From the #socialstrategy Series | My personal experience in choosing social media channels in an enterprise setting (clearly biased towards customer service).

1. “HOW TO PICK SOCIAL MEDIA CHANNELS”
an enterprise perspective
#socialstrategy series | jeromepineau.com

2. 1. listen carefully
Are our customers already present on this
channel? Listen long and hard. To find out. If
not, we’ll spend a lot of time, energy, and
resources trying to lure them over to yet
another “community”.
“If you occupy it they will come” doesn’t work
in social media.
listen | learn |observe

3. 2. profile wisely
What kind of customer is prevalent on this
channel? Identify our segments. Analyze what
they’re doing there, what their expectations
are, what their pain points might be. Know
their behavior patterns on that channel before
we ever set foot in it.
We might have supporters, and we might
have detractors. Usually both. We better know
who’s who before showing up to the party.
know thy friend and foe even better

4. 3. do the value math
What specific unique value will we bring to
customers on this channel that they cannot or
will not find elsewhere?
what’s in it for them?

5. 4. size matters
Has the channel reached critical membership
mass? That’s in the hundreds of millions of
users these days.
How many active users per month do they
claim? What’s the growth pattern? Will this
channel be used to publish content? If so,
does it have enough “juice”?
critical mass is good

6. 5. global matters
Is the channel adequately represented in all
our markets and geos? What does its regional
segmentation look like culturally and
linguistically?
Do I need to reach BRIC markets? The usual
social vectors may not always be our best bet.
When and where should we go local instead?
think global

7. 6. competitors
Are competitors already present on the
channel? If so, how extensively? How much
engagement are they generating? Will our
presence yield a competitive advantage?
How about an intelligence gathering
opportunity? What are our competitors talking
about there? How do they behave?
match or surpass | observe

8. 7. shush, it’s private
Private customer conversations are part of
our engagement mix . Does the channel
support private streams?
If not, that could be a show stopper right off
the bat.
when privacy matters

9. 8. support candy
Does the channel offer any customer service-
specific features?
Hangouts. Screen sharing. Swarming
modalities. Chat?
leverage unique features

10. 9. external buzz
Will onboarding this channel offer us any
public PR opportunities? Is this something the
press would pick up on?
Either because it’s a new channel, or because
we’re doing something unique or different on
it? Or because no one ever dreamed our
brand would be on that channel?
Will you shock, surprise, or enchant?
look at my pretty channel!

11. 10. internal juice
Will adopting this channel offer my team any
internal promotional opportunities?
How about a chance to make colleagues’
lives easier. Or executives look good? Other
business units might already be on the
channel. Will this create a cooperative
opportunity?
Will you be loved, envied, or admired for
onboarding this new channel? How about
respected?
look at my profitable channel!

12. 11. standing out
As my old boss Jean-Claude Biver always
says, will our presence on this channel bring
something first, and/or unique, and/or different
to our customers?
If not, is it really worth the effort?
“Always be first, or unique, or different”

13. 12. metrics
Can I get good, frequent, convenient, and
reliable metrics from this channel?
don’t go flying without instruments

14. 13. push it baby
Does this channel support push-model
notifications to the folks who will manage it?
Can I integrate it in my existing engagement
platform?
How quickly will we be able to respond to
customers on it? Can out teams manage it
remotely from mobile devices?
real-time requires a little all push

15. 14. brand fit
Will this channel be a good corporate citizen?
Does it fit into the overall offering and existing
contact points for my brand?
Is it consistent with other occupied channels
in our portfolio? If not, is that an advantage or
a mistake?
if it doesn’t fit, you must rethink

16. 15. strategic fit
Will onboarding this channel contribute to
most, or better yet, all of your corporate
objectives?
Can we show how using metrics? (see #12)
please, do feed the goals

17. 16. exit strategy
If we decide to abandon the channel, or if the
channel disappears, will damage to the brand
ensue?
If so, is it manageable? What’s our exit
strategy?
in case of emergency, break glass

18. 17. mobile
Is the channel natively adapted to mobile
usage and devices? What’s the impact on
content and our publishing engine?
If not, do we really want to shut out mobile
users? Hint: no 
mobile is where the world lives