I’ve been thinking about the “functions” of social media.
The concept of a function is a mathematical term
which expresses the intuitive idea that one quantity (the argument of
the function, also known as the input) completely determines another
quantity (the value, or output).
There are many ways to represent or visualize functions: a function
may be described by a description of its properties. Sometimes, a
function is described through its relationship to other functions.
The composite function is obtained by using the output of one
function as the input of another. This operation provides the theory of
functions with its most powerful structure. When we look at social
media as a series of function it is helpful to breakdown the related
functions in order to determine which specific functions creates the
highest value to the others.
4 Functions That Make Up The Whole
When we define social media as a “system of communications” then we must define the related functions in order to understand the entire system. We will provide an overview of the “systemic functions” of social media and in later post go into greater detail for each function.
- Administration: Organizational and employee profiles within relevant and relative social networks where your market is currently. Establishment of a social media policy, training and education for all employees on use of social media. Establishment of an organizational blog and integration of content within relevant communities. Market research to identify where your market (employees, buyers and suppliers) is participating
- Listening & Learning: Creation of a monitoring
system to “hear” what your market is discussing, what is relevant to
them and learning what topics pull interest. Understanding who are the
creators, observers, participants and their relative influences. Learning what, where, when, why and how your market behaves and what influences the behavior of the market. Understanding the strategies and tactics of your competition.
- Thinking & Planning: Based on what is learned from step 1 &2 what will
your organization do to create market differential, relationships,
relative and relevant content and what specific social technology will
be used to engage your market appropriately. How will you stay ahead of
the market and how will you communicate your intent to the marketplace.
How can social technology improve operational efficiency, market
relations and your presence in the markets you serve. This step is
never ending.
- Engagement & Measurement: Now that you’ve
completed 1 -3 and have the relevant knowledge and related data you
will begin to engage your market. Establishing effective measures is
critical to quantify whether the methods used, the content created and
the tools you are using are improving your position and your market
relations. This step is never ending.
Where Are The Results?
The proverbial never ending question about results. Notice each step
illustrated in the graphic above has a two way arrow indicating
feedback loops. Also notice that the diagram has two axis, time and
value. At the very top of the illustration the end is results. However
the results are not indicative of any one of th related steps rather
results indicate the sum of the whole. Thus, doing step one
and jumping to step 4 without doing steps 2 &3 will impact results.
Not doing each step continuously and correctly will impact your results.
Each step produces value to the preceding step and value is pasted
back to the previous step in the form of feedback data aimed at
improvement. Thus, unless you measure the qualitative issues that
create the qualitative impact you cannot change or produce the end
results effectively.
That being said which two functions create the most qualitative value that impacts the quantitative result?
It is the two strategic elements: Listening & Learning as well as Thinking & Planning. Now measure your ROI on those! Skip those two critical functions and you can’t improve or obtain any relevant results.