The demand for tangible results and a strategic perspective increases while results become achievable with proper planning

1. Social Media Trends: How
Advanced Organizations
Achieve Success
The demand for tangible results and a strategic
perspective increases while results become
achievable with proper planning
January 2012
By David F. Giannetto
Senior Fellow, GSMI
CEO, The Telos Group
Includes survey data, interviews and in-depth analysis from 163
social media managers and their organizations, and analysis of trends from 2011.
Sponsored by
© 2012 GSMI 1

2. Table of Contents
Executive Summary....................................................................................................................................... 3
Methodology................................................................................................................................................. 4
Information Taxonomy ................................................................................................................................. 4
Section 1: Majority of Brands Fully Prepared to Broadcast Marketing Messages via Social Media ............ 6
Finding 1: Social Media Established under Marketing as a New Means to Broadcast Traditional
Marketing Messages ............................................................................................................................. 6
Finding 2: Adoption of Primary Social Media Technologies Not a Barrier to Progress ........................ 7
Finding 3: Social Media Managers Personalize Distributed Content with Little Oversight from
Executive Management ...................................................................................................................... 10
Finding 4: Little to No Documented Planning in Place........................................................................ 10
Section 2: Some Brands Employing Social Media within Discrete Business Functions .............................. 12
Finding 1: Social Media Established as a Free Standing Entity within the Organization .................... 12
Finding 2: Social Media Highly Integrate into Customer Interaction Oriented Business Functions ... 13
Finding 3: Little Formal, Documented Planning in Place .................................................................... 14
Finding 4: Legal and Human Resource Policy Designed to Allow Employee Participation Controlled
by the Office of Social Media .............................................................................................................. 15
Section 3: Select Brands Utilizing Social Media at the Enterprise-level as a Strategic Asset ..................... 17
Finding 1: Social Media Viewed as a Competitive Necessity by Senior Management ....................... 17
Finding 2: Social Media Policies, Procedures and Processes Designed to Encourage Employee
Participation ........................................................................................................................................ 18
Finding 3: Integration of Social Media into All Core Business Processes Planned ............................. 19
Finding 4: Brands Utilize Social Media Strategic Planning as a Means to Achieve Lower Total Cost of
Adoption ............................................................................................................................................. 20
Recommendations ...................................................................................................................................... 22
Conclusion ................................................................................................................................................... 23
About the Global Strategic Management Institute .................................................................................... 24
About the Author ........................................................................................................................................ 24
Contact Information.................................................................................................................................... 25
Permissions ................................................................................................................................................. 25
© 2012 GSMI 2

3. Executive Summary
There is a significant change occurring in the way organizations collectively view social media.
Previously, most organizations spent the majority of their effort and resources building a basic presence
on social sites, collecting fans and followers, distributing marketing content and overseeing the resulting
conversations. Within most organizations the efforts of employees responsible for social media focused
upon the tactical, day-to-day activities of these sites that are, to a large extent, the same as those
performed by individuals using social media for personal activities.
The collective view of management, that social media is an extension of marketing, re-enforced this
behavior. The often used label of “digital marketing” also infers that it is a subset of traditional
marketing, and relegates it to a new, if revolutionary, way to interact with customers and potential
customers.
Yet, social media increasingly forced management to realize that it is more than just a new way to
market, to win customers and improve brand exposure. Customers, seizing the new public voice given
to them by social media, began using these sites to demand better customer service when they were
mistreated, voiced their displeasure with products or service, and even sometimes demanded
organizations to act in a more responsible manner.
This forced a change in thinking.
Where social media was previously considered optional, it is now viewed as mandatory for any
organization seeking to compete at the top of its industry. It has gone from simply a cheaper and more
effective way to market, to an integral part of how customers are influenced to purchase and remain
loyal, influencing the design and improvement of products and even influencing executive decision-
making. Social media has worked its way into organizations to become an enterprise-level issue that
now often stands separate from marketing.
While the implementation of social media at the enterprise level remains challenging for most
organizations, there are a growing number that are figuring out how to do it, and how to use it to create
significant competitive advantage, differentiation and return on investment. This report shares key
characteristics of the most advanced organizations, comparing and contrasting them with what most
organizations are experiencing as they attempt to achieve success with their own initiatives.
© 2012 GSMI 3

