SMSC.

• The committee’s objective should be the oversight (and, if necessary, consolidation) of all social media programs.

• The value proposition of the loosely coupled model is negatively impacted when departments or project teams bypass the SMSC. Accordingly, only SMSC leadership should have the authority to approve new social media projects.

• A steering committee must take the lead for signaling commitment to social channels to the rest of the organization. The committee must be the governance organ executives go to for information on a social strategy.

• Identifying the business objectives to be achieved through use of social channels.

• Mapping business objectives with specific social media services (e.g. Facebook and Twitter).

• Determining the target markets the organization hopes to reach via social channels.

• Establishing high-level positioning, branding, and communication plans for social channels.

• Creating inter-departmental communication and escalation rules for social interactions.

• Assessing corporate access policies for social media (e.g. who should receive open access vs. who should be blocked).

Common strategic planning topics that should be a central focus of the SMSC include:

The SMSC should be transparent in its decision making. Strategies formulated by the SMSC should be clearly communicated to both executive sponsors and departmental stakeholders. Memoranda from each meeting should be kept and distributed to constituent departments.


Map your social media program to specific processes within each business domain to boost program effectiveness

• Once a social media program has been put in place, fine tune your efforts in each business process domain by matching social technologies to specific business workflows. This will clearly delineate where value is created by leveraging social media.

• Common business process domains that should be targeted include marketing, sales, and customer service. Public relations, human resources, and analyst relations are other areas to consider for social process support.

• For each business process domain, IT should advise on the tools of the trade that must be employed, and assist with technology enablement and execution. For example, if Sales wishes to leverage social contact information, IT must turn on the requisite features (or purchase the necessary third-party modules) in the company’s CRM suite. A well-oiled social media program leverages

social workflows in these domains.

Determine when, where, and how social media services should be used to augment existing workflows across (and between) the business process domains. Establish escalation rules and decide whether workflows will be reactive or proactive.

The Social Media Steering Committee should have high-level supervision of process workflows. Ask to see reports from line managers on what steps they have taken to put process in place for reactive and proactive customer interactions, as well as escalations and channel switching. IT helps orchestrate these processes through knowledge and expertise with social media tools of the trade.

Marketing Sales Customer Service

Human Resources

Public Relations

Info-Tech Research Group 26Info-Tech Research Group 26

The Social Media Steering Committee, together with IT, should lead requirements gathering and technology procurement

• IT should gather end-user requirements through defining processes, actual data, and each participant's functional needs. Basing feature requirements on actual data collected through user research reduces the risk of investing resources in unwanted features and increases the likelihood of adding useful ones. It is beneficial to create a requirements document through the three-step User Experience Engineering (UXE) process.

Watch users work and notice pain points, time wasters, and unmet needs. It is also useful to interview targeted users to fully understand their level of proficiency with applications currently in use.

2. Complete user research to determine user needs

Example: the business goal is to increase customer recognition of a particular sales campaign, and users have identified that effectively updating tab content on Facebook takes too long to do manually. A feature would be an SMMP that offered tools for social property management.

3. Identify where business objectives and user needs overlap

Your requirements should be Specific, Measureable, Actionable, Realistic, and Time-bound (SMART), e.g. to maximize customer retention rate.

1. Define business requirements

• Decide whether an ad hoc or platform-based approach is right for you. The decision will likely depend on your organization’s maturity level and social media ambitions. Unless you are in the distributed stage (and don’t mind being locked in it for a long time), you should seriously consider the platform-based approach.

• The steering committee should sponsor social media technology enablement projects; the most common projects include selecting and deploying a Social Media Management Platform, and/or augmenting the CRM suite with social media extensions and plug-ins. High-level business requirements for technology selection projects should be discussed in the committee. More granular requirements should be uncovered by a business analyst from IT working with the individual departments.


Leverage the SMSC as a governance mechanism to set policies around social media training, security, and acceptable useOngoing governance of social initiatives should be another key priority of the steering committee. IT can lend a strong hand to the governance function.

• The SMSC should be involved with all aspects of ongoing program governance. The committee’s governance role should focus on creating policy (e.g. an Acceptable Use Policy), rather than direct execution and enforcement; these tasks should be left up to individual departments/business line managers.

• The IT department has a pivotal role in supporting the SMSC in governance activities. IT will be familiar with writing documents, such as acceptable use policies. Mitigating operational risk (i.e. malware threats) is also an activity that IT is intimately familiar with. IT can also assist with providing technology training to end users.

• The CIO or IT Director on the committee should be sure to offer their department’s services in supporting governance execution.

• Creating an end-user training program on proper enterprise use of social media.

• Identifying and mitigating operational risks.

• Creating an Acceptable Use Policy.

• Creating guidelines for subject matter expert (SME) participation in social channels.

• Drafting a list of key business metrics that departments should be tracking to gauge their social media success.

Ongoing governance activities that should be under the purview of the SMSC include:

As social media evolves, it’s very important to also evolve [your organization’s] internal policies. - Jeff Lewis, IT Director, Pathstone Inc.



Execute the Program

Adopt a Roadmap

Assess Maturity


Execute the Program


• Successfully executing a social media program means putting the right leadership in place, optimizing process workflows, procuring the right technology, and governing effectively.

• Move from ad hoc management to platform-based management to boost workflow efficiency.

• Provide comprehensive training to end users to increase their efficiency and mitigate risks.


Follow this framework to organize your efforts and achieve better results.

Follow a step-by-step program tactical framework that mirrors the responsibilities of the Social Media Steering Committee

1 32 4

Provide strategic leadership by setting business objectives

and aligning the needs of different

departmental stakeholders.

Prioritize social initiatives and map

social media services and technologies to specific business

process in marketing, sales, customer service,

and public relations.

Lead technology procurement efforts with

IT to satisfy as many business requirements

with as few social media management tools as

possible.

Provide training, mitigate risks, establish best

practices for SME use of social media, and track metrics to benchmark

the success of the social media program.

Leadership Processes Technology Governance


Ensure that your social media leadership originates in the SMSC and flows down to constituent business unitsThe Social Media Steering Committee should take ownership of high level strategic decisions, policies, and interdepartmental coordination. Tactical and operational execution should be left to leaders in IT and the individual business units.

