Unit 43 UNDERSTANDING SOCIAL

MEDIAFOR BUSINESS

T/505/5399 LEVEL 3

LO2 - Know the social media for business environment

Scenario Criteria Assessment1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13

AIM AND PURPOSE OF THE UNIT Social media for business is a widely expanding opportunity

for organisations to embrace social media and apply the social technologies to their business to improve and promote business value. From marketing and sales to product and service innovation, social media for business is changing the way people in business connect and the way organisations compete.

The aim of the unit is to give learners the understanding of what social media is, the scope and impact it has, how it is evolving and the opportunities these platforms provide to businesses when promoting themselves or utilising consumer information. By reviewing business practice the learners will be able to identify how to improve service and customer delivery, raise awareness of business and products/services and improve market intelligence to develop a competitive advantage.

Scenario

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Learning Outcome (LO) The learner will:

Pass The assessment criteria are the pass requirements for this unit. The learner can:

Merit For merit the evidence must show that, in addition to the pass criteria, the learner is able to:

Distinction For distinction the evidence must show that, in addition to the pass and merit criteria, the learner is able to:

1 Understand the concept of social media

P1 Explain the range of social media services

M1 Explain opportunities provided by social media to individuals

D1

Evaluate risks to individuals when using social media

2 Know social media for the business environment

P2 Describe the concept of social media for business

M2 Describe where social media has been successful in promoting businesses

D2

Compare and contrast social media and social media for business

3 Know benefits of social media for business to an organisation

P3 Describe benefits to an organisation of using social media for business

M3 Explain how social media for business could be used to improve business functions

D3

Propose success criteria for an identified business when introducing social media for business

LO1 - Assessment Criteria

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The tutor should encourage learners to consider a wider range of users for the services and the organisations, and identify the potential risks or problems that different users may experience, as identified in the teaching content. It may be necessary to prompt the learners with examples of risks publicised in the media followed by more in depth research to fully appreciate risks.

With a good understanding of social media and the audiences, approaches to usage, purpose and risks learners should then be directed to consider the use of social media for business and the term ‘Social Business’. They should identify how the already identified organisations and services are actually businesses and it would be beneficial if the tutor presented high profile social media examples to identify how these “social” services are actually multimillion pound businesses globally. They should consider how the income is generated, businesses developed by extending their earlier research of preferred services and organisations to incorporate this.

LO2 - Understand the concept of social media

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For P2 learners must describe the concept of social media for business. This could be in the form of a leaflet with descriptions or a report to describe what social business is and how the concept has evolved based on the rapid explosion of social media services.

For merit assessment criterion M2 learners must describe where social media has been successful in promoting businesses. This could be in the form of a presentation with notes where the learner identifies a range of businesses that have over a recent number of years used social media to promote in their business operation. Examples of the approaches and promotional activities should be given.

For distinction criterion D2 learners must compare and contrast social media and social business. This could be in the form of a report or presentation where the learner identified the key focus and concepts for both social media and social business.

Assessment Criterion P2, M2 and D2

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Organisations that have adopted the social business model will use social media tools and social networking standards across functional areas within a business for communicating and engaging with external audiences, including customers, prospective customers, prospective employees, suppliers, and partners.

Combining social networking etiquette such as being helpful, transparent and authentic, with business engagement on LinkedIn, Twitter and Facebook more fully involves employees in the organisation and increases customer intimacy and trust.

Overview Traditional business models, particularly in large organisations, have had

as one common characteristic, careful limitation of direct contact between those within the organisation and those outside of it. Only certain specific individuals like those in roles such as sales, customer service and consulting, were designated as “customer-facing” personnel.

Organisations further limited outside access to internal employees through filtering mechanisms such as publishing only a main switchboard number, sometimes going through a receptionist or an interactive voice response system or by using generic “sales@” or “info@” email addresses.

P2.1 – Social Business and Social Media

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The death of this system was predicted back in 1999 when the Internet and social media started to take hold as a viable business tool for communicating information to clients. The Social Business Model involves self governance, the ability for the customer to find their own way to the source of the information, to become more interactive, more responsible.

In implementing the social business model, organisations apply social networking protocols and tools in a range of areas, potentially including:

Marketing Customer Support Recruiting Crowdsourcing Internal employee collaboration Sales Product Development Supply Chain Operations Investor RelationsP2.1 – Task 1 - Define the terms Social Business and in terms of your school, define what a Social Business Model would mean to the contact time with their customer base.

P2.1 – Social Business Purpose

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Businesses that fully adopt the social business model will exhibit four key characteristics:

Connected – employees will be able to seamlessly engage one-on-one in real-time with other employees and individuals outside the business (customers, prospects, partners, media, etc.) using a variety of communications methods including text chat, voice, file sharing, email, and video chat.

