Chris Barger, Social Media Strategist

On February 9 we held a webinar with Christopher Barger, author of The Social Media Strategist and the social media director who built successful programs at both GM and IBM. He shared his thoughts on building a social media practice within an organization with our community, and we’ve summarized his “Lucky Seven” essential elements of a social enterprise below.

“Lucky Seven” Essential Elements of a Social Organization

 1.     Executive Champion

To be effective in social media, every organization needs an internal advocate who can sell social media both up the chain (to the C-suite) and across the business to other teams. An Executive Champion possesses credible authority and serves as the connecting link between the social media strategy and greater business strategy. He or she can overcome internal hurdles, such as budget or resources, in order to move forward with social media endeavors.

 2.     Clear Lines of Authority

Who in the organization will “own” the social media cause? PR? Marketing? Customer Service? HR? No business strategy operates independently, so neither should your social media strategy. If you want to be effective in social, every piece of the business has to be involved. Each department’s role needs to be clearly defined so you know who decides whether Pinterest is a viable social media channel for the business, or how and when the Development and Legal teams should be involved in a Facebook campaign. Regular collaboration and communication across teams is vital.

3.     Social Media Evangelist

The Social Media Evangelist is the face of brand externally and the primary social media advocate and educator internally. The Evangelist is more than a community manager; he or she is a strategist who possesses business background and can determine the best application of social media to accomplish business goals. This person is actively involved in social networks, is not afraid to show some personality, and understands that they’re renting – not owning – the community they’re building. If the Evangelist leaves the company, the community stays behind. You don’t want to fill this role with someone who is overly focused on building his or her own personal brand.

Be sure to watch the webinar video recap for Barger’s discussion on Dealbreakers – the signals that indicate you’re applying for a job at the wrong organization or interviewing the wrong candidate for the social media evangelist position.

4.     Sensible Metrics and Measurement

You must define success before you start. Know your “zero point” by creating a benchmark or doing an audit before you begin your social media program. Try to avoid chasing numbers; they don’t always mean what you think they do. Exponentially increasing Facebook likes/fans does not mean you’ve increased customer loyalty. Furthermore, not all social media measurement tools are made equal, so pick the one that measures what you’re actually trying to accomplish. If you’re trying to increase message penetration, a tool that measures lead generation is not the tool you need.

5.     Partnership with Legal

The Legal department is not the enemy. Working with them is a must, as social media is becoming more regulated. You can’t just launch a campaign without TOCs and ask for forgiveness later. Like other departments, Legal has the company’s best interests in mind. Collaborate and help educate them on the social media space, and allow the lawyers to help draw the lines that could prevent a PR crisis.

6.     Solid Social Media Policy

A social media policy and a “usage” or “etiquette” guide are not the same thing. Have a policy in place to protect both the organization and all employees across teams. Sync the social media policy with existing business guidelines. Barger discusses eight common elements of an effective social media policy – including affiliation disclosure and privacy reminders – in the webinar video recap below.

7.     Education and Training

The more educated and empowered your employees are around social, the better prepared they’ll be to represent your brand and to avoid possible blunders. Educate employees by familiarizing them with social media tools, the social media policy and why and how the company is involved in social. Create an etiquette guide and provide resources for learning on your Intranet. Bring in outside speakers. Do internal lunch and learns. Send employees to conferences and events.

So there you have it – the “Lucky Seven.” Review the presentation or watch the video recap below for even more great advice from Christopher Barger.

See the presentation.

Play

View more PowerPoint from Christopher Barger

Which element(s) does your organization lack or struggle with? What was your favorite part of the webinar? Continue the discussion in the comments!

Note: If you participated in our book giveaway during the webinar, stay tuned right here on the blog. Soon we’ll announce who won a copy of The Social Media Strategist by providing the best answers to the question: What is the most effective measure of social media success or ROI and why? We’ll also be publishing the top ten responses.

Tags: christopher barger, organizational social media, Social Enterprise, social media education and training, social media evangelist, social media measurement, social media policy, Webinar