4. Methodology
This report was generated using both qualitative and quantitative information, gathered using online
surveys, interviews, detailed analysis of select organizational documentation, briefings and in-depth
interviews and analysis with client organizations. Specifically:
 Online surveys of 163 social media or digital media managers responsible for the social media
initiatives within their organization conducted during the fourth quarter of 2011 and first
quarter of 2012. Respondents were solicited based upon their attendance at events in the areas
of social media and mobile marketing, their job title/positions being made available through
public information, or their relationship with GSMI or The Telos Group.
 46 interviews with respondents that held overall responsibility for the social media initiatives
within their organization conducted during the period of November 2011 and January 2012.
 Information made available to GSMI as a result of speaker, practitioner or vendor participation
in GSMI events during the second half of 2011. Information regarding these participants can be
found on the GSMI website: http://events.gsmiweb.com/events.php.
 Detailed analysis and in-depth discussions with clients of GSMI and/or The Telos Group.
Information Taxonomy
The information collected for this white paper was organized into a logical flow to benefit the reader. It
is organized so that each major section and the underlying findings build upon the section(s) and
finding(s) previous to it. This is done for two reasons:
 First, it aids the reader in understanding the characteristics of organizations that have achieved
similar levels of maturity in the usage of social media.
 Second, the information gathered for this report shows that as organizations mature in their
usage of social media they tend to follow a set pattern, with their maturity building upon what
they have previously accomplished. Therefore, a vast majority of organizations that have
achieved the usage of social media at the enterprise-level (a characteristic of mature or
advanced “social enterprises”) began their initiative as immature users of social media and did,
at one time in the past, display the characteristics described in the previous sections of this
report. In the achievement of this advance usage of social media they either continue to exhibit
the characteristics shown in the previous section when the characteristic is beneficial or have
evolved beyond these characteristics as they improved their program.
Brands that did not follow this logical progression are highlighted in section 3: Select Brands
Utilizing Social Media at the Enterprise-level as a Strategic Asset, Finding 4: Brands Utilize Social
Media Strategic Planning as a Means to Achieve Lower Total Cost of Adoption.
Based upon this approach, the information is organized to first reflect how the majority of brands are
utilizing social media (section one), then how fewer brands are utilizing social media in a more advanced
© 2012 GSMI 4

5. manner (section two), and finally how the most advanced users of social media are approaching its
usage (section three).
It is worth noting that throughout this report organizations are referred to as having more, or less,
mature social media initiatives. Most organizations begin a social media initiative with the intention of
having it mature and make greater contribution over time, yet some organizations reached a state of
maturity where their initiative would not be considered mature, but they choose not to develop it any
further. Although this is a small segment of the population, a lack of maturity can be intentional. The
reasons and/or impact of this choice are not analyzed within this report.
This survey only includes organizations that consider themselves as having established a formal social
media program, regardless of its maturity or effectiveness.
© 2012 GSMI 5