• Strong leadership from the SMSC sets the tone for the social media program, but the SMSC is usually comprised of managers at the senior or executive level. Competent leaders are also needed in each business process domain to handle the day-to-day tasks that arise from using social media.

• Delegate a social media team lead in each business process domain. This individual has ongoing operational responsibilities for leading social initiatives within their own department. The team lead should work with their associated steering committee executive to translate the strategic edicts of the SMSC into day-to-day business processes.

• Depending on company size and resources, the team lead can be a full-time social media manager, or an existing role (e.g. marketing manager), preferably with prior social media experience.

Select outgoing individuals with deep subject matter expertise and previous experience managing social channels as team leads. Don’t thrust the position onto someone – departmental team leads need to have a genuine passion for enterprise social media. Employees who have less overall tenure, but a track record of social media performance, can outperform those with much more traditional experience.

Social Media Leadership Structure

Strategic: Steering Committee

Tactical: IT and Dept. Project Leads

Operational: Project Teams


Understand how to construct a social media workflow, then apply your workflows to day-to-day customer interactions When building a workflow there are three key components to be aware of: roles, routing, and rules. Each of these components adds depth to workflow. Roles are the obligations and responsibilities of an individual or group as defined by the organization. Routing is the process by which a path for a given issue is chosen. Rules are the constraints and structure by which the workflow operates.

5

4

3

2

1 Reactive Input

Proactive Input

Processing inputs

Routing

Response

Archival

1. Model: A traditional multichannel approach to social media workflows is reactive – responses are customer-initiated – and requires an SMMP that monitors your own social properties and can respond in-band. A proactive multichannel approach does not depend solely on the customer and relies heavily on “listening” and looking for customer inputs on an organization. This model requires the use of an SMMP with listening capabilities for the entire Cloud. Channels of communication could include, but are not limited to, YouTube, Facebook, and Twitter.

2. Processing inputs: Inputs have many factors that contribute to their composition and complexity. These factors need to be assessed to be able to provide an accurate and appropriate response plan. Factors such as sentiment, urgency, and customer base can all be used to develop an understanding of influence and help you to prioritize and categorize responses. Parts of this step can be managed through an SMMP.

3. Routing: Deciding who should be responsible for an input is crucial to the success of social media communication. Assigning the right individual or group to take action on inputs influences the experience of the customer. The decision to assign an input to PR, customer service, product groups, or any other domain will be based on the results of the processing inputs stage. Contrasting and comparing knowledge bases is a key component of this stage.

(Continued on next slide)


Understand how to construct a social media workflow (cont.)

4. Response: This component can range from one interaction to a series of interactions. For non-customer service and support issues, response should be in-band in the SMMP, regardless of which responsible business unit responded. But for customer service and support issues, these should be electronically handed off to the customer service management platform, if one exists.

5. Archival: Archive final dispositions in the SMMP. If passed on to a customer service management platform, the case gets archived in that system as well.

How does this relate to your organizational model?

Before trying to integrate and customize a social media workflow for your organization, it is important to understand the basic framework of a generic social media workflow. This framework will set the stage for further development and success. Three basic structures will be outlined: centralized, distributed, and agency. After comparing these to your own organizational model you can begin to create and customize your own workflow template.

An example of reactive vs. proactive customer service

Reactive Proactive


Design around the centralized deployment model when SMMP functionality rests in the hands of a single department

Social Cloud

SMMP

Marketing Sales Service

In this example, marketing owns and manages a single SMMP.

In the centralized model, a single SMMP workspace is owned and operated by a single business unit or department. Unlike the agency model, the SMMP functionality is utilized in-house. The centralized model lends itself well to a loosely coupled structure with a Social Media Steering Committee.

Information from the SMMP may occasionally be shared with other departments, but normally the platform is used almost exclusively by a single group in the company. Marketing or public relations are usually the groups that maintain ownership of the SMMP in the centralized model (with selection and deployment assistance from the IT department).

Primary Role

Centralized Model

Impact on social media workflows:

• When determining the appropriate responsibility for engagement, all parties can use the same SMMP for a response.

• If the organization has a formal customer contact center, customer service issues should be handed off to the CRM system through integration.


Design around a distributed deployment if multiple business units require advanced SMMP functionality

Distributed Model

Social Cloud

Mar

ketin

g

Sal

es

Cus

tom

er

Ser

vice

Pub

lic

Rel

atio

nsSMMP SMMP SMMP SMMP

In the distributed model, multiple SMMPs (sometimes from different vendors) or multiple SMMP workspaces (from a single vendor) are deployed to several groups (e.g. multiple departments or brand portfolios) in the organization. Not surprisingly, the distributed model for SMMP management is typical seen at the distributed maturity phase. This phase potentially wastes opportunities for gaining economies of scale via centralization.


• Because you have multiple SMMPs, you now have multiple points at which routing has to be done.

• Archival will also be in these discrete systems, divided between domains.

• Customer service issues still need to be handled by any existing contact center, but now there are multiple points of integration.

For more information on deployment models, look at Info Tech’s

Vendor Landscape Plus: Social Media Management Platforms

.




Design around the agency model when part (or all) of your social media program needs to be outsourced

Agency (e.g. marketing or public relations agency)

Social Cloud SMMP

Client Organization

Marketing Sales Service

Social Analytics Reports and Scorecards

PR

The agency model of social media management uses a contracted third-party to provide social media management and analytics. Ideally, an SMSC should still be giving direction to the agency. Outsourcing social media management to an agency makes sense for small firms unable to afford the support staff to run the daily grind of a social media program.

This model serves as a touch point for the client organization: the client requests the types of market research it wants done, or the campaigns it wants managed. Then the agency uses its own SMMP(s) to execute the requests.

Primary Role

Agency Model


The agency may be the owner of the SMMP, therefore, the agency has to be intimately involved in creating and changing workflows.

• When routing, the input may have to go to the agency, not your organization’s internal business units

• If customer service isn’t set up, you’ll need to temporarily extend service control to the agency to ensure interactions are logged.

• The agency model may also be deployed in hybrid with the decentralized model to have 24/7 coverage without depending fully on your internal employees.


Incorporate social media into marketing workflows to gain customer insights, promote your brand, and address concerns

• Large organizations must define separate workflows for each stakeholder organization if marketing’s duties are divided by company division, brand, or product lines.

