In my last post, I went on a bit of a rant about social media and how corporations need to start the shift from theory to execution. I also invited you to my Nov 6th chat where I'll be going into detail about this subject. But, here are some starting points for those who just can't wait (or can't make it to the chat on Tuesday). In my last post, I went on a bit of a rant about social media and how corporations need to start the shift from theory to execution. I also invited you to my Nov 6th chat where I’ll be going into detail about this subject.But, here are some starting points for those who just can’t wait (or can’t make it to the chat on Tuesday) and want an answer to the million-dollar question: How? How can an enterprise start to take action in re: social media?1) Get over it. If the powers that be want to try to use social media to control what’s said, get over it. If the corporate ego is easily bruised, now’s the time for extra thick skin. If you’re scared that someone, somewhere is going to say something damaging about your brand, realize they already are and instead focus on not just being a part of that conversation, but also facilitating it – and steering it (NOT controlling it). Maybe you’ll learn something new. Check the corporate ego, pride, fiefdoms, control tendencies and all other manner of enterprise baggage at the social media door. If this first critical step cannot be taken, stick to advertising strategies. 2) Pick your ‘poison’. What social media tool will the organization use? Will it launch a podcast or blog? An online community? Are you sure that the tool is the appropriate one for the organization’s needs?3) Develop your strategy. Anything worthwhile starts with some sort of plan. Get in touch with why the organization wants to do this. What are its goals, benchmarks and milestones? This is not a two-inch document, but rather a few bulleted items in a list format. Be sure to link your social media goals to the overall business goals so the enterprise trajectory is smooth.4) Develop your dream team. Who are the people you want on your ‘social media bus’? It doesn’t have to be everyone from IT (although one internal champion from IT is ideal); your team can include the hip, young intern in marketing. Who is going to man the fort? Which department(s) is/are the business owner? Whose responsibility is it to make sure comments, trackbacks and potential connection points are follow-up on and leveraged? How will partners and strategic alliances be folded into the mix? 5) Analyze and plan for risk. What is the worst case scenario and what will you do if that scenario is realized? Clearly differentiate between a crisis and a bad social media day (they happen). Who are the ‘first responders’ and what does the triage process look like? Now’s the time for phone and decision trees. How will the organization come back from derailing? In the words of Seth Godin, when will your stick and when will you quit?6) Analyze and plan for success. So many social media approaches don’t plan for success. What will you do if your corporate blog is the next best thing since Mark Cuban’s BlogMaverick? Will your infrastructure handle the tsunami of traffic? Can your service center handle an influx of calls and emails? How will you address media, reporters and analysts that will tug your team in 90 directions after a successful launch?7) Implementation. This is where the IT ambassador comes in handy. What kind of system resources is it going to take to pull this thing off? Will you need a dedicated server? Will you build your application from scratch or will you retrofit a shrink wrap application? What’s the TCO? 8) Marketing. You already know if you build it, they won’t come. So, how are you going to get people to join in your social media effort? What is the best way to identify key blogosphere influencers that might already have access to your market(s)? In which communities/listservs will you place ‘moles’? Once you identify them, how will you engage them to make your destination attractive to them? How will you increase the ‘shareability’ of your blog/podcast?9) Content. Wow, you simply CANNOT afford to mess up on this one. How often will you post? Who will post? What’s compelling? What’s old hat? What is the editorial calendar – what will you talk about when? How will you leverage and piggy back on existing/planned marketing campaigns while still providing quality information to your audience? If the organization is publicly traded, what *can* you say, what *can’t* you say? (Legal, anyone?) What are your Terms of Use?10) Measurements and metrics. What doesn’t get monitored gets forgotten. Period. Figure out ahead of time how you’re going to keep track of all the KPI’s. How will you monitor what’s being said about your brand/organization? How will general brand sentiment from the blogosphere be determined? How will you keep up with your Technorati ranking? NetPromoter? ComScore? This is by no means an exhaustive list of considerations, but once the enterprise is able to answer these questions, it’s well on its way to ACTION.What’s the saying? “Nothing moves unless something changes.” Yep. Technology Industry