Developing a Social Strategy: Research Project Open for Participation

note: this is cross-posted from the Online Community Report blog.

The next Online Community Research Network project is open for participation. In January, OCRN members discussed and prioritized a long list of topics, and the issue that made top of the list was “Developing Social a Strategy”.

The OCRN chose to study how social media strategy is developed, communicated and implemented because, frankly, so many organizations are actively struggling with the topic. We hope that by getting real-world feedback, advice and experiences from practitioners (read: the folks ACTUALLY doing the work), we can all gain insight in to this important topic.

If you are involved in the development of your organizations Social Media and Community strategy, I would encourage you to participate in a short survey here:

http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/ocr_socstrat

The topics we are exploring in this project include:

• The definition of social media strategy;
• The current scope of community and social media efforts;
• The current state of strategy development;
• The process organizations are using to develop strategy;
• Ownership and governance of social strategy;
• The biggest challenges that executives and teams are facing

I would ask that you please complete the survey by next <strong>Friday, 3/12</strong>. All participants will get a copy of the results.

The tag for this research project is: #socstrat

My SxSWi 2010 Panels – Please Vote (Because My Mom Can’t)

Please Vote!

It is that time of year again… SxSW Panel Picking!!!

I have two proposals this year, and I would appreciate your support for either or both.

Panel #1:

What community and social media metrics are organizations tracking?

Bill Johnston, Chief Community Officer for Forum One (that’s me), will present and then lead a discussion about best practices with community & social media metrics and reporting, based on 4 years of ongoing research and data from thousands of participants on the topic. This session will dive deep into the topic of online community and social media metrics and reporting to explore:
• The role of community strategy in shaping reports
• Specific data sets that should be included in community and social media reports
• The limitations of native community and social media platform reporting
• Report design, distribution and frequency
• Stakeholder satisfaction with current community and social media reports

And Panel #2:

Where the Hell Are We In the Evolution of the Social Web?

Social media practice and implementation is a dynamic and volatile subject that effects all functions in a company from the obvious (product, support, marketing) to the not so obvious (hr, operations). Hear from 5 seasoned social media practitioners (plus YOU!) about where we are on “the map” of social media adoption and practice, and where we are headed. The mood will be lively, the panel bright eyed and prepared, and the audience smart (and involved).
Questions Answered:
1. Where are organizations on the social media adoption curve?
2. What departments should be involved with online communtiies?
3. What online community and social media metrics are organizations tracking?
4. What is the level of satisfaction with community and social media efforts by stakeholders?
5. Is ROI important?
6. How is the “static” organization web site being impacted by social?
7. How will online presences evolve?
8. What role will employees play in expression of brand online?
9. What’s on the horizon for online presence?

Check out this panel of Awesomeness! I’ll be joined by:
Aaron Strout – Powered
Jake McKee – Ant’s Eye View
Shawn Morton – Nationwide
Sean O’Driscoll – Ant’s Eye View

Are you going to SxSWi?

I’m slightly embarrassed to admit it, but I’ve never been to SxSWi.

I’m planning on fixing that this year. Are you going? If so, I would love to connect!

Contact info:

Cell: 415.299.9638
Twitter: @billjohnston

A few posts I’ve found helpful in planning my trip:

SXSW Survival: 2009 Edition – Community Guy
SXSW ’09: Updates – Being Peter Kim
Razorfish SXSW Guide – Razorfish (AWESOME + optimized for mobile)