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Ad hoc Social Media Management causes:

Wasted resources on ineffective social media channels.
Missed opportunities to capture customer insights.
Inconsistent communication to prospects and customers.
Insufficient employee guidance for acceptable social media usage.
Duplication of effort across business units.
Poorly defined roles and responsibilities.

Social Media Research & Tools

Workshop: Social Media

Workshops offer an easy way to accelerate your project. If you are unable to do the project yourself, and a Guided Implementation isn't enough, we offer low-cost delivery of our project workshops. We take you through every phase of your project and ensure that you have a roadmap in place to complete your project successfully.

Do-It-Yourself Implementation

The slides in this Best Practice Blueprint will walk you step-by-step through every phase of your project with supporting tools and templates ready for you to use.

Download Workshop Outline

Project Accelerator Workshop

You can also use this Best Practice Blueprint to facilitate your own project accelerator workshop within your organization using the workshop slides and facilitation instructions provided in the Appendix.

Module 1: Setting Your Objectives for Social Media

The Purpose

Understand the major trends and benefits of developing a social media business plan.
Determine success of current social media efforts.
Establish department-level social media business objectives.

Key Benefits Achieved

Identify areas for improvement within social media efforts.
A comprehensive, prioritized list of business objectives.

Activities

Outputs

1.1

Harness the social media value proposition.

Current status assessment results

1.2

Assess current social media efforts.

List of capability gaps

1.3

Set social media objectives.

Business objective list

Included Resources

Setting Your Objectives for Social Media

Social Media Business Plan Template

Social Media Maturity Assessment Tool

Module 2: Leveraging Social Media for Marketing and Sales

The Purpose

Assess the social media maturity of sales and marketing.
Select social media channels for the sales and marketing groups.
Integrate social media into existing business processes.

Key Benefits Achieved

Identify areas for improvement within social media efforts specific to marketing and sales.
A recommended list of social media services for sales and marketing based on customer demographics and organization goals.
A refined workflow map incorporating social media into marketing and sales business processes.

Activities

Outputs

2.1

Build a social channel market coverage model.

Marketing and sales social media maturity assessment

2.2

Select social media channels for the sales and marketing groups.

Marketing and sales social media services recommendations

2.3

Use social media to sell to prospects and customers.

Sample marketing messages

2.4

Select social services to integrate with sales.

Sample sales messages

2.5

Embed social media into the sales process.

Social media workflow map

2.6

Capture market insights through social channels.

Included Resources

Leveraging Social Media for Marketing and Sales

Social Media Service Selection Tool

Module 3: Enable Customer Service Using Social Media

The Purpose

Assess the social media maturity of customer service.
Select social media channels for the customer service group.
Integrate social media into existing customer service processes.

Key Benefits Achieved

Identify areas for improvement within social media efforts specific to customer service.
A recommended list of social media services for customer service based on customer demographics and organization goals.
A refined workflow map incorporating social media into customer service business processes.

Activities

Outputs

3.1

Execute customer service in a social world.

Customer service social media maturity assessment

3.2

Incorporate social media into customer initiated service.

Customer service social media services recommendations

3.3

Scan the social cloud for proactive service opportunities.

Common issue response problem

3.4

Help your customers help each other.

Watchword list
Social media workflow map
Rewards and recognition strategy

Included Resources

Enable Customer Service Using Social Media

Module 4: Technology Enablement for Your Social Media Strategy

The Purpose

Understand the benefits of deploying a social media management platform.
Assess your social analytics maturity.
Review social media management platform vendors.
Develop a social analytics plan to track and monitor success of social media.

Key Benefits Achieved

An evaluation of current social media analytics maturity.
A customized social media management platform vendor shortlist.
A robust list of social media KPI specific to marketing, sales, customer service, human resources, and public relations.

Activities

Outputs

4.1

Making the case for a social media management platform.

Social media management platform vendor shortlist

4.2

Select a social media management platform vendor.

Social media management platform RFP

4.3

Develop a social analytics plan.

