What the Tools Can Do

April 6, 2009 · Comments

typewriter keys When considering the tools of social media and how they relate to your business communications needs, it’s important to think about two parts of the equation: possibility + function. These tools open up new ways to communicate, which is great. It also means that you have to consider what the functional goal of that communication means to your need.

On the one hand, dream big and see what you can do with things like videoblogging and locaion-based applications. On the other, be sure that these efforts are answering the requirements of your communication instead of just being there because they’re cool. Does that make sense? Let’s get more concrete for a moment.

Video as a Communications Tool

Possibility: simple distribution, inexpensive (compared to TV), personable, allows a visual element to storytelling, appeals to visual learners, promotes personal interaction. Can be participatory (sharing Flip cams with lots of people).

Function: improve customer service, reduce ad spend, generate assets that can be shared (like how YouTube and other video products allow for an embed, which means anyone can take the media with them to other sites), improves brand recognition, better product demonstration, etc, etc.

Possibilities + Function

In using this formula, you get a better chance to determine whether a tool makes sense for your needs, and/or you receive a better way to integrate your efforts with your company goals. It makes selling the process to the higher levels easier and it makes lacing the effort into standard procedures easier. Don’t forget: once the “gee whiz” wears off, what comes next is making this all part of the regular fabric of your organization.

Let’s look at another example.

Community Platform

Possibilities: perpetual collaboration, community-based peer problem solving, simple information distribution, ongoing marketing opportunities, improved community business networking.

Function: improved marketing data, cost-effective information sharing, reduced call handling time (for customer service functions), opinion data gathering, product marketing insights.

Make The Formula Part of Your Framework

If you’re lucky, your organization has gone beyond the “gee whiz, social media is cool” phase, and now they’re looking for ways to implement it intelligently and with a strategic purpose. You probably have an integration method in mind, and it might look something like this:

Framework for Onboarding Social Media Elements:

  • Define business goals
  • Determine appropriate potential tools
  • Evaluate tools <-- add possibilities+function here
  • Build isolated (shadow) trial for tools
  • Determine integration points
  • Build measurements into existing structure (and/or reporting)
  • Determine marketing (if any) around deployment of tool
  • Deploy the tool
  • Adjust as needed
  • Integrate into standard operations
  • Train as needed
  • Onboarding complete

That’s just a sample onboarding process, but if you’re not building these types of practices into how you integrate social media, you might consider giving that a go. It will help the process all the way around, and builds a level of comfort into people’s acceptance of the tools within your organization.

Your Thoughts

How does the “possibilities + function” equation impact the way you’ve been thinking of social media tool integration at your organization? Have you had earlier attempts at using social media that didn’t go so well? Had you considered those two points deeply?

What else do you want to know? How are you going about integrating social tools to your organization?

Photo credit lepiaf.geo

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  • One of the main problems with some social media is just how long it takes to build it to a point where it's usable. I don't know how many times I have seen people promoting that they tweet. If it works and people sign up then great, 10 points. If not, you're in the hole with a lot of wasted time!
  • I'd add some tips from personal experience.

    1) Video is good for those things that are sensory, in particular. Hence food videos are good, mousepad videos... not so much.

    2) " Evaluate tools <-- add possibilities+function here " Make that, "evaluate existing tools" and search for synonymous descriptions of what you want on google (e.g. try the words 'script' 'clone' 'program' 'software' 'download' 'tool' and plural versions of those, in combination with problem keywords, solution keywords etc.

    I've skipped this step before or only done a cursory search, which has led me to spend $1000s on custom programming, when the $30 out-of-the-box script could probably be customized for $100...
  • Great post Chris. I like the possibilities + function model.

    One of the problems for most folks is filtering out the truth from the hype. We're bombarded with 'possibilities' and also 'benefits' but 'function' requires research.

    Thankfully, we have the blogosphere to support our research, even though it is tainted by the same hype. Find Authority bloggers! (That's you, right!)
  • LA
    This post really sums up what I would like to be able to do for my companies/projects. Right now, we have two competing schools of thought:
    - Be out there, everywhere: Some feel that having a presence on most of the social networking platforms gives us a chance to be noticed by more people.
    - Possibilities & Function (as described above): I tend to think that knowing who we're going to reach (there are a number of potential audiences for the companies I work for) and why we're trying to reach them via social media will help us determine which tools to use and for what specific purposes.
    I'm still working on pushing the latter, but this posting gives me a leg up in the board room, if you will. Thanks!
  • Chris, excellent post. You really make the point well and I also believe that whatever "solution" a company chooses should solve a real problem [or meet a need] - or fulfill a definite function, as you put it.