• Inquiries stemming from marketing campaigns and advertising must be handled by social media teams. For example, if a recent campaign sparks customer questions on the company’s Facebook page, be ready to respond!

• Social media can be used to detect issues that may indicate product defects, provided defect tracking is not already incorporated into customer service workflows. If defect tracking is part of customer service processes, then such issues should be routed to the customer service organization.

• If social listening is employed, in addition to monitoring the company's own social properties, marketing teams may elect to receive notices of major trends concerning the company's products or those of competitors.

While most marketing departments have used social media to some extent, few are using it to its full potential. Identify marketing workflows that can be enhanced through the use of social channel integration.

•I’m typically using my social media team as a proactive marketing team in the social space, whereas I’m using my consumer relations team as a reactive marketing and a reactive consumer relations taskforce. So a little bit different perspective.

- Greg Brickl, IT Director, Organic Valley


Public Relations should leverage social media as part of an integrated corporate communications strategy

• In a mature social media strategy, Public Relations/Corporate Communications should be able to return to their primary duty of monitoring the company at the highest level, and responding to the same generic inquiries they respond to through other channels. The role of being the Level 1 responder to all inquiries through social media is not sustainable, and non-generic inquiries must be gradually turned over to the other business units for response.

• Typical inquiries that the SMMP should route to PR/Corporate Communications include:

◦ Company leadership/management

◦ Company mission/values

◦ Political/regulatory questions

◦ Investor relations (if public), if a formal IR department is not a social media stakeholder

◦ Media inquiries

• If social listening is employed, in addition to monitoring the company's own social properties, PR may elect to receive notices of major issues concerning competitors.

Alongside marketing, public relations stands to gain considerable insight from the use of social workflows. PR can use social media as a bidirectional channel for communicating with the media, analysts, and members of the interested public.


Leverage social media in sales workflows to generate,

qualify, and close leads and keep up-to-date on client activity

• Large organizations must define separate workflows for each stakeholder organization if sales duties are divided by company division, brand, product lines, geography, or sales channel.

• In business-to-consumer organizations, most sales inquiries should be handled by Level 1 social media reps. This usually involves direction to product and sales websites.

• In business-to-business organizations, social channels must be integrated with existing lead management processes, to route potential leads to the sales and/or marketing process for lead qualification and nurturing. For more insight on lead management processes, see Info-Tech’s Vendor Landscape Plus: Lead Management Automation.

• Tier 1 sales representatives can leverage professional social networks (such as LinkedIn) to screen prospects, keep up to date on their account base, and communicate with prospects and customers. Where reps are using social media in this way, management must establish guidelines and provide training for acceptable use.

Use of social media by sales and business development departments lags behind that of marketing and service, but organizations are leaving considerable money on the table by failing to adequately support sales processes with social media. Don’t fall into this trend!

http://www.infotech.com/research/ss/select-the-right-lead-management-automation-solution


Customer service departments should design proactive social media workflows to identify and address customer concerns

• If an incoming social inquiry, or one discovered through social listening, can be identified as a request or opportunity concerning support for a product or service, that should be routed directly to the customer service organization. Customer service must not be performed by two different organizations or you will loose the capability for a 360 degree view of customer and prevent the customer service organization form learning valuable feedback on their support processes and knowledge-base articles.

• Defect tracking should be employed for social channels, and routing defect issues to a product marketing or product engineering group may be necessary,

• If customer service reps resolve an issue received through social channels, they may need to respond in-band using the same social channels, or they may decide it is more appropriate to switch channels, such as communicating via email or phone. Channel switching is usually required when an issue or resolution is private and should not be shared in a public social media setting. However, all customer service case resolutions must still be recorded and closed in the customer service or CRM application.

• For more information on customer service workflows and interaction channel switching, see Info-Tech’s Design a Customer Service Strategy that Serves the Social Customer.

Reactive service over social channels can drive engagement, but truly world-class customer service is provided by identifying social customers with legitimate product issues or concerns and offering to help them before they ever have to reach out over traditional e-channels.

http://www.infotech.com/research/ss/it-design-a-customer-service-strategy-that-serves-the-social-customer




Take advantage of insights; craft a plan for social analytics to gain “in the flow” insight from social workflows

Look into supplementing your social media efforts with a social analytics project if:

• Your organization already has a large social footprint; you manage multiple feeds/pages on three or more social media services.

• Your organization operates in a predominantly B2C context, and your target consumers are social media savvy.

• The volume of marketing, sales, and service inquiries received over social channels has seen a sharp increase in the last 12 months.

• Your firm or industry is the topic of widespread discussion in the social cloud.

• 41% of organizations are currently monitoring social analytics, with 24% planning to in the next 18 months.

• If you are diving into social media, a social analytics initiative should follow close behind.

Monitoring

Planning to Monitor

No Plans to Monitor

0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50%

41%

24%

34%

Adoption of Social Analytics


Undertake a social analytics project to provide insight into social media and help your organization navigate its way to success. There are two main types of analytics: those that pull insights from the social cloud, and those that measure the effectiveness and efficiency of internal workflows. The former provide information on the demographics, sentiment, and influence patterns of social contacts. The latter track volume and average time-to-resolution of social efforts.

For more on using social analytics for customer and competitive intelligence, refer to Info-Tech’s solution set Formulate a Social Analytics Strategy.



When it comes to technology, verify that using social media management tools is the right approach for your company• Effectively managing social workflows is an increasingly

complicated task. Proliferation of social media services and rapid end-user uptake has made launching social campaigns a challenge for small and large organizations. Social Media Steering Committees must decide whether to use specialized software tools that assist with managing social channels.

• There are two methods for managing social media: ad hoc management and platform-based management.

◦ Ad hoc social media management is accomplished using the built-in functionality and administrative controls of each social media service. It is appropriate for small organizations with a very limited scope for social media interaction.

◦ Platform-based management uses an SMMP or CRM suite to provide a layer through which multiple services can be easily managed, monitored, and analyzed.

• Companies in the distributed maturity stage can squeak by using ad hoc management in many cases. But those in the loosely coupled stage should take a close look at platform-based management. For command centers, a platform is a must.

Ad Hoc Management

Platform-Based Management

With the exception of smaller firms with basic needs, Info-Tech recommends looking at a Social Media Management Platform. “Freemium” SMMPs, like TweetDeck and Hootsuite, are available for those who want platform-based management on a budget.