Social analytics maturity assessment
KPI list
Social analytics business plan

Included Resources

Technology Enablement for Your Social Media Strategy

Social Media Management Platform Vendor Shortlist and Detailed Feature Analysis Tool

Social Analytics Business Plan

Social Analytics Specialist

Module 5: Social Media Governance and Change Management

The Purpose

Establish a social media steering committee.
Identify implementation risks and create mitigation strategies.
Develop a stakeholder communication plan.
Identify when to revisit the social media strategy.

Key Benefits Achieved

Ensure IT and business units have appropriate representation on steering committee.
All roles affected by social media are identified and a plan to communicate change and train end-users is established.
Proactively identify risks and develop mitigation strategies and contingency plans.

Activities

Outputs

5.1

Put strong governance in place for social media.

Roles and responsibilities list

5.2

Mitigate the risks of social media.

Social media steering committee charter

5.3

Communicating change around social media initiatives.

Risk mitigation strategy
Communication plan
Training framework

Included Resources

Social Media Governance and Change Management

Social Analytics Specialist

Social Media Steering Committee Charter Template

Social Media Acceptable Use Policy

Blogging and Microblogging Guidelines Template

Social Media Representative

Social Media Manager

Social Media

A Workshop to Develop Your Strategy

Beyond practical research – workshops get you to results

Workshops: leverage best-practices research and get to action

Unlike other research firms, we believe it’s important to help our members implement improvements.
We offer a 40-hour workshop that allows you to make systematic improvements to your core processes.
Workshops are designed to help focus attention, create alignment, and ensure best practices are put to work at your organization.
Our workshops help you get to immediate impact and results and are tailored to your situation and needs.

Workshops: focused on you implementing improvements

The goal of each capability optimization workshop is to create tangible benefits and clear improvements as a direct result of the workshop.
Specific deliverables, goals, metrics, and outcomes are established for each workshop.
Successful workshops will leverage our years of analyst experience and written research to provide an engaging experience that focuses on implementing and getting to measurable results.
Each workshop begins by diagnosing the current state and then focuses on designing high-impact improvements based on best-practices research.
Three- and six-month follow-ups will occur to ensure benefit realization.

Cycle titled 'Capability Optimization Workshop' with steps 'Diagnose Current State', 'Right-Sizing Process', 'Process Design', 'Implementation Support', and 'Measuring Benefits'.

Info-Tech workshops provide the best practices and implementation support necessary to help an IT leader build a world-class IT operation.

Social media is ubiquitous with your customers: it is imperative to have an active and concerted presence on social!

Social media facilitates the creation and sharing of user-generated content.

Social media has rapidly displaced traditional e-channels as consumers’ preferred method of interacting with each other and with organizations.
Companies must fish where the fish are.
If your customers are social media savvy, having a strategy for leveraging these channels is imperative.
Social media channels should be used to complement and strengthen existing customer interaction channels.

A line of social media icons such as hashtags, hearts, and likes.

Social media by the numbers:

58.4% of the world’s population uses social media (Smart Insights, 2022).
By 2024, 6 out of every 10 people on the planet will be social media users – that means over 4.75 billion people will have a social network account (FinancesOnline, 2022).
Users spend an average of 2 hours and 27 minutes on social media daily (Smart Insights, 2022).
The seven most popular social networks in the world (Facebook, YouTube, WhatsApp, Instagram, Facebook Messenger, WeChat, and TikTok) all have over 1 billion monthly active users (Statusbrew, 2021).
Millennials and Gen-Z are the most “digitally connected” generations. The average millennial and member of Gen-Z has 8.4 social media accounts (Backlinko, 2021).
77% of millennials and Gen-Z shop on social platforms (Forbes, 2021).
97% of marketers are using social media to reach their audiences (LYFE Marketing, 2019).

The social media concept model

An overview of the social media workshop

Module	Goals	Outcomes
Module 1: Setting Your Business Objectives for Social Media	Understand the business case for using social media across the organization Inventory your current social media efforts Gauge your current social media maturity Identify and prioritize top goals	Social Media Current State Assessment Rank-Ordered Social Media Objectives
Module 2: Leveraging Social Media for Marketing and Sales	Effectively map and embed social media into marketing and sales processes Apply best practices for each domain	Marketing Assessment and Social Media Business Plan Sales Assessment and Social Media Business Plan
Module 3: Enable Customer Service Using Social Media	Effectively map and embed social media into customer service processes to proactively serve your customer base Apply best practices for customer service	Customer Service Assessment and Social Business Plan Social Media Acceptable Use Policy for Service Reps
Module 4: Technology Enablement for Your Social Media Strategy	Select and deploy an SMM and/or social-enabled CRM platform Develop procedures for a world-class social analytics program	SMMP RFP and Demo Script Social Analytics Maturity Assessment
Module 5: Social Media Governance and Change Management	Create the right social media governance structures (e.g. the SM Steering Committee) Understand how to communicate change initiatives involving social media	Social Media Steering Committee Charter Social Media Usage Policies Change Management Plan

