Social media is made up of a broad spectrum of related activities and online touch points (think Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn, to name a few). Forum One thinks of online community building as a discrete portion of that larger social media spectrum. Our unique approach to Online Community Strategy Development is based on over 15 years experience in creating collaborative experiences online. The development process has four key phases:
Phase 1. Definition Business Goals and Objectives
This first step establishes a baseline definition of the organization's goals and potential objectives for engaging in community building activities. These goals and objectives will serve as guidance throughout the project to ensure that the final strategy reflects a direction that creates value back to the organization. Themes and business goals for a community strategy will emerge.
Phase 2. Member Needs Analysis
This phase will establish a baseline for potential community member’s needs, as well as their expectations of your organization. This critical phase will also guide decision-making on the types of activities to engage in, and the approach -- offline, online, hosted or independent.
Phase 3. Community Ecosystem Audit
During this third phase, conducts an audit of the current community ecosystem, including customer, prospect, partner and competitor touch points. This information will help establish a baseline of market-oriented sites and activity, which will be important to understand the opportunities for new community activity by your organization.
Phase 4. Community Strategy Development
This final phase will combine the inputs of business goals, user needs and the existing community audit to form a community strategy. Evaluating member need and business goals side by side provides a direction on the types of community opportunities to engage in. The ecosystem audit will provide direction on what social media to participate in, and guidance on what types of activity for your organization to host. The comprehensive strategy deliverable includes:
- A review of business goals for engaging in community building activities
- A community member needs summary, based on member research
- Results and highlights of the community ecosystem audit
- A Community Architecture diagram, detailing key touch points in the social media ecosystem
- Recommended community tactics, detailing hosted community elements, as well as participation programs on key social media sites
- Metrics / ROI strategy recommendations
- Community deployment roadmap
For more information, please contact Bill Johnston.
