Program Analysis: Social Media
Executive Summary The social media business plan seeks to expand on current processes and technology in order to deliver members greater value. This plan will: Protect financial and strategic interests Link features to member needs and existing Web behavior Provide specific measurements used to determine success Allow us to better manage social media and increase member-value Use low cost approaches to deploy highly sought after Web tools.
The following report includes a detailed review of financial and market analysis, capital requirements and extensive research needed for the organization to make the necessary strategic decisions.
October 27, 2008
Program Analysis: Social Media
Social Media Deployment Action
Implement New Blogs Actively Promote Web site
Activity & Outcome
Actively participate in on-line “conversations,” providing increased media visibility and sponsorship opportunities. Drive members to our Web site and other social Web sites. Marketing & public relations to be engaged; may include advertising and other promotions.
Segment
Blogosphere
Promotions
New Social Media Features Listen to members
Expand quality and visibility of content; members are actively involved in value generation. Features will include new member forums. Align operations to member needs by examining social media use reports and standard site analytics. Establish intelligence sharing standards, hosted on the intranet.
Increase Content Visibility and Value Intelligence Gathering
Social Media Map
Program Analysis: Social Media
I. Program Overview The social media business plan seeks to redefine the member valuegeneration by implementing collaborative tools for members and new ownership of Web resources. Current Approach (figure 1)
Social Media Enabled Approach (figure 2)
This strategy is comprised of several principals: Members need to find valuable content quickly. Not every content pointer is human-generated. (e.g. the number of times users have downloaded a document) Members engaged in content collection a nd critiquing add value. Critics identify the content that’s worth their while , while collectors often provide other indicators, such as document tags.
Social Media: Detailed Analysis The social media strategy, based in part on standards developed by Forrester Research, is broken out into the following four segments: People Objectives Strategy Technology
Program Analysis: Social Media
People The first segment examines Web use by members and attorneys in general. The purpose of this analysis is to determine the level of interest in various social media applications and provide a roadmap for strategy and technology. Findings of this analysis include: Objectives Social media objectives are influenced by three factors: Corporate goals, people behavior and community constraints (figure 3 ). Corporate Goals
People Behaviors
Objectives
Community Constraints
Strategy The social media strategy requires investment in several activities that overlap and support each other: Add capabilities that increase the visibility of useful content. Add ratings, informal categorization (e.g. tags) and number of downloads to documents. Add capabilities that enhance content value. This includes tagging, rating, and comments. Provide vehicles for informal content. Informal, less structured forms of content, such as discussion forums and Wikis, provides great value to members.
Program Analysis: Social Media
The Roadmap It is not enough to generate additional value through social resources. The business plan contains three milestones that seek to increase the appeal and strength of the organization. This roadmap consists of three phases, each with unique goals: Technology This section defines the steps needed to achieve the stated objectives and determine success at each level of the roadmap. There are three phases of activities and goals, corresponding to the roadmap.
Program Analysis: Social Media
II. Program Analysis a. How does this program align with the organization’s strategic goals? b. Describe any risks to membership, operations and/or reputation related to this program. c. Detail the schedule for this program. III. Member Benefit a. What value does this provide for members? b. Is this a new product for the membership, or is it something that they can currently get somewhere else? c. Does this program fill an existing member need? Indicate where this need is documented. IV. Research a. Cite the research used to back this program. i. Identify best practices related to this program. ii. Is any market research required? If so, what are the expected deliverables and schedule? iii. Have we polled the membership to determine product suitability? b. Member Impact i. What segment of the membership does this program target? Is this segment influential or hold strategic value for the organization? ii. What percent of membership is served by this program? iii. Will the program we develop satisfy the member need? V. Capital Requirements a. What is the monetary investment required? Is this budgeted? If so, under which department(s)? b. Do we have appropriate human capital to:
Program Analysis: Social Media
i. Manage the development and marketing of the program? ii. Allow staff available to develop, manage and market the proposed program? c. Does the program require any information capital (e.g. infrastructure, applications) not currently in place? d. Do we have the ability “to mobilize and sustain” any change needed to execute this program? VI. Financial Return a. Describe the following: i. Will this program provide direct revenue? ii. What are the indirect financial benefits? b. At what point will this program succeed in returning original fi nancial investment? VII. Market Analysis a. What is the competition? b. If we are first to market, will competitors respond, and can we maintain a competitive advantage in the face of competition? c. If we are first to market, will competitors respond, and can we maintain a competitive advantage in the face of competition? d. Does the new product conflict with other agreements we have in place with existing partners? Other legal reasons why we can/can’t do this?