6. Section 1: Majority of Brands Fully Prepared to Broadcast Marketing
Messages via Social Media
A clear majority of those incorporated into this survey, 66% of the report
population, show characteristics that can be considered average for
organizations utilizing social media to connect with customers, potential
customers and influencers. These organizations show a high degree of
adoption, interaction and satisfaction with their usage of social media sites
such as Facebook, twitter and YouTube, with these sites primarily used by
marketing for outbound communications. The majority of
communications delivered via these sites supported what would be
considered the traditional marketing messages of each organization,
although the messages were typically parsed into smaller segments and
delivered with a more personal tone, as is typical of today’s social media communications.
Those responsible for these communications are typically found reporting to the organization’s
marketing department, with little formal interaction relative to social media occurring with other
departments throughout their organization. Social media continues to largely exist within a silo of those
passionately believing in its potential, with tacit support from management, and little formal,
documented policies, procedures and processes.
The research leads to five primary findings that characterize the majority of organizations participating
in social media today:
Finding 1: Social Media Established under Marketing as a New Means to Broadcast
Traditional Marketing Messages
Organizations in the early stages of adopting social media, or those that have not progressed to mature
initiatives, primarily utilize social media as a means to communicate their organization’s traditional
marketing messages to this new, wider audience. Therefore, social media activities are typically viewed
as a sub-set of the traditional marketing department (sometimes called digital marketing). The social
media efforts of practitioners within these organizations are often restricted by this narrow view of
social media. The integration of their initiatives into business functions outside of marketing is further
complicated by a general lack of understanding of, and often respect for, social media’s impact on
broader business functions, strategic objectives and the customer relationship, by those outside of the
marketing department (and in some cases also within it).
More specifically, senior management’s lack of support to promote social media at the enterprise-level
limits social media to this marketing role, with the tasks of social media restricted to those activities
closely related to the requirements of sites such as Facebook, twitter, and YouTube. One exception to
this trend is the interaction of social media with customer service. Consumers have become
accustomed to voicing unresolved complaints via social media since its public nature makes resolution
more likely when they have exhausted traditional avenues.
© 2012 GSMI 6

7. Finding 2: Adoption of Primary Social Media Technologies Not a Barrier to Progress
Nearly all organizations in the survey began their social media initiative by first creating a presence upon
leading social media websites (typically 2 to 3 sites at one time). This was primarily done for two
reasons. First, and most obviously, an organization cannot engage with customers, potential customers
or influencers if the mechanics to engage are not first in place to do so. Second, there was no direction
from management on actions that should occur prior to establishing a presence on these sites.
© 2012 GSMI 7

8. This second reason is important because it shows that social media technology is not being applied in
the traditional manner. Traditionally, technology (especially technologies with a diverse ability to
interact with users via various connection points and styles as is the case with social media – Facebook,
twitter, YouTube, blogs, etc.) is implemented by first creating a set of user or functional requirements.
These requirements take into account the objectives of the organization and then look at the various
possible applications or configurations of technologies before moving into implementation. This is not
being done with social media. Little thought is given to which technology is most applicable to an
organization’s goals prior to creating a presence. In some part this can be attributed to the high
percentage of market share by leading applications along with the organization’s lack of ability to
customize each application in use, however, when viewed as a suite of products, organizations do have
the ability to customize the type of interaction people have with their brand. To-date there has been
little impact because of this approach, although it is likely this will affect social media initiatives as they
mature, especially unsuccessful initiatives (see recommendations). This approach will also have a
greater impact on how successfully organizations will utilize technology that supports social media, such
as analytical tools, than it has on internet websites.
It should be noted that there are cases where blogging or engagement on technically-oriented message
boards actually begins prior to the establishment of a social media effort within an organization, but
these efforts are largely independent and unconnected to any formal effort to utilize social media to the
organization’s overall benefit.
© 2012 GSMI 8

9. © 2012 GSMI 9

10. Finding 3: Social Media Managers Personalize Distributed Content with Little
Oversight from Executive Management
Nearly all content distributed via social media is created outside the marketing/social media department
and personalized for social media by an analyst or coordinator level employee. While over 50% of these
social media analysts report to a manager, within this group of companies that manager is typically not
as familiar with social media as the analyst. This, combined with the high transactional rate of social
media, does not allow for direct supervision of each posting or the majority of work done on social
media sites by the analyst. During interviews, most employees responsible for social media updates
reported that their supervisor or manager did not review company social media sites even on an
infrequent, cursory basis, providing little to no guidance on what should be posted.
This management approach allows the employee updating social media sites the freedom to personalize
messages and update sites, thereby creating the market message of the organization, with a freedom
largely unknown by this level of employee within traditional marketing departments, and, most likely,
within nearly any functional area of the organization. As the organization’s social media initiative gains
traction within the market, especially for those who are most successful, this analyst potentially touch
more people relative to the brand than any other single employee or marketing effort within the
organization.
It should also be noted that during interviews, social media coordinators/analysts with this level of
freedom cited this freedom as the most rewarding aspect of their job and ‘freedom to connect with
customers’ as the single biggest reason for not wanting to return to a traditional marketing department.
Finding 4: Little to No Documented Planning in Place
As would be expected within this group of companies there is little to no documentation of policies,
procedures or process relative to social media within the organization. Most documentation found
within these organizations is created by the legal, human resources or risk management departments.
These organizations show a much greater ability to put policies in place when the documentation
process is managed by these other departments. While there is no quantitative data that defines the
“openness” of such policies, interviewees typically expressed that policies drafted by legal and human
© 2012 GSMI 10

