In a previous post I made the argument that accountability for the results of a social media plan needed to be pushed out to the edge of the organization at which the execution takes place. Stated another way, social media tools should be baked into processes and job descriptions and results should be included in existing metrics. Perhaps more importantly, I think it unwise to measure the ROI of a social media plan outside of a department-specific context. Accountability and results need to be measured based on the specific objectives of the business unit that the plan applies to.
Metrics and ROI are a hot topic in the social media space right now. Buzzwords and hot topics aside, at the end of the day, the technology needs to solve a specific business problem. The quality of the solution will be proportional to how well the problem is defined.
One of my favorite challenges as a consultant is helping my clients clarify their goals. With regard to social media, the excitement about the technology has created such a fervor that tempts us to plunge headlong into implementation. When something gets a lot of attention, we have a tendency to take a reactive posture, facing outward at our competitors rather than inward toward our own business needs, or better yet, listening to our customers. We reason that to stay competitive, we need to jump on the bandwagon and chase the shiny new gizmo.
We have to step back and spend the time to understand what we are really trying to achieve before investing resources in a solution. Be proactive, set goals, create a roadmap, and then look for implementation solutions. Scan the competitive landscape and the slate of emerging technologies during this process. Seek iterations of process, rather than complete overhauls. And the bigger your organization is, the smaller the iterations need to be.
Or, as Franklin Covey wrote: “Start with the end in mind”
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