Top 10 questions that lead to a social community strategy for businesses

1. Social Communities
Strategy
#Society3
© Copyright Xeequa Corp. 2008

2. Background
We built over 100 corporate
business communities so far.
We made mistakes and we learned
The following strategy development
plan shall help you shortcut what we
went through in the last 2 years
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3. Defining a social community business strategy
The top 10 questions that will lead to your
strategy
1) What is the purpose of the community?
2) What is the socioeconomic profile of community
and members?
3) What are the main benefits to participate in the
community?
4) What is a perceived disadvantage not participating
in the community?
5) What kind of contribution is expected from its
members?
6) What are benefits and motive for community
initiator/owner/driver?
7) What is the geographic spread of the community?
8) What is the ideal size of the community including
possible sub communities?
9) What is the ultimate goal of the community?
10) What is the communities business model?
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4. What is the purpose of the community?
You know exactly how you feel about your
community – but formulating it is so much harder.
Create a community statement that is easy and
plausible for your team, your friends, your
customers, your partners and the rest of your
ecosystem.
DO NOT make it a marketing pitch. Say it in a way
that everybody could tell a friend in a bar.
For instance: This community shall help our
customers better communicate with each other and
our team. It shall help new users find experienced
users and help each other to be more successful.
Make sure you and everybody else stands behind
your purpose
Make sure that the purpose of your community
works for all constituencies of your community.
While you may orchestrate your community – at
the end healthy communities organizes
themselves.
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5. Socioeconomic profile of community and members?
Define the profile of the audience you like to have
from a “socioeconomic” (see Wikipedia) point of
view.
What type of people in what type of economic
environment do you envision to join.
You will need this profile to check every following
step in your strategy building process to ensure
People that what you plan will match the profile of your
audience.
Econo Develop a list of example members (don’t use
my
titles as group categories like sales managers, and
Engagement don’t use business categories like “decision makers
from large companies”) Create a list of people you
know that represent the typical members down the
road.
Think social. Think about people with names and
faces, not empty shells from your CRM list.
Explain the profile of your members based on the
example of 10 to 20 people you know.
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6. The main benefits to participate in the community
Create a series of benefits your members will have
by participating in the community.
Make sure that those benefits are an added value
to their current situation. Check with a few of
those members if they would confirm your
perceived benefits.
Think of benefits like “meeting other customers”,
“learn from others how they use the product or
service we offer”, “have a better connection to our
product management”, “find information
contributed by other members”, “Develop your
profile as an expert in our market”…
Forget benefits like “more information that you will
make only available to your community”; that is
marketing BS
Each and every community will quickly come op
with benefits they experience, make sure you
enhance your strategy paper with those inputs
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7. Perceived disadvantage when not participating
If there is an advantage to join, there is a
disadvantage for not being part of it. Spell it out –
even if it is just the reverse of the advantage.
Some people understand that better.
Not being able to easily communicate with other
customers could be one. Not that you won’t make
an introduction but it is much harder to orchestrate
an introduction, asking the other party if they are
interested…
Not seeing how other people use your product, or
not being able to see videos others provided may
be one.
Let your ecosystem know what it means not being
part of this may be a much stronger argument to
join than a series of advantages. Remember as a
company all you did in the past years was
convincing advantages…
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8. What do you expected from your members?
Be clear about your expectation. This community is
not a representation of YOU – it is a community of
many. Make sure a member knows what the rest
most likely expect from each other.
Define what YOU expect from the members and
make sure this is realistic. If your member
structure is of age 35 and older, it will take a while
before members will contribute. You will also need
to understand that non contributing members are
equally important. They are the “consumers” in
that information economy and “information
producer” expect “information consumer”.
Make a list of things your members should
contribute. Then make sure you have a way to ask
them to do that. Embed a feedback system so that
contribution is explicitly honored.
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9. What are benefits and motive for your business?
Now since you have a clearer picture what you
offer for your community declare your or your
company’s own benefits.
Your benefits may be a more approachable
company, better reputation and all those soft
elements. But you also need to think about very
concrete economic benefits.
Benefits may include to win back lost customers. It
may include winning additional customers through
advocacy of existing customers. It may include
reduction in service cost by having customers help
each other. It may be an increase in marketing
efficiency by getting new leads through members
instead of advertising. It may be reduced
development cycles by closer working with test
customers.
After defining those benefits, circle back to
member benefits and make sure you are still in
synch.
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10. What is the geographic spread of the community?
Remember pinky & brain? “What are we doing
today? What we do every day, we take over the
world”
The world may be your goal but to start a
community act local. Actually not so much from a
distance point of view but from a language point of
view.
Make sure the member benefits match with the
geographic spread of your community.
Develop a growth plan to ensure you pick the right
tools from the beginning.
Let your community know what your plans are.
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11. How big should your community become?
Small is beautiful – size matters ? ! # @ $ - what….
Community building has some very physical dimensions
that matter and you need to understand.
25 people is not a community but a small group that
typically knows each other well and decides for
themselves how to communicate.
With 250 and more people, you can expect that nobody
knows more than 20% and most not even 5%. There is
an advantage in a community to meet other people. A
handful of people can IM, SMS or email each other.
Hundreds or thousands can’t track such a dialogue.
Start with no less than 100, 250 is better and more is
much better.
Don’t limit your community from the start – rather find
ways to offer smaller groups and sub communities in your
infrastructure as needed. Your community should have
the same limits that you define for your business in
general.
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12. What is the community’s business model?
While a community is very inexpensive today, you
still want to engage with initiatives and attract
your current and new members.
You will need to finance the operation.
Customers
A community may be a business on its own. If you
have a compelling reason, you may charge for the
participation. But if the community is for you
Media Cell Partners
customers from a producing or service business,
don’t expect anybody to pay for the membership.
You will need resources to run the community
Suppliers
system, check content, contribute yourself and
make sure you have a community support in place
so members have a go to point.
Don’t think in “administration”. There is nothing to
administrate. But you may be very busy with your
customers and may need help from other
department – bat that’s a great problem to have.
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13. What is the ultimate goal of the community startegy?
Have a clear definition why you do that.
The ultimate goal may very well become an
Social leadership integral part of your overall corporate strategy. We
see early signs of CCO’s (Chief Community
Officers) high ranked executives of even global
enterprises that understand the importance of this
new market interaction model. CCO’s bridge the
old gap between sales and marketing and may
A vibrant community
over time integrate both in a new organizational
structure.
But the ultimate goal of your community may be
something like the most active community in your
respective market or industry. It may become the
Initial milestones
single largest community or the most influential
community.
Try to define this goal in one sentence and have all
key contributors help achieve that goal.
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14. #Society3
© Copyright Xeequa Corp. 2008

15. Thank You
+1 (650) 384 0057
info@society3.com
http://Society3.com
http://xeeme.com/society3
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16. About
Society3 is a Social Presence Management technology & professional
services provider. We are building professional social brand presences on
networks including LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, Pinterest,
SlideShare and over 200 other sites. Our presence organizer technology
XeeMe is helping maximize the impact of a social presence. Our
professional services team is administrating, moderating and monitoring
brand presences 24×7. We help create and carry out buzz campaigns and
grow networks and influence of our clients using our own social
engagement technology. The Society3 Academy (former Social Media
Academy) is focusing on technology independent social media strategy
education.
Thanks to over 1 Million users and customers from over 100 countries,
Society3 builds products and services through crowd sourcing, ensuring to
best capture market needs.
Society3 Inc is a privately held company based in San Francisco and
Cannes France.
More information: http://society3.com or call +1 (650) 384-0057
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