11. resources are not aligned with the long-term goals of their initiative, with the limiting of employee
involvement their primary concern.
© 2012 GSMI 11

12. Section 2: Some Brands Employing Social Media within Discrete Business
Functions
23% of organizations incorporated into this report display characteristics
that move their initiative beyond the initial actions associated with the
initial stages of a social media initiative. These include the realization that
to be effective using social media to drive business performance requires
dedicated resources and a separate skill set than those found amongst
traditional marketers (although social media professionals often begin in
marketing). With this dedicated resource the organization begins to
incorporate social media into its existing processes, policies and
procedures, although control of these activities remains within the
traditional business department they would typically be found within (i.e.
legal creates social media policy with advice from the social media department, human resources
creates procedures for education and training, etc.).
Dedicated social media professionals begin integrating their initiative into the organization starting with
the most customer oriented processes first, with customer service being the most prominent starting
place. The majority of communication remains marketing-oriented, however the dedicated social media
resources will respond proactively to customer complaints, and while not able to solve them directly,
will attempt to resolve issues via information delivery or prompting customer service or sales
department activity. The majority of these efforts are manual and time consuming, with little formal,
documented processes in place.
At this stage of development, social media professionals are not modifying or improving core business
processes. They are interacting with other departments throughout the organization based upon the
processes, policies and procedures of each department.
The primary characteristics of organizations at this stage of development are as follows:
Finding 1: Social Media Established as a Free Standing Entity within the Organization
Amongst interviews conducted with respondents, many cited the creation of a formal social media
department (often called digital marketing and typically reporting to the VP of Marketing) as the point at
which their initiative began to be taken seriously within the organization, and the point at which they
would consider “real progress” was made.
When organizations within this group are looked at specifically, the reporting structure of social media
reflects the greater importance placed upon social media. Analysts and coordinators responsible for the
day-to-day activities of social media typically report to a mid-level manager. It is not unusual to find that
these employees also have other job responsibilities outside of social media, but as the social initiative
of the organization grows full-time employees entirely dedicated to social media develop as would be
expected.
© 2012 GSMI 12

13. Organizations with dedicated social media group typically still treat this group as a subset of the
marketing department, but the formal role and position of the social media manager provides access to
organizational resources that they would not otherwise have access to.
Finding 2: Social Media Highly Integrate into Customer Interaction Oriented
Business Functions
Social media in its early stages of adoption focus almost exclusively upon pushing marketing messages
out to customers and potential customers (other sub-groups within the fan base will also receive these
messages but they are not being directly targeted with non-marketing messages by the organization as
they are by more mature applications of social media). Once an organization has established a presence
on social media other conversations typically begin that separate into product/brand advocacy, social
responsibility if applicable and organizational performance. The greater the organization’s social media
presence, the greater the likelihood that these other areas of conversation will grow. As the social
media presence grows, conversations relative to organizational performance inevitably pull the
organization away from pure marketing, towards the traditional roles of customer service and sales or
sales support (depending upon the business model/product mix). This result is a by-product of a
maturing social media initiative.
These trends highlight the larger influence social media is having upon the customer-corporate
relationship. Customers are aware that they have a louder voice on social media sites than they do
through traditional customer service channels because there is a third party watching the transaction
about which the organization cares. This is forcing organizations to create and employ new customer
service processes highly integrated with the office of social media.
In the worst cases, cases that often receive the highest publicity, NGOs are utilizing this public platform
to target brands in an effort to change company policies, practices or objectives. The practice of simply
deleting negative comments often utilized by immature organizations is becoming increasingly less
tolerated.
© 2012 GSMI 13