SMMP

Ad hoc management results in a number of social media touch points. SMMPs serve as a single go-

to point for all social media projects.


Reign in social media by choosing an SMMP to streamline and turbocharge social initiatives

• Social Media Management Platforms (SMMPs) reduce the complexity and increase the outputs of enterprise social media.

• The value proposition of SMMPs is around enhancing the efficiency of social media. Using an SMMP to manage social media is more cost-effective than ad hoc (manual) management.

• SMMPs provide feature sets for managing social campaigns, responding to conversations, and carrying out monitoring and analysis. The typical SMMP integrates with two or more social media services (e.g. Facebook, Twitter). SMMPs are not simply a revised “interface layer” for a single social media service: they provide significant capabilities for advanced management and analytics.

• The typical TCO for an SMMP for three years ranges from 50k-80k.

• The Social Media Steering Committee should work with IT to successfully evaluate and select an SMMP vendor. Prominent vendors include Radian6 and Syncapse.

• The actual implementation of an SMMP should be handled primarily by IT, with the steering committee acting as a sponsor.

• Having one SMMP vendor for multiple departments results secures economies of scale and reduces training costs vs. when departments are not coordinated and buy independently.

For a complete overview of how to understand, evaluate, select, and implement an SMMP, please see the solution set Vendor Landscape Plus: Social Media Management Platforms.

Account & Campaign Management

In-Band Response

Social Monitoring/Analytics

SM

MP

End Users(e.g. marketing managers)

SMMPs mediate interactions between end users and the social cloud.



Use SMMP feature sets to automate and simplify significant portions of your social media processes

SMMP Feature Bucket

Basic Feature Description Advanced Feature Description

Social Channel

Integration

Ability to track and monitor popular social channels, particularly Facebook and Twitter.

Integration with social media services beyond basic features – for example, integration with LinkedIn and YouTube.

Social Analytics

Basic monitoring and analysis: for example, frequency analysis and demographic analysis.

Advanced abilities such as sentiment analysis, influence analysis and/or content-centric analysis.

In-Band Response

and Engagement

Ability to interact with stakeholders over social channels using the platform itself.

Ability to engage social stakeholders from an established contact list; ability to use analytics for engagement purposes.

Account and Campaign

Management

Robust management of multiple social media accounts across multiple services.

Advanced management of social campaigns: for example, ability to quickly create custom tabs on Facebook pages.

Social Archiving

Ability to maintain a history of social interactions.

Integration with third-party archival solutions.

Mobile Access

Compatibility with popular mobile browsers.Dedicated mobile applications for one or more major mobile platforms (e.g. iOS, BlackBerry, Android).

PlatformAPI access for social media service integration.

Advanced integration with social media services via dedicated connectors; integration with CRM suites.


Integrate social media processes (and SMMPs) with your CRM suite to strengthen overall goal achievement

For companies that have not formally integrated social media with CRM, IT should develop the business case in conjunction with the applicable “business-side” partner (e.g. Marketing, Sales, Service, PR, etc.). Actual integration of information between SMMPs and CRM suites can often be accomplished out of the box, or with a third-party connector.

• Linking your social media program to existing CRM solutions can improve information accuracy, reduce manual effort, and provide more in-depth customer insights.

◦ Organizations surveyed by Info-Tech reported that integrating social media management tools with CRM suites boosted goal achievement by 68%.

• Several major CRM vendors are now offering products that integrate with popular social networking services (either natively or by providing support for third-party add-ons).

◦ For example, Salesforce.com now allows for native integration with Twitter.

• Regardless of deployment model chosen (centralized, decentralized, agency), establishing points for data interchange between social media management tools and CRM is highly desirable. Doing so opens up the databases of one to the other, allowing more advanced analytics – more on this on the next slide.


Linking your SMMP to a CRM suite builds a 360-degree view of the customer

• Social media is a valuable tool from a customer insight perspective, but its power is considerably magnified when it’s paired with a Customer Relationship Management (CRM) suite.

• Many SMMPs offer native integration with CRM platforms (e.g. Radian6 and Salesforce CRM). IT should identify and enable these connectors to strengthen the business value of the platform.

• New channels do not mean they stand alone and do not need to be integrated into the rest of the customer interaction architecture.

• Challenge SMMP vendors to demonstrate integration experience with both CRM vendors and multimedia queue vendors.

• Manual integration – adding resolved social inquiries yourself to a CRM system after closure – cannot scale given the rapid increase in customer inquiries originating in the social cloud. Integration with interaction management workflows is most desirable.

SMMPs are a necessary single-channel evolutionary step, just like there used to be email-only and web chat-only customer service options in the late 1990s. However, they are temporary. SMMPs will eventually be subsumed into the larger CRM technology ecosystem. Only a few best-of-breed will survive in ten years.

An example of how an SMMP linked via CRM can provide proactive service while contributing to insights for

sales and marketing.

These tools are enabling sales, and they help us serve our customers better. And anything that does that, is a good investment on our part.

– Chip Meyers, Sales Operation Manager, Insource


Case Study: Intel demonstrates its social technologies by building a Social Cockpit for the 2012 Consumer Electronics Show

During the 2012 Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, Intel presented its own Adobe-Air based desktop application that monitored the CES talk in the social cloud. The application was custom-built for the event and operated similar to tools like Radian6.

Goals: A team of dedicated staff worked to monitor and measure real-time social media activity at the event. The goal was to gain a deeper understanding of how users engage with not only the Intel brand, but technology overall.

Staff: The staff consisted of Intel’s social media team and a small team from WCG, a Texas-based digital communications agency.

Results: The monitoring and analysis showed a rising consumer interest in ultrabooks. Brands such as Microsoft, Sony, and Samsung were on top throughout the week. Mentions of mobile, especially Android, were significant as well, according to Aaron Strout of WCG.

Sources: mashable.com, newsroom.intel.com, freepress.intel.com, freepress.intel.com, siliconvalleywatcher.com

Intel tracked not only hashtags, but also the following:• YouTube views• Facebook posts, fans, and likes• Twitter follower growth• Tweets on leading technology• Blog and forum posts


Social media training is important at all times – during program genesis, as well as on an ongoing basis

Initial Training

Community Development

Renewal Training & Training on New Processes

Training Stage Length of Training # Attendees Delivery Method Info-Tech Tip• Depending on complexity

of tools, anywhere from 60 – 90 minutes, however no longer as trainees will lose focus after 90 mins

• 10–15 per session

• Keep #s low to allow for 1:1 help

• In-person or via web-conferencing

• Structured format

• Informal, online forum for people to ask colleagues or IT questions, start discussion groups, etc.