Social – employees will follow social networking etiquette (being authentic, helpful and transparent) in external interactions. The focus will be on answering questions and providing information rather than overt sales or promotion.

Presence – these conversations may originate on the company’s website or elsewhere online (e.g., publication websites, industry portals, or social networking sites such as LinkedIn or Facebook).

Intelligent – businesses will use in-depth analytics to monitor connections, social interactions and presence; measure corresponding business results; and continually adjust and improve practices for increased effectiveness.

P2.2 – Task 2 - Define the characteristics of Social Business and in terms of your school, define what a Social Business Model would mean in terms of training, etiquette and analysis.

P2.2 – Social Business Characteristics

Training Etiquette Analysis

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Investor Relations is a strategic management responsibility that includes finance, communication, marketing to enable the most effective two-way communication between a company and those who are invested in the company, shareholders, parents, customers etc.

Typically investor relations is a department or person reporting to the Chief Financial Officer (CFO) or Treasurer who oversees most aspects of shareholder meetings, press conferences, private meetings with investors, investor relations sections of company websites, and company annual reports. It also includes the transmission of information relating to corporate social responsibility including social business and social media.

The investor relations function must be aware of current and upcoming issues that the business may face, particularly those that relate to laws and business impact. In particular, it must be able to assess the various patterns of stock-trading that a public company may experience.

In terms of Social business then there is a lot of people involved in their duties, a lot of communication, a lot of importance to etiquette and quality of information.

P2.3 – Task 3 - Define the Social Business functions of Investor Relations the risks in terms of communications and the Social Media Solutions companies use to alleviate risks.

P2.3 – Social Business and Social Media – Investor Relations

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Marketing is the process of communicating the value of a product or service to customers, for the purpose of selling that product or service. Marketing can be looked at as a Social Business function as a set of processes for creating, delivering and communicating value to customers, and managing customer relationships in ways that also benefit the business and its shareholders. Marketing is the art of choosing target markets through market analysis and market segmentation, as well as understanding consumer buying behaviour and providing improved customer value.

The four components of marketing are relationship marketing, internal marketing, integrated marketing, and socially responsive marketing. The set of etiquettes necessary for successful marketing includes, capturing marketing insights, connecting with customers, building strong brands, delivering and communicating value, creating long-term growth, and developing marketing strategies and plans.

In terms of Social business then there is a lot of people involved in marketing within a public business, a lot of communication, a lot of importance to etiquette and quality of information, to display quality, to SEO and SEM, to branding and publicity. Click here for more information.

P2.4 – Task 4 - Define the Social Business functions of Marketing, the risks in terms of communications and the Social Media Solutions companies adapt to alleviate these risks.

P2.4 – Social Business and Social Media - Marketing

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Customer Support is a range of customer services to assist customers in making cost effective and correct use of a product. It includes assistance in planning, installation, training, troubleshooting, maintenance, upgrading, and disposal of a product. This is different from technical support.

Customer service is the provision of service to customers before, during and after a purchase, a series of activities designed to enhance the level of customer satisfaction. The importance of customer service may vary by product or service, industry and customer. From the point of view of an overall sales process engineering effort, customer service plays an important role in a businesses ability to generate income and revenue. From that perspective, customer service should be included as part of an overall approach to improvement. A customer service experience can change the entire perception a customer has of a business.

Some have argued that the quality of customer service has decreased in recent years, and that this can be attributed to a lack of support or understanding, by taking it out of the country or by working staff under deadlines and pressures.

In terms of Social business, there are a lot of people involved in customer relations within a public business, a lot of one to one communication, a lot of importance to etiquette and quality of service. Click here for more details.

P2.5 – Task 5 - Define the Social Business functions of Customer Support, the risks in terms of communications and the Social Media Solutions companies use to alleviate risks.

P2.5 – Social Business and Social Media – Customer Support

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Recruitment refers to the process of attracting, screening, selecting a qualified person for a job. At the strategic level it may involve the development of an employer brand which includes an "employee offering".

The stages of the recruitment process include: job analysis and developing some person specification; the sourcing of candidates by search methods; matching candidates to job requirements and screening individuals using testing; assessment of candidates' motivations and their fitness with organisational requirements by interviewing and other assessment techniques. The recruitment process also includes the making and finalising of job offers and the induction of new employees.

Depending on the size and culture of the business, recruitment may be undertaken in-house by managers, human resource staff and/or recruitment specialists.

Recruitment happens in business in many different ways, each with a different appeal, e.g. Internal recruitment, Sourcing, Screening and selection, Lateral hiring, Recruitment approaches, In-house recruitment, Employee referral, Outsourcing, Employment agencies, Traditional agency, headhunters, Recruitment websites, Job Click here for problems. Click here for Sales recruitments on YouTube.

