Identifying business drivers for your social media plan
August 9th, 2010
This is the second post on Building an Actionable Social Media plan. Refer to the first one if you need a refresher on why we’re doing this.
When people or businesses start engaging in social media they often focus on goals or ROI. But in order to direct your content, you must first identify the business drivers behind your social media activities. If you think of your plan in terms of the 5W’s (who, what, where, when, why) then business drivers are the WHY. I like InvestorWords definition of a business driver which is “A factor that contributes to the growth of a particular business.”
Maybe you haven’t thought of this perspective…I know for me it’s an abstract concept. After all, in small business we’re much more real time and it’s usually more about cash flow than strategy, at least for me. I like to put drivers in three categories when I do plans: Primary, Relevant and Secondary. You’ll find that unexpected benefits of social media may arise as the campaign continues. Also, there may be lack of impact in defined business drivers. The business drivers should be reviewed and revised based on ongoing activity and results and you may be surprised where social media makes the most impact. It’s different for every business I work with!
So to give you some ideas, first here’s a list of some business drivers for specific industries. Then I’ve got a list of some possible business drivers that are common for social media. Please add yours in the comment section, so we can get a good list going! (more…)




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We’ve had some juicy celebrity crisis’ lately that make writing this post lots of fun. When your company, product or personal brand encounters a crisis it’s important to decide what ‘voice’ you’re going to use. Choosing the right approach is one of the reasons little-known (but uber-powerful) flacks like Marty Chalmers and Eliot Mintz make the heavy wood. Let’s take a look at some of the characteristics of voices being used most recently – as well as a few thrown in from the past.