Module 1 – Setting your business objectives for social media

1.1 Harness the Social Media Value Proposition

Chart the rise of social for customer interaction
Understand the social technology landscape
Listen and engage through social media
Leverage the power of social influencers

1.2 Assess Current Social Media Efforts

Inventory current social media initiatives
Assess the current state for social usage
Place the organization on the maturity model

1.3 Set Social Media Objectives

Understand the goal-setting process
Set objectives for marketing, PR, sales, customer service, and human resources
Prioritize business objectives

Module 2 (Part 1) – Leveraging social media for marketing

2.1.1 Leverage Social Media for Marketing

Engage and listen to your customers
Build awareness and capture insights
Assess marketing’s maturity for social

2.1.2 Build a Social Channel Market Coverage Model

Set brand-level objectives and prioritize
Determine social-savvy target markets
Build the market coverage model

2.1.3 Optimize Your Brand Message for Social Media

Understand social media messaging
Tips for creating shareable messages
Optimize your message by segment

2.1.4 Capture Market Insights Through Social Channels

Use social media for marketing analytics
Craft product insight workflows with social
Leverage social media for public relations

Module 2 (Part 2) – Leveraging social media for sales

2.2.1 Use Social Media to Sell to Prospects and Customers

Review objectives for selling with social media
Leverage social media across the sales lifecycle
Assess sales’ maturity for social media

2.2.3 Embed Social Media Channels Into the Sales Process

Identify points to embed social media
Adapt messages for different decision makers

2.2.4 Capture Data Across the Customer Life Cycle

Use social analytics for sales enablement
Keep CRM data fresh using social media
Use social media to upsell DMs

Module 3 – Enable customer service using social media

3.1 Execute Customer Service in a Social World

Leverage social for different service types
Examine different use cases for social media
Gauge current service maturity for social media

3.2 Incorporate Social Media Into Customer-Initiated Service

Improve customer-initiated service
Build a response plan
Determine escalation policies and rules
Promote your customer-initiated social media service

3.3 Scan the Social Cloud for Proactive Service Opportunities

Take advantage of proactive service
Determine keywords and service coverage
Map proactive CS workflows
Train customer service reps on social media

3.4 Help Your Customers Help Each Other

Use peer-to-peer support to manage costs
Set your peer-to-peer use case scenarios
Rewards and recognition for peer-to-peer
Set a policy for CSKM

Module 4 – Technology enablement for social media

4.1 Making the Case for an SMMP

Understand the value of an SMMP
Integrate SMMP with your CRM
Select an SMMP deployment model

4.2 Select a Social Media Management Platform Vendor

Review vendor landscape
Review RFP template and vendor scoring tool
Complete vendor demonstration scripts

4.3 Develop a Social Analytics Business Plan

Assess your social analytics maturity
Select your social media KPIs
Complete the social analytics business plan

About Info-Tech

Info-Tech Research Group is the world’s fastest-growing information technology research and advisory company, proudly serving over 30,000 IT professionals.

We produce unbiased and highly relevant research to help CIOs and IT leaders make strategic, timely, and well-informed decisions. We partner closely with IT teams to provide everything they need, from actionable tools to analyst guidance, ensuring they deliver measurable results for their organizations.

What Is a Blueprint?

A blueprint is designed to be a roadmap, containing a methodology and the tools and templates you need to solve your IT problems.

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Authors

Ben Dickie

Sean Burkett

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Search Code: 74221
Last Revised: October 3, 2022

TAGS:

analytics, marketing, communication, channel, social media maturity, Facebook, YouTube, Instagram, pinterest, listening, social listening, customer service, LinkedIn, Twitter

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