Ready or Not: Priming Your Organization for Social Media Success

I always say that one of the most challenging jobs in the world has got to be that of a Social Media Manager in an organization that hasn’t fully bought into Social (and let’s face it, most still have not). Day after day of roadblocks and dismissals, feeling disconnected and misunderstood but not empowered or “senior enough” to affect any real change.

Many brands have finally gotten to the point where they acknowledge (albeit begrudgingly) that they need “Social” but they have absolutely no idea where to fit it into their existing mix. So they hire some poor soul, often times junior level with no team support, to execute that “Social Media thing” and expect to make miracles happen from the confines of a Twitter account. When they don’t get the results that the “experts” so emphatically promised them, they’ve found one more reason to write off the space as nothing more than fluff.

The truth is, in order for Social to really net results, it requires a total organizational shift that re-defines policy, philosophy, roles and procedures. That kind of change isn’t always easy, however, if done right, it establishes a solid foundation that will inevitably save a brand time, resources and potentially even a crisis or two. Organizations must also resist the temptation to banish Social to it’s own, isolated silo. Social Media simply can’t flourish on it’s own because it’s an extension of nearly every major department inside a company. And all of these separate interests, from Customer Service to Events, need to be integrated into one cohesive Social strategy.

The brilliant Charlene Li and her team at Altimeter have developed a social readiness checklist that any business considering a move into the Social Media space should check out. Their criteria is based on the following principle:

“To be successful using social technologies, companies must prepare and align internal roles, processes, policies and stakeholders with their business objectives. Social business is a profound change that impacts all departments in an organization.”

Central to this profound change must be a renewed commitment by companies to do better by their customers. From entry level to the C-Suite, anyone acting on behalf of a brand must understand this increased responsibility to individual customer engagement. And in order to stay competitive in an increasingly real-time environment, brands have to listen and respond both quickly and appropriately. Add to that the public’s growing demand for transparency and you’re talking change that extends far beyond deciding who will maintain a Facebook page.

Ultimately letting go is a scary proposition for most brands, big or small. But the greater risk lies in a non-committal and reactionary foray into a space that by most accounts, is here to stay.

What are your thoughts on brands’ jumping into the Social space prematurely or without a thoughtful strategy? Any experience as the person charged with Social Media within an organization not quite ready to make the leap? I’d love to hear your war stories!