Select and Implement a Social Media Management Platform

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The proliferation of social media networks, customer data, and use cases has made ad hoc social media management challenging.
Many organizations struggle with shadow IT when it comes to technology enablement for social media; SMMP fragmentation leads to increased costs and no uniformity in enterprise social media management capabilities.

Our Advice

Critical Insight

SMMP selection must be driven by your overall customer experience management strategy; link your SMMP selection to your organization’s CXM framework.
Shadow IT will dominate if IT does not step in. Even more so than other areas, SMMP selection is rife with shadow IT.
Ensure strong points of integration between SMMP and other software such as CRM. SMMPs can contribute to a unified, 360-degree customer view.

Impact and Result

The value proposition of SMMPs revolves around enhancing the effectiveness and efficiency of social media. Using an SMMP to manage social media is considerably more cost effective than ad hoc (manual) management.
IT must partner with other departments (e.g. Marketing) to successfully evaluate, select, and implement an SMMP. Before selecting an SMMP, the organization must have a solid overall strategy for leveraging social media in place. If IT does not work as a trusted advisor to the business, shadow IT in social media management will be rampant.

Select and Implement a Social Media Management Platform Research & Tools

Start here – read the Executive Brief

Read our concise Executive Brief to find out why you should implement an SMMP, review Info-Tech’s methodology, and understand the four ways we can support you in completing this project.

Select and Implement a Social Media Management Platform – Executive Brief

1. Develop a technology enablement approach

Conduct a maturity assessment to determine whether a dedicated SMMP is right for your organization.

2. Select an SMMP

Use the Vendor Landscape findings and project guidance to develop requirements for your SMMP RFP, and evaluate and shortlist vendors based on your expressed requirements.

3. Review implementation considerations

Even a solution that is a perfect fit for an organization will fail to generate value if it is not properly implemented or measured. Conduct the necessary planning before implementing your SMMP.

Onsite Workshop: Select and Implement a Social Media Management Platform

Onsite workshops offer an easy way to accelerate your project. If you are unable to do the project yourself, and a Guided Implementation isn't enough, we offer low-cost onsite delivery of our project workshops. We take you through every phase of your project and ensure that you have a roadmap in place to complete your project successfully.

Module 1: Launch Your SMMP Selection Project

The Purpose

Discuss the general project overview for the SMMP selection.

Key Benefits Achieved

Determine your organization’s readiness for SMMP.

Activities

Outputs

1.1

Identify organizational fit for the technology.

Organizational maturity assessment

1.2

Evaluate social media opportunities within your organization.

1.3

Determine the best use-case scenario for your organization.

SMMP use-case fit assessment

Module 2: Plan Your Procurement and Implementation Process

The Purpose

Plan the procurement and implementation of the SMMP.

Key Benefits Achieved

Select an SMMP.
Review implementation considerations.

Activities

Outputs

2.1

Review use-case scenario results, identify use-case alignment

Vendor shortlist

2.2

Review the SMMP Vendor Landscape vendor profiles and performance.

SMMP RFP
Vendor evaluations

2.3

Create a custom vendor shortlist and investigate additional vendors for exploration in the marketplace.

Selection of an SMMP

2.4

Meet with the project manager to discuss results and action items.

Framework for SMMP deployment and integration

About Info-Tech

Info-Tech Research Group is the world’s fastest-growing information technology research and advisory company, proudly serving over 30,000 IT professionals.

We produce unbiased and highly relevant research to help CIOs and IT leaders make strategic, timely, and well-informed decisions. We partner closely with IT teams to provide everything they need, from actionable tools to analyst guidance, ensuring they deliver measurable results for their organizations.

What Is a Blueprint?

A blueprint is designed to be a roadmap, containing a methodology and the tools and templates you need to solve your IT problems.

Each blueprint can be accompanied by a Guided Implementation that provides you access to our world-class analysts to help you get through the project.

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Get the help you need in this 3-phase advisory process. You'll receive 8 touchpoints with our researchers, all included in your membership.

Guided Implementation #1 - Develop a technology enablement approach

Call #1 - Identify organizational fit for the technology.
Call #2 - Evaluate social media opportunities within your organization.
Call #3 - Evaluate which SMMP use-case scenario is best fit for your organization.

Guided Implementation #2 - Select an SMMP

Call #1 - Discuss the use-case fit assessment results and the Vendor Landscape.
Call #2 - Review contract.

Guided Implementation #3 - Review implementation considerations

Call #1 - Determine what is the right governance structure to overlook the SMMP implementation.
Call #2 - Identify the right deployment model for your organization.
Call #3 - Identify key performance indicators for business units using an SMMP.