Page 364 - Social Media Marketing

chapter 12: SOCIAL APPLICATIONS ■Branded!

Interested in the application of social technology to retail business? Pick up a copy of Branded!
(Wiley, 2010) by Lori Shafer and Bernie Brennan. Branded! provides in-depth case studies of
Starbucks, Zappos, Wet Seal, Macy’s, 1-800-Flowers.com, JCPenney, Pizza Hut, and Best Buy. If
you’re all about retail, this book is all about you.

The Planning Process

The planning process leading to the successful deployment of a social application necessar-
ily begins with business objectives. Along with them, it defines acts in service of customer
and stakeholder behaviors. The planning process uses these same factors to shape the orga-
nizational preparations that precede the implementation of a social business effort.

Caveat: This book is focused on the application of social technologies in the
342 support of business objectives. As such, the viewpoint is decidedly “exter-

nal” to the firm or organization. Recognize that more advanced applications
of social technology in business will often require significant attention and
change with regard to internal processes that may exist. The short discus-
sions of “workplace collaboration” and references throughout the book to
Enterprise 2.0 and internal collaboration are intended to provide an entry
point for your further study of this critical aspect of social business.

This caveat is not as limiting as it may first seem: Beginning with social-media-based
marketing—the use of Twitter and Facebook as “outbound” channels for example, or the
implementation of a corporate blog and similar outreach activities—the required tools and
skills can all be managed to great effect solely within the marketing and communications
departments of nearly any organization. Social applications—and the collaborative pro-
cesses associated with the higher forms of engagement—require a more developed strategy
for customer involvement, and as a result an elevated response capability, and in general an
organization that is able to act holistically rather than along functional lines (aka, silos).

If This Seems Difficult…

…it’s because it is. Where creating and managing a basic social presence requires deciding how
and where you’ll participate, implementing social technology in your business can force efforts “up
to and including rebuilding your entire business.” Articulating perfectly why social technology is
becoming an imperative, Gartner’s Michael Maoz put it this way: “It is more difficult to build a busi-
ness case based on community participation, satisfaction, and loyalty metrics than on efficiency
metrics, but loyalty and satisfaction are what drive revenue growth.” For more from Gartner, see

http://www.gartner.com

or follow Gartner on Twitter (@gartner_inc).