Fast-Forward 2010: Winning with Social Media
As described in my prior post Fast-Forward 2010: Social Media Shake-Out, the corporate gold rush to capitalize on social media will result in too many communities and blogs that overwhelm customers and provide insufficient value to sustain them.
A lot of money will be wasted as businesses attempt to go it alone or approach social media haphazardly. The number of sites will peak by 2010 and then decline into a stable number of communities as corporations demand ROI on their efforts. Many corporations will consider joining forces with others to create greater value and ROI.
How do we manage given this scenario? Below are thoughts on how to win in this environment:
-
Winners approach community building strategically and place bets accordingly. They develop community maps across all their customers. These maps profile customer activity to corporate offerings that achieve maximum ROI. It is an integrated and strategic approach against objectives.
-
Dedicated communities will not be possible for all. Winners will seek to leverage communities with other companies or business units to create more compelling value for the community. They will build around customer activities instead of a point product.
- Winners will ensure ROI for their communities. They will seek ways to monetize communities or provide significant input to corporate decisions thus justifying the investment.
-
Winners will leverage industry communities such as industry associations and dedicated communities such as Linked-in to gain broader reach.
- A significant and continuous value proposition is key to community building. Although we could talk all day about our products, would customers do the same?
-
Linking to customer activity and pain points is imperative.
If you would like to discuss developing a strategy for winning in this environment, please contact us.
Categories: Technology,Strategy,Opportunities,Communities,Social Media
Comments