Social media &
Planning Social Media Resources
Filed under: Business, Corporate Social Media, Leadership, Social Media
I have often seen people start with their social media activities and fail because they have miscalculated the effort it takes to keep going and resources the have available. In corporate environments you have to talk to people and get them on you side. There are three major components you need to consider: people, time and money.
People
Who are the people who will be involved in your social media activities. Who will write the content, who will answer the comments and so forth. Talk to people you plan to include and get their commitment to follow through. Create incentives for insiders and let the outside contractors share the glory. Allocate specific amount of their time to the tasks dedicated to social media.
Get someone from senior management to support your project, so that it won’t be put on hold when „more important“ things need attention.
Time
Even if you don’t have to pay directly for the contributions of your co-workers it will take their time to provide you with the support you need. Make sure that they have the time. If you do not do that and people get overloaded with their main activities they will forget, delay and fail to deliver. Talk to the managers responsible and get their commitment to give you the time needed.
Money
People and time equal money for the company. But you may have to hire people from outside of your company to develop Facebook or iPhone apps, design work, etc. You may need advertising, media coverage, email blasts and so forth. Add all this together and see if you can justify the budget to the management. This is also the base for you ROI calculation.
All this applies to the corporate environment. But even if you happen to work in a small company (or alone) then you have to have those resources clearly in place. Most of the time a single person effort will fail due to underestimating time requirements. So, small business or enterprise, get your plan ready and check if you really have what it takes. Scale down if necessary. This way you will set yourself up for success.
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Image credit: Wes Peck
Posted on: January 10, 2011
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