In terms of Social Business, there are a lot of people involved in the recruitment process within a public business, a lot of one to one communication, a lot of importance to etiquette and observation.

P2.6 – Task 6 - Define the Social Business functions of Recruiting, the risks in terms of communications and the Social Media Solutions companies use to alleviate risks.

P2.6 – Social Business and Social Media - Recruiting

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Funding and Crowdsourcing – All business have a department in charge of finance and funding. This may be one person and their accounts or a whole building like American Express dedicated to this one department. They are likely to be the least communicative department but the most important as they handle, manage, transfer and pay for everything. Every department deals with them, from contracts, to payslips, to purchases.

Crowdsourcing is the practice of obtaining needed services, ideas, or content by soliciting contributions from a large group of people, and especially from an online community, rather than from traditional employees or suppliers. This process is often used to subdivide tedious work or to fund-raise start-up companies and charities. It combines the efforts of numerous self-identified volunteers or part-time workers, where each contributor of their own initiative adds a small portion to the greater result. an comes from an undefined public rather than being commissioned from a specific named group.

In terms of Social Business, there are a lot of people involved in the Finance and funding departments within companies, a lot of one to one communication with suppliers, a lot of importance is set on precision and moderation as well as legal issues and data protection.

P2.7 – Task 7 - Define the Social Business functions of Funding and Crowdsourcing, the risks in terms of communications and the Social Media Solutions companies use to alleviate risks.

P2.7 – Social Business and Social Media - Funding

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Internal employee collaboration is working with each other to do a task and to achieve shared goals. It is a reciprocal process where two or more people work together to realise shared goals, for example, an endeavour that is creative in nature - by sharing knowledge, learning and building consensus.

Most employee collaborations require leadership, although the form of leadership or a t least a set purpose. Teams that work collaboratively can obtain greater resources, recognition and reward when facing competition for finite resources.

Structured methods of collaboration encourage introspection of behaviour and communication. These methods specifically aim to increase the success of teams as they engage in collaborative problem solving. Forms, charts and graphs are useful in these situations to objectively document personal traits with the goal of improving performance in current and future projects.

At the edn of the day all employees do not work alone, work is linked and all employees work to that greater goal, working collaboratively pushes this forward. Click here, here and here for more details.

In terms of Social Business, teams get formed all the time within companies, a lot if daily collaboration is necessary to drive business and a lot of communication is necessary to encourage effective collaborative working.

P2.8 – Task 8 - Define the Social Business functions of Employee Collaboration, the risks in terms of communications and the Social Media Solutions companies use to alleviate risks.

P2.8 – Social Business and Social Media – Employee Collaboration

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Sales - In business a sales process describes an approach to selling a product or service and is the ultimate goal of any business from charities to schools. Reasons for having a well-thought-out sales process include seller and buyer risk management, standardised customer interaction during sales, and scalable revenue generation. Approaching the subject from a "process" point of view offers an opportunity to use design and improvement tools from other disciplines and process-oriented industries.

Everything within a company, any company, rotates around this issue, and every department within a company relies on this target in order to survive. The rise of Social Media in Social Business models is there as a tool to drive sales faster whatever else s argued. Alleviate customer one to one, improve sales, 24/7 business, improve sales, improve customer support, improve sales, relocate, lower prices, improve sales.

Sales happen in many forms, direct sales, online, Door to door, Telemarketing, Hawking, B2B, B2C, C2C, C2B and pro-Forma sales. All these have techniques attached, some hard sell, some soft sell, some both.

In terms of Social Business, Sales still need to happen all the time within companies, which means a lot of communication is necessary to encourage sales and sale driven plans.

P2.9 – Task 9 - Define the Social Business functions of Sales, the risks in terms of communications and the Social Media Solutions companies use to alleviate risks.

P2.9 – Social Business and Social Media - Sales

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Product Development - In business new product development (NPD) is the process of bringing a new product to market. A product is a set of benefits offered for exchange and can be physical or a service or experience. There are parts involved in the development process: one involves the idea generation, product design and detail engineering; the other involves market research and marketing analysis. Companies typically see new product development as the first stage in generating and selling a new product within the overall strategic process of product life cycle management.

The stages of development are Idea Generation, Idea Screening, Concept Development and Testing, Business Analysis, Beta Testing and Market Testing, Technical Implementation, Commercialization and finally New Product Pricing

To reduce the time that the NPD process takes, many companies are completing several steps at the same time. Most industry leaders see new product development as a necessary process where resources are allocated to identify market changes and seize upon new product opportunities before they occur. They also see it as an on-going process in which the entire business is always looking for opportunities. Click here for more details.

In terms of Social Business, Product Development still need to happen all the time within companies, which means a lot of communication is necessary between finance, R&D and the business.

P2.10 – Task 10 - Define the Social Business functions of Product Development, the risks in terms of communications and the Social Media Solutions companies use to alleviate risks.