• Knowledge sharing of best practices, tips, and tricks

Unlimited

• 15–20 per session

• Users more comfortable & may ask questions at this point

• Online, discussions started by IT or users, and answered by anyone that can help

Tailor training to group demographic (i.e. younger employees will often get

social tools faster).

Ensure all users have access to minimum

manuals for CRM and SMMPs. Helpdesk costs

are minimized by self-help and peer help.

• 15–30 mins, depending on feature complexity

• If users know the training will be quick, they will be more apt to attend

• In-person, or via web conferencing

• Should be informal and allow lots of time for questions

Center renewal trainings on new social media

processes or underutilized SMMP feature sets.

People must be trained, especially in teams. This offers counter balances and checks as once information has been made public it is difficult to change or refute.

- Joan, Info-Tech Survey Respondent

While most younger employees are familiar with how to use social media, they are not trained in how to use it for formal business interaction, much like many younger employees are not trained post-high school in casual business writing.

- Info-Tech Survey Respondent


Good governance means being proactive in mitigating the legal and compliance risks of your social media program

Risk Category Probability Risk Suggested Mitigation Strategy

Privacy & confidentiality

High

Risk of inappropriate exchange of information between personal and business contacts.

Abuse of privacy and confidentiality laws.

Whenever possible, implement separate social network accounts for business, and train your employees to avoid using personal accounts at work. Sometimes you would want some of your employees to use their pre-existing accounts for your organization’s benefit. Have a policy in place for how to treat pre-existing accounts versus newly created ones for enterprise use.

Train the end users to find and use privacy controls on social media websites.

Taking into account domestic and international privacy laws, your legal department should be able to decipher which regulations need to be introduced around employees’ access to information, as well as social media content archiving.

In terms of communication with customers, clearly state the applicable privacy rules on every social media site where the organization maintains a presence. Introduce a disclaimer against customers sharing their personal information on social media sites.

Trademark & intellectual property

LowCopyrighted information can be used for promotional and other business purposes.

The legal department should conduct training to make sure organization’s Social Media Representatives only use information in the public domain, nothing privileged or confidential. This is particularly sensitive for Marketing and PR.

Control over brand image & inappropriate content

High

Employees representing the organization on social media channels may post something inappropriate to the nature of your business. If you are a professional services firm, employees can post something that compromises the industry ethical standards.

Select the team carefully and ensure they are fully trained on both official company policy and social media etiquette.

Ensure consistent monitoring by business units and escalation system for non-compliance issues.

Train every person charged with interacting with customers and prospects via social media regarding what constitutes acceptable brand presentation. Ensure the legal department reviews any social media content that may be interpreted as professional advice.


Don’t neglect the following operational risks

Risk Category Probability Risk Suggested Mitigation Strategy

Security High

Risk of employees downloading or being sent malware through social media services. Your clients are also exposed to this risk; this may undermine their trust of your brand.

Implement policies that outline appropriate precautions by employees, such as using effective passwords and not downloading unauthorized software.

Install security on the employees’ computers, database files, and hard drives.

Monitor network traffic and restrict access to websites that can pose substantial risks.

Introduce a disclosure policy that your organization does not recommend following third-party links outside its social pages.

Bandwidth Low

Increase in bandwidth needs to support social media efforts, particularly when using video social media such as YouTube.

Plan for any bandwidth requirements with IT network staff.

Competitors Poaching Client Lists

LowThe ability for a competitor to view lists of clients that have joined your organization’s social media groups.

In a public social network, you cannot prevent this. Monitor your own brand as well as monitor competitors. If client secrecy must be maintained, then you should use a private social network, not a public network (Socialtext, Lithium, private SharePoint site, etc.).

Increased Cost of Servicing Customers

LowAdditional resources may be allocated to social media without seeing immediate ROI.

Augment existing customer service responsibilities with social media requests.

If a dedicated resource is not available, dedicate a specific amount of time per employee to be spent addressing customer concerns via social media.

It’s not uncommon for the Legal and IT departments to be overly cautious, which has the unfortunate implication of the business bypassing their expertise. The job of Legal and IT should be to inform the business of the possible risks. The business must then decide when to take these risks and when to stay risk-averse.


Marketing Sales Customer Service

Human Resources

Public Relations

Establish and track social media metrics to ensure you’re creating business value through social initiatives

Determine key metrics to periodically gauge the success of the program. Set unambiguous targets so that you can take a proactive stance toward problems. Your goals have to be S.M.A.R.T. (specific, measurable, actionable, realistic, and time-bound). That way, you will be able to tell if a performance metric is lagging, and conduct a root-cause analysis to find out why. Which exact metrics you want to track depends on your departmental goals. Consider tracking the following:

In 2012, overwhelming 59% of Info-Tech survey respondents agreed that their organization’s “brand image has been strengthened” through social media initiatives – much higher than other metrics. This is not the first time this criteria comes out on top: the 2009 survey similarly cited brand image strength as the most “achieved” goal.

Increase revenue

▲leads attributed to campaign

▲sales attributed to campaign

▲ROI on opportunities

▲average deal size

▲sales per agent

▲share of wallet

▲customer retention percent

▲upselling oppor-tunities

▼average time to resolution

▼cost of data inaccuracy

▼channel escalation rate

▼assisted-service: self-service ratio

▼cost to serve

▼costs of campaigns

▼agents per campaign

▲brand awareness: number of friends, followers, likes, etc.

Decrease costs

In 2012, 59% of Info-Tech survey respondents agreed that their organization’s “brand image has been strengthened” through social media initiatives – much higher than other metrics. This is not the first time this criteria came out on top: the 2009 survey similarly cited brand image strength as the most “achieved” goal.

▲quality of applicant pool

▲number of qualified hires

▼cost of hiring process


And lastly, the steering committee must set policy for social media usage by employees

If you achieved the level of maturity where you have a Social Media Steering Committee, part of the committee’s governance duties must include policies for social media usage by employees for company business (e.g. blogging or tweeting by subject matter experts).