14. (Total report population)
Finding 3: Little Formal, Documented Planning in Place
Although few organizations at any level of maturity responded that they believe they had adequate
documentation for any social media policy, process or procedure within their organization, including
both crisis management and employee usage, more advanced organizations typically have policies in
place to control: employees acting as company representatives via social media, employee usage
including mobile devices, crisis management, and training and certification.
Follow-up was conducted with 61% of the respondents that stated they had an enterprise-level social
media strategy in place (54% of total respondents). Of this 61% less than 32% stated that the goals and
approach of their initiative were documented, with the remaining 68% stating that higher-level
documentation relative to their initiative was in draft form or incomplete. This further clarification
reinforces that organizations continue to have difficulty adequately documenting and communicating
the goals and approach of their initiative to their larger organization. During follow-up discussions, a
clear majority of interviewees stated that a goal for the upcoming year was to properly document the
goals, processes, policies and procedures of their initiative.
Only amongst organizations categorized in section three, finding 4 did formal planning documents
relative to a strategic application of social media exist in a state that would easily allow the goals and
objectives of the organization’s social media initiative to be easy communicated.
© 2012 GSMI 14

15. Finding 4: Legal and Human Resource Policy Designed to Allow Employee
Participation Controlled by the Office of Social Media
Perhaps because of the formal role and responsibility created by more advanced organizations, the
responsibility to create policies and procedures shifts from the traditional departments to the office of
social media within this group of organizations. The process to create these policies and procedures
becomes more interactive, holistic and inclusive. For all intensive purposes these documents are jointly
created.
Follow-up interviews conducted with these organizations revealed a higher degree of confidence by the
responsible manager that the policies jointly created more accurately reflected the level of openness
that the organization is striving for. While the social media manager often expressed dissatisfaction
with the final degree of openness adopted by senior management, they also expressed that the
organization is probably not ready for a greater degree of openness. Social media managers also
expressed that these policies give them the freedom necessary to selectively include specific employees
from other departments in their social media activities as necessary.
Along with the generally expressed opinion that social media is not adequately documented, social
media manager also expressed that previously created policies and procedures quickly become
outdated and need to be revised. This reflects the rapidly changing attitude of management towards
the role social media has upon the success of their organization, along with the realization that social
media is a new, mandatory business function, and no longer optional.
© 2012 GSMI 15

16. © 2012 GSMI 16

17. Section 3: Select Brands Utilizing Social Media at the Enterprise-level as
a Strategic Asset
The most advanced organizations currently utilizing social media, 11% of
the report population, are characterized by a dedicated staff, recognition
of the need to develop their internal social media skill set, significant
support from senior management and a focused effort to integrate social
media into as many business functions as possible while developing a
formal, strategic approach for their initiative.
These organizations have adopted the mindset that from a strategic
perspective social media builds upon the current value proposition of the
organization, helping achieve objectives more effectively, while connecting
with customers in more creative ways. The process used by these organizations takes a more creative
approach than traditional strategic planning and attempts to views the organization through a new
“social lens,” attempting to change the organization itself, utilizing social media as a true competitive
differentiator. These organizations also focus significant effort to determine how their social media
initiative will create a return on investment (as they would with any other strategic initiative).
Select organizations within this section focused efforts and resources to develop a social media strategic
plan as early in their initiative as possible, thereby moving from the characteristics describe in section 1
of this report to section 3 of this report with minimal time and cost (from initial stages to mature).
Primary characteristics associated with advanced practitioners of social media lead to these finding:
Finding 1: Social Media Viewed as a Competitive Necessity by Senior Management
All organizations within this category share significant support from senior management, with social
media reporting to either a senior manager or executive. In some cases the most senior person is still
the VP of Marketing, but in others it is a separate VP-level position (varies by organization). Within
these organizations the “mindset” of the management team towards social media is significantly
different than within organizations with less mature programs.
During interviews, respondents within this category expressed senior management’s views on social
media’s role in the organization as complimentary to their traditional efforts or functional areas, as
integral to their future success as an organization and an important enabler of success in the
achievement of most of the organization’s strategic objectives.
While social media is still largely viewed as primarily a marketing function, the focus shifts away from
outward broadcasting of marketing messages to interacting with customers, potential customers and
people of influence. Social media is viewed as a better, more intimate means of communicating with
the customer, both to expose the audience to what is considered the organization’s value proposition
and to solicit their feedback.
© 2012 GSMI 17

