Social Business: A Measuring Stick

What is Social Business?

“An organization that has put in place the strategies, technologies and processes to systematically engage all the individuals of its ecosystem (employees, customers, partners, suppliers) to maximize the co-created value” [1]

How does your business measure up?

Connected – Internal and external stakeholders of the organization are able to seamlessly engage in conversations. Various communication platforms relevant to the position and accessibility of the people involved are available. i.e. Intranet for employees, Social media sites (open for the public and closed groups for employees), Email, Forums, Chat rooms, Video Conferencing, etc.
Social – Authentic, honest, and transparent are the key etiquette rules for employees that are part of a social business. Less about selling / marketing – more about engaging in two-way communication. This is especially true when representatives are providing content for official company sites, but also when they publicly post and engage in conversation personally. In both situations, they are ambassadors for the company while they are part of the organization (employees, contractors, etc.)
Present – Conversations may begin by being posted on a company website / social platform / media release (i.e comments on the site, linking back to an article from another social site, reference in a blog or magazine article, etc). It can also begin from an offline experience but posted online by one of their public (i.e. customer review site, video, comment on social media site, etc)
Intelligent – Not only intelligent, but also responsible. Intelligent because you will have systems, tools and resources in place to measure, monitor and evaluate results (qualitative and quantitative) against business objectives. Always need the Return on Investment numbers. Responsible because you will be setting the company culture. You are saying that you are listening and showing you care by responding. Don’t let them down – Listen and Respond!