These guidelines have to be addressed as complementary to the procedural process guidelines and address issues around social media best practices. However, SMEs do not need to leverage SMMPs – so technology selection is not in scope of the policy.

The steering committee’s responsibility is to establish social media policies for all scenarios, both process-driven engagement and SME participation in social conversations.

This isn’t a technology issue, it’s a governance issue.

Info-Tech Insight

Examples of Employee

Usage Policies

Acceptable Use Policies

Blogging and Microblogging

Policies

Account Ownership

Policies

Editorial ReviewPolicies

Kick-start a blogging campaign by referring to Info-Tech’s Blogging and Microblogging Policy Template.

http://www.infotech.com/research/it-blogging-and-microblogging-guidelines-template

http://www.infotech.com/research/it-blogging-and-microblogging-guidelines-template


Address these aspects in an Acceptable Use Policy to create a comprehensive and effective document

For more information on creating a social media acceptable use policy see Info-Tech’s Social Media Acceptable Use Policy template.

Info-Tech recommends giving ownership over business accounts to employees, provided that upon departure they announce their separation from the company on the account.

The alternative scenario, where the company owns the accounts, provides less motivation to make meaningful connections and contributions.

Business building activities:

Building positive brand image

Increasing mind share

Improving customer satisfaction

Increasing customer retention

Customer acquisition

Reducing cost-to-serve

Gaining customer insight

Acceptable Use Scope

Using social media for illegal or unlawful purposes (e.g. copyright infringement, slander, fraud, and plagiarism)

Excessive personal use during work hours

Using business accounts for personal purposes

Opening unknown sources through social media sites, which may expose computers to tampering or malware

Unacceptable Use Cases Account Ownership Guidelines

Additionally, provide penalties and repercussions for violation or non-compliance, and include the legal framework for IT to approach content archival based on security and confidentiality concerns.

http://www.infotech.com/research/social-media-acceptable-use-policy



Build a Social Media Command Center

Adopt a Roadmap

Assess Maturity


Execute the Program


• Understand the difference between a physical, virtual and hybrid SMCC.

• Assess if an SMCC is a fit for your organization.

• Structure the governance of an SMCC.

• Establish a plan for staffing your command center.

• Build and implement SMCC technology.


Build a Social Media Command Center for unrivalled analysis and response capabilities for mission-critical social programsCompanies at the peak of social media maturity will want to consider building a Social Media Command Center (SMCC). A command center is both an organizational structure, as well as the people and technologies that support it. Command centers can be physical, virtual or a hybrid. Notable examples of organizations that leverage physical SMCCs include Dell, Adobe and the NFL. IT should have a strong role in the command center. A seasoned IT professional with previous contact center experience is a huge asset for implementing and managing SMCC technology.

Physical Command CenterThis kind of command center occupies an actual physical space. Often bearing a resemblance to an air traffic control room, the physical command center makes extensive use of visual displays and SMMPs to track, monitor and respond to real-time social conversations around the globe.

Virtual Command CenterA virtual command center has the same management structure as its physical counterpart, but teams are physically dispersed, relying on collaboration technologies to interact.

Hybrid Command CenterA hybrid command center combines aspects of both – typically, there will be a physical location that houses the core of the social media team, but team members will also be dispersed across different departments as well.


Determine whether your organization should invest in a command center

Adopt a Social Media Command Center if… Bypass a Social Media Command Center if…

• The volume and complexity of your social interactions are relatively modest.

• Most of your “social constituents” are located across a small geographic area.

• You operate in the business-to-business sphere and/or have a brand that is less well known.

• Your customer demographics do not lend themselves well to interaction through social channels. Traditional interaction channels are your customers’ preferred means of communicating with your company.

• You have a very high volume and/or complexity of social media interactions.

• Your social media prospects and customers are globally dispersed.

• You have a well-known, high-profile consumer brand. For example, consumer packaged goods companies often lead the pack with respect to adoption of a physical command center.

• Social media strategies are central to your organization’s business goals. For example, the bulk of your marketing efforts occur through social channels.

Someone should have a big-picture view of how social media is being used.

- Info-Tech survey respondent

We will continue to invest in social channels - primarily through a marketing front.


A physical Social Media Command Center can be tremendously beneficial to organizations heavily involved in social media, but it represents a significant investment of time, money, and organizational effort. Organizations with lower-level social media needs can typically realize the most value from the loosely coupled stage with a robust Social Media Steering Committee. Here are some guidelines around when to consider making the investment in a command center:


After the decision to adopt a command center has been made, evaluate which model makes the most sense for your needs

Your organization is a large enterprise that serves a considerable volume of global customers.

• A physical command center is invaluable for top-tier, real-time monitoring and response. All processes should be housed under one roof in a physical center.

Choose Physical If...

Your organization is a small to medium enterprise that doesn’t have significant resources, but has deemed social media to be mission-critical. Delegate responses to different entities.

• By not requiring a physical base for actions, the virtual command center is a better fit for smaller organizations who don’t serve a large customer base.

Choose Virtual If...

Your organization is large enough to require a physical command center in some areas, but not all areas.

• In a hybrid command center, some processes are centralized in the physical structure while others are housed off site. This allows for more flexibility if a large enough center can’t be built.

Choose Hybrid If...

An SMCC can unify and integrate all process domains into one approach. Choosing a type of Social Media Command Center is important to ensure the most appropriate investments are made. Factors such as size, customer base, structure, and social media deployment stage all come into play when determining which kind to go with.


Determine if a combination of on-site and mobile staffing can save on the costs of around-the-clock SMCC staffingOptimizing the operations of the SMCC is just as important as hiring the right people to do the job. There are two options to consider before planning out the operational schedule of the command center.

When to opt for 24/7 operations: Social media is a communication channel that often warrants constant monitoring and engagement. Larger organizations that have an intercontinental customer base should consider staffing their command center for 24-hour service. Since social media interactions are most effective when addressed in a time-conscious manner, these organizations will need their full capacity to engage with social conversations in multiple time zones.

When to limit your command center’s business hours: If your organization’s customer base is generally located within a few adjacent time-zones (likely resulting in periods of time with low volumes of customer interactions) you won’t need 24-hour service.