P2.10 – Social Business and Social Media – Product Development

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Supply Chain Operations (SCM) - is the management of the flow of goods. It includes the movement and storage of raw materials, current inventory, and finished goods from point of origin to point of consumption. Supply chain management has been defined as the "design, planning, execution, control, and monitoring of supply chain activities with the objective of creating net value, building a competitive infrastructure, leveraging worldwide logistics, synchronizing supply with demand and measuring performance globally."

SCM draws heavily from the areas of operations management, logistics, procurement, and information technology Supply chain management addresses the following problems:

Distribution network configuration, Distribution strategy, Trade-offs in logistical activities, Information, Inventory management, and Cash flow.

Supply chain execution means managing and coordinating the movement of materials, information and funds across the supply chain. The flow is bi-directional. Technology helps, RFID, CRM, Stock Control and GPS particularly.

In terms of Social Business, Supply Chain operations happen within all companies small ones like schools still need deliveries, large ones like Amazon operate almost wholly on the success of this.

P2.11 – Task 11 - Define the Social Business functions of Supply Chain Operations, the risks in terms of communications and the Social Media Solutions companies use to alleviate risks.

P2.11 – Social Business and Social Media – Supply Chain

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Companies who have adapted the previous sectors above within their businesses and made changes to the way business functions are usually successful. They like to boast. Others use their business models as a guide for their own future successes. From the following list, choose three different sector companies who have successfully adapted Social Media into their business planning and identify the range of social media used to promote their business operation.

Create a report that demonstrates this process and outlines their successes. Each report should be outlined as follows:◦ Purpose and Aim of the company◦ Products or services offered◦ Content of the Policy Document◦ Core Values◦ Intended Audience of the Policy Document◦ Demonstration of successes related to policy headings.◦ Annotated examples of the approaches and promotional activities.

Use either of the documents supplied here, here, here, here and here, or select from the links to Social Media Sites here and Social Media Governance site. Some links may no longer function. Oh the irony.

M2.1 – Task 12 – Create a report of 3 business Social Business policies and their effective transfer of these policies into real life Social Media programmes.

M2.1 – Social Media - Promotion success

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Using the business policies and social media promotions as a basis of good practice you will need to compare and contrast what works well and what does not within the three businesses and what a company can take from the lessons. Within this you will need to identified the key focus and concepts for both social media and social business.

D2.1 – Task 13 – Create a report of 3 business Social Business policies and compare their strategies and successes with emphasis on their key focus and concepts.

D2.1 – Social Media – Business Media Comparison

Key Focus and concepts

Successes

Failures Comparison to the other businesses

Suggested improvements

Customer Support

Business 1

Business 2

Business 3

Communication

Supply Chain

Public perception

Media Content

Managing negative press

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P2.1 – Task 1 - Define the terms Social Business and in terms of your school, define what a Social Business Model would mean to the contact time with their customer base.P2.2 – Task 2 - Define the characteristics of Social Business and in terms of your school, define what a Social Business Model would mean in terms of training, etiquette and analysis.P2.3 – Task 3 - Define the Social Business functions of Investor Relations the risks in terms of communications and the Social Media Solutions companies use to alleviate risks.P2.4 – Task 4 - Define the Social Business functions of Marketing, the risks in terms of communications and the Social Media Solutions companies adapt to alleviate these risks.P2.5 – Task 5 - Define the Social Business functions of Customer Support, the risks in terms of communications and the Social Media Solutions companies use to alleviate risks.P2.6 – Task 6 - Define the Social Business functions of Recruiting, the risks in terms of communications and the Social Media Solutions companies use to alleviate risks.

P2, M2 and D2 – Assessment Criteria

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P2.7 – Task 7 - Define the Social Business functions of Funding and Crowdsourcing, the risks in terms of communications and the Social Media Solutions companies use to alleviate risks.P2.8 – Task 8 - Define the Social Business functions of Employee Collaboration, the risks in terms of communications and the Social Media Solutions companies use to alleviate risks.P2.9 – Task 9 - Define the Social Business functions of Sales, the risks in terms of communications and the Social Media Solutions companies use to alleviate risks.P2.10 – Task 10 - Define the Social Business functions of Product Development, the risks in terms of communications and the Social Media Solutions companies use to alleviate risks.P2.11 – Task 11 - Define the Social Business functions of Supply Chain Operations, the risks in terms of communications and the Social Media Solutions companies use to alleviate risks.M2.1 – Task 12 – Create a report of 3 business Social Business policies and their effective transfer of these policies into real life Social Media programmes.D2.1 – Task 13 – Create a report of 3 business Social Business policies and compare their strategies and successes with emphasis on their key focus and concepts.

P2, M2 and D2 – Assessment Criteria