    I wrote a bit about why business should be using social networking tools a little while ago which gave examples of how some of the more well-known social networking tools can solve business problems, which is how I see they could fulfill the function for businesses.

    As for possibilities, well with the growth of online tools at the current rate, I am tempted to say the possibilities are endless :) Thanks for a great post.
  • I think trial and testing are too often ignored. Jump in boots and all because it's now so hot. Everybody is doing Twitter. So we have to as well. No testing, no trial application.
  • I think function is very important. The keyword that comes to mind is balance. Creative types will always argue form over function. The average attention span of your audience is seven seconds. It is your ability to balance form and function to extend those seven seconds. As we all know content is king. You can have all the toys, bells and whistles you want, but at the end of the day is the correct message conveyed?

    I go to a creative's website and it is all Flash, and if you can get past the GUI in navigating your way around the site there is not much information. It looks pretty, but I might have wasted my seven seconds not be productive from a business standpoint. If I go to a Marketing/PR type's site nine times out of ten I will get overloaded with text and that will turn me off quicker than the Flash sites. Again, it comes down to balance.

    Video is great if done right. I had a communications professor tell me something very simple, but yet profound, "Video with bad audio is nothing more than security camera footage." My point is I see a lot of company and personal brands who either do the viral thing and miss getting their intended message across or turnoff their target market altogether. I only stress video because as we all know the paradigm shift from traditional to social means there will be more and more video on the net as we already see outside of the likes of Youtube, Hulu, Vimeo, Viddler, et al. Don't put a video out just because you feel everybody else is. You target audience will notice production quality and relate that to the brand as a whole. Training is definitely needed.

    The community platform is great. There are a lot of brands that are still broadcasting and not utilizing for long term improvement goals. Many are still ROI driven and cannot see past the numbers. The old saying, "The customer is always right." comes to mind. That saying is a little flawed, but the intention is based in truths.

    One last thing and this is why a lot of companies still are having trouble getting into the SM water. Rather than do the ROI up front according to your framework have a re-evaluation post implementation. The overhead for social media, currently speaking, and its tools is relatively low compared to traditional media. Again, some of the decision makers get that niche marketing in social media means greater growth than throwing money at it by casting a big net. Utilizing these social tools is an extension of that.
  • Both sides of the equation are so important. The possibility side is so fun, you should do tons of brainstorming with everyone you can to figure out all the possibilities no matter how out of the box. Of course you have to add function to all those ideas. But have some fun with the possibility side of it!
  • Cate Indiano
    I have these conversations frequently. As a trainer I try to make teaching and evaluating skill sets relevant and so I like to encourage real proposals for projects utilizing new media. Inevitably, it's the "digital native" that struggles with the application of the above mentioned formula (ie. how does it align with business/marketing goals, what research was done, how well thought out was the solution, what are the measurements/roi on the project). Whereas the "digital immigrant" struggles with understanding the technology itself and how to apply it and the inherent hesitation they have in the changing social norms. You've got to teach/mentor this, reinforce it by applying the formula consistently, across the board. Great post. Useful advice.
  • I think a lot of small and large businesses could be adopting that framework to many different elements within their organisations.
  • I was gonna say "don't most people already do this?" but then I had to think, HELL No. It's funny how many people call themselves Social Media Experts and half can't delivery a real solution. Just like Amy said "We'll put a Flash widget on the homepage", and I bet this person thought was they said was so great.

    If I'm going to use social tools with my business, there has to be a plan in place, other wise it's like driving a car with a blindfold, eventually an accident is eminent.

    Great post
  • So true yet so basic - and "basic" is what so many people forget. "We'll put a Flash widget on the homepage" someone says. "Why?" I ask. "Because it'll be cool" they say. "But what will it do?" I ask. "It'll be a widget," they say, "and it'll be in Flash." "Okay," I respond, "but what does that mean to your audience?" They respond that it'll be cool, and viral, because it'll be a widget, and it'll be in Flash.

    If I had a nickel for every time I've had this conversation...
  • This is really important for companies evaluating social media tools. Many of the tools are sexy, but they may not be the right fit for the particular needs of that company. When these sexy tools are implemented without evaluation, it can lead to serious frustration and may hinder social media adoption and implementation.

    If companies define what they hope to achieve with the specific tools, it makes it much easier to evaluate the success. Plus fewer tools with more focused efforts may be better. Great framework!
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