However, having “on-call” mobile representatives will ensure that high-priority customer interactions are addressed in a timely fashion, even outside the command center’s normal business hours.

How to approach staffing around the clock

By creating multiple shifts (two to three per day, 8–12 hours each) your SMCC can be functional and operating for 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

The number of staff required per shift can be determined by the peak hours when most interactions take place, allocating more representatives during these times.

How to approach combination of on-site and mobile staffing

Conduct research and analysis as to when your target prospects and customers are most active on social media services. Don’t assume anything when determining the operational schedule; your assumptions could be costly.

Provide tablets and smartphones to your employees (and incorporate off-site activity into their job descriptions) to leverage customer interactions after business hours.


Aim to staff the SMCC with internal candidates;hire external talent only when there is no perfect fit

The best front-line social media managers are those who are most familiar with the company (brand, demographic, industry, etc.) and the products/services of the company. This knowledge and background is superior to a "dedicated, specialized team" to handle social interactions on the front lines. . .


Social media can be learned by anyone in the organization. It certainly takes more resources than expected, and employees engaged with these tools should understand and prioritize social media within their regular tasks. It is helpful, however, to have an overarching business unit dedicated to providing support to employees (sales, marketing, executives, etc.); this makes communications more consistent and employees find the tools easier to adopt.

- Dave Frederickson, Hewlett Packard (Canada) Co.

Your internal candidates may not necessarily have social media-specific backgrounds, but their understanding of the organization’s vision and social media ambitions gives them a competitive advantage. Look for candidates with previous social experience, but provide promising candidates with formal experience the opportunity to build their social media skill set.

For high level managerial positions (e.g. Social Media Manager), it’s essential to fill the position with someone who has experience managing social media initiatives in other departments, but not necessarily centralized efforts. Good candidates may have previous experience as a Business Analyst, or a marketing/PR manager.

As a general rule, hire internal candidates when possible, particularly for higher level managerial positions.

Hire external candidates to supplement internal skills:

It’s a good idea to supplement internal skills with a fresh perspective if nobody stands out as a perfect fit within the company. In a small or fast-growing organization, hiring externally will provide the benefit of additional talents which may not be available within the organization. With a fast-evolving communication channel like social media, aim to hire strategic problem solvers with specialized training in marketing, communications, PR, or emerging technologies.


Job openings for social media professionals are multiplying; refer to these complete job descriptions to build your own

For full job descriptions of the Social Media Manager and the Social Media Representative refer to Info-Tech’s Job Descriptions – Social Media Manager and Social Media Representative.

The role of the Social Media Manager is to help define the organization’s social strategy and provide day-to-day command center management.

This individual is involved with:

• Implementation of policies and procedures to ensure a social media presence that is consistent with company goals, industry best practices, as well as legal and risk mitigation requirements

• Monitoring and analysis through social channels to gain customer insights and competitive intelligence

• Coordination and integration of cross-departmental social media initiatives and management of the SMCC

This individual should have experience with:

• Digital marketing strategies

• Social media channels (e.g. Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn)

• SMMPs (e.g. TweetDeck, Hootsuite, Radian 6)

The role of the Social Media Representative is to work as part of a dedicated team for handling inbound and outbound customer interactions over social channels.

This individual is involved with:

• Analyzing conversations occurring in the social cloud

• Responding in a manner that improves prospect/customer satisfaction while strengthening brand image

• Leveraging social media management tools to mediate customer interactions

• Identifying and reporting trends and recurring issues pertaining to customer sentiment

This individual should have experience with:

• Customer service (ideally through social channels)

• Social media channels (e.g. Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn)

• Project-based work structures

http://www.infotech.com/research/it-social-media-manager

http://www.infotech.com/research/it-social-media-representative


Create an SMCC training matrix based on social media roles

PR Professionals

Marketing Brand, Product

& Channel Managers

Customer Service Reps & Manager

Product Development

& Market Research

IT Application Support

Social Media

Manager

Social Media Rep

Account Management

Response & Engagement

Social Analytics & Data Mining

Marketing Campaign Execution

Mobile Access

Archiving

CRM Integration

Lack of end-user training came out as a top pitfall in Info-Tech’s recent survey, with 40% of respondents agreeing that that it was an impediment to the success of their organizations’ social media initiatives. IT must help the business by creating and executing a role-based training program. Training sessions for targeted end-user groups should be established, and provide concrete guidance on using social media services and management tools.

Use the table below to help identify which roles should be trained on which SMCC features.


An SMCC project can be split into initial technology investment and ongoing operating costs – be aware of both

For a detailed breakdown of the assumptions made, see Appendix B: Social Media Command Center Pricing Scenario (3 year TCO).

This pricing scenario will give you an approximate three-year Total Cost of Ownership (TCO) of a physical SMCC for large enterprise. Info-Tech broke it down into initial (first year only) and ongoing investments, to give you an idea how far the figures below go.

Investment Category

Initial Investment(first year only)

Ongoing Investment (over three years)

Technology 6 servers24 desktop stations + 11 notebooks + 5 iPads3 LED monitors1 business class projector35 MS Office licenses35 VoIP phones35 headsets2 printers

35 CRM licenses*35 SMMP licenses*

*Assuming that you will use SaaS (Software-as-a-Service) vendors

Staffing Hiring processEnd-user training

1 social media director4 social media managers6 social media analysts24 social media representatives

Other Floor planning (including office furniture)**Assuming you already lease or own space for a physical command center

Ongoing training and development

Total: $186,845 $6,962,250

Total Three-Year TCO: $7.15M


Large Overhead MonitorsThe displays need to be located where everyone assigned can comfortably see them. They will function as dashboards, displaying the following trends:

• Overall sentiment about the company• A composite trend of parameters related to select

brands or products• Most active keywords being monitored• Competitor trending• Response queue status

For advanced capabilities, consider making some of these monitors switchable to one of the PCs in the SMCC, for sharing up-to-the-minute trends discovered by Social Media Reps.

Low Cubicles for Social Media Representatives The cubicle walls must be low enough to allow comfortable viewing of the overhead displays. Each Social Media Rep needs their own workspace. Each workstation needs the following:• Access to the main SMMP (as well as any other tools used social media monitoring, management and engagement)• Standard knowledge worker desktop, including email, instant massaging, and Microsoft Office• Access to telephony systems. They do not need formal computer-telephony integration (CTI) unless the SMCC is being

assigned traditional customer service and support duties.

Info-Tech recommends that traditional customer service and support issues are resolved by the existing customer service contact center(s), which requires SMMP to CRM integration. Treating social media channels as a silo for customer service issues is a bad habit to start with. Your contact center(s) should own true customer service and support resolution. The SMCC should own non-customer service engagement through social channels.

Structure an optimal physical layout for your SMCC

Command Center Layout


Structure an optimal physical layout for your SMCC (cont.)

Common Workspace

If space permits, provide a common workspace for daily or shift updates, as well as for working with business stakeholders needing support from the SMCC.

This function can be accomplished by a nearby meeting room, but the presence of the overhead displays can help facilitate such meetings.

Supervisor Workspace

Social media managers (or SMCC supervisors) need to have their own workspace to orchestrate the day's or shift's activities. They need to be able to comfortably view the overhead displays and be able to see the social media analysts, especially to see hand raising for assistance.

The supervisor desk needs the following:• Telephony access• Full access to the SMMP and all social media tools• Standard knowledge worker desktop with standard productivity and collaboration applications

Command Center Layout:


Case Study: Super Bowl XLVI broke new ground with a physical Social Media Command Center for game day

Super Bowl XLVI engaged the digital marketing agency Raidious to integrate the first SMCC that managed the largest NFL event of 2012. The goals of the command center were three-fold: to ensure great service and safety, to gather visitor insights, and to amplify the fans’ experience beyond the Super Bowl stadium. The command center answered visitors’ questions in real-time, provided parking tips, advice on things to do in the city, and monitored social channels for safety hazards – it also stood ready to use social media to provide instructions in case of emergency.

A Social Media Command Center offers many opportunities for firms that have regular or frequent events or major social campaigns. The NFL’s SMCC was able to handle the massive volume of social interactions on game day.

2. Social campaigns can reach far more people and garner far more responses than traditional marketing campaigns. They can make social event marketing easier to execute and monitor.

1. Constant monitoring of the social cloud is something that every larger firm needs to invest in. In the case of the Super Bowl, this is particularly sensitive given the active presence that sports fans maintain in the social cloud.

The command center value proposition for the NFL was two-fold.

Although the command center was event-oriented, it served the NFL and NBC well in all of its efforts. It can now be leveraged for future events. Process refinements will make social management through the SMCC even easier in the future.

Sources: cnn.com, socialmediatoday.com


This is how Super Bowl XLVI set the gold standard for using an SMCC to manage a large-scale event

Tools that made it all possible

• Social Media Management Platform: Awareness, Inc.

• Apps: Google Analytics (beta), Social Mention, NewsMap, WeFeelFine.org

• Other: Video recording kiosks on-site (Nsixty), pre-built list of responses to visitors’ inquiries (using Indianapolis-based company ChaCha Answers)

Super Bowl XLVI SMCC in numbers

• ≈20 people working at a time, 15 hours/day for two weeks until the event

• 2,800 square-foot SMCC in downtown Indianapolis

• Over a mile of Ethernet cable in use

• Nine-screen monitor wall (over 100 square feet of monitor space)

• 4,064 Tweets per second (TPS) in the final moments of the game (a global record for sports events!)

Sources: Socialmediatoday.com, blog.twitter.com, cnn.com, digitallife.today.msnbInc.msn.com

Geo-targeting Indianapolis area activity, the team of 50 Social Media Representatives concentrated on key-based monitoring to connect to over 150,000 visitors through platforms like Facebook and Twitter.


Summary

• Define your business objectives and map them to specific social media goals and opportunities.

• Assess your maturity; organizations in the distributed stage should look for opportunities to increase social media cooperation and governance.

• Put a Social Media Steering Committee in place. Give the committee authority for all cross-enterprise social media initiatives.

• Execute the program. Focus on creating strong leadership, optimizing your social media workflows, implementing the right technologies, and putting effective governance procedures in place.

• Evaluate and build a Social Media Command Center to take your social efforts to the next level.

Recommendations

• CRM: Customer Relationship Management

• SMMP: Social Media Management Platform

• SMSC: Social Media Steering Committee

• SMCC: Social Media Command Center

Commonly Used Acronyms


Appendix A: Survey Responses

• Survey Respondents - Industry

• Survey Respondents - Continent

• Survey Respondents - Country

• Survey Respondents - By Department

• What best describes your organization’s adoption with respect to social media for interactions?

• Which option best describes your organization?

• Which departments in your organization have direct responsibility for social media processes?

• Which option best describes IT’s involvement with social media initiatives?

• Rate the following statements about pitfalls encountered in implementing a social media program

• Rate the following statements about the positive impact of your social media initiatives


Survey Respondents - Industry


Survey Respondents - Continent


Survey Respondents - Country


Survey Respondents - By Department


What best describes your organization’s adoption with respect to social media for interactions?


Which option best describes your organization?


Which departments in your organization have direct responsibility for social media processes?


Which option best describes IT’s involvement with social media initiatives?


Rate the following statements about pitfalls encountered in implementing a social media program


Rate the following statements about the positive impact of your social media initiatives


Appendix B: Social Media Command Center Pricing Scenario (three-year TCO)Staffing over three years:1 social media director @ 120k/year + benefits4 social media managers @ 80k/year + benefits6 social media analysts @ 55k/year + benefits24 social media representatives @ 40k/year + benefitsTotal for three years: $6,747,000

Software-as-a-Service (SAAS) procurement cost:35 CRM licenses @ $1500 / user / year35 SMMP licenses @ $550 / user / yearTotal for three years: $215,250

On-premise capital investment (first year only):6 servers @ $1500 (the need for storage will scale up or down based on whether you are using hosted or on-premise CRM and SMMP vendors) 24 desktop stations @ $800; 24 22” LED screens @ $20011 notebooks @ $16005 iPads for mobile access @ $5993 LED TVs @ $10001 business class projector - $300035 MS Office licenses @ $50035 VoIP phones @ $20035 headsets @ $502 printers @ $500Total: $86,845

Other initial investments:Floor planning (including office furniture) - $50,000 - Assumption is being made that your organization already has physical space to dedicate to the Social Media Command Center. Hiring Process + End-user Training - $50,000Total: $100,000

Documents

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