18. This feedback, which could range from customer service issues to product improvements, is then
brought back into the organization and used as a previously unavailable data point with which to
improve process, products and messaging. As a by-product of this interaction, the office of social media
takes on an increased role of collecting and distributing information relative to customer feedback.
Finding 2: Social Media Policies, Procedures and Processes Designed to Encourage
Employee Participation
Organizations within this section also moved from centralized interaction with their audience via social
media (as is typical in the previous two sections) to decentralized communication – what would often be
called a hub and spoke model. The office of social media still maintains control over policy, procedure
and all marketing oriented content, but other areas of the organizations are free to interact through
social media with their own view and content without direct oversight or filtering of posts (although
monitoring is typically conducted by the office of social media).
The activity of other employees interacting with audiences without direct supervision or filtering by the
office of social media in and of itself does not place an organization in this section. Some organizations
with less mature programs do have individuals or departments throughout the organization
participating on social media websites. For example, it is common in many organizations to have
technical employees (engineers, product developers or managers, etc.) participating on technical
message boards and blogs completely independent of other social media efforts and often without
policies or procedures in place. However, organizations in this section consciously choose to give
employees in various categories or departments the freedom to interact with customers via social media
in order to create and maintain the desired connection.
This approach is supported by organizational policy jointly drafted by the office of social media and
departments such as legal and human resources. This policy includes usage, representation and other
issues addressed by most organizations, but are also characterized by an initial certification program and
on-going retraining of participants. Social media analysts within these organizations also expressed an
increasingly better relationship with employees from these other departments.
© 2012 GSMI 18

19. Finding 3: Integration of Social Media into All Core Business Processes Planned
Organizations within the population of this report consistently work to integrate social media with the
processes that are most customer-oriented within their organization (typically customer service and
sales but can vary into other, often unexpected areas, by business model). In some cases this is out of
necessity, while for others it is a conscious choice. For organizations in section 1 or 2 of this report, the
integration of social media into the organization rarely moves beyond these areas and is often informal.
Organizations within this section make a conscious choice to integrate social media into as many
different areas of their organization as possible. The progression or participation of departments in
social media typically follows the degree of interaction each department has with customers. However,
within these organizations some areas, such as research and development, which traditionally have little
or no customer interaction, begin to interact with customers via social media.
The primary purpose of this interaction moves beyond customer or potential customer attachment or
engagement to impact process improvement or product development.
© 2012 GSMI 19

20. Finding 4: Brands Utilize Social Media Strategic Planning as a Means to Achieve
Lower Total Cost of Adoption
A small percentage of brands (4.9% of
the total population; 44% of
organizations in this section) adopted
a formal, strategic approach to
defining their social media initiative.
These organizations typically began
using this approach after establishing
a presence on leading social websites
(Facebook, twitter and YouTube;
typically in that order). Their intent, at a high-level, was to move their organization from section 1 to
section 3 of this report with as little cost and effort as possible. This is generally considered a ‘strategic’
approach to initiative planning and implementation.
Those who utilized this approach attributed the organization’s commitment to social media and this
approach as being influenced by: (1) a belief that while social media is still in the early stages of
adoption it is, over time, becoming mandatory for nearly all organizations (without regard to general
industry standards of customer interactions); (2) an acceptance that social media requires a special skill
set that was not initially available internally if it was to be employed at a mature level; (3) a
© 2012 GSMI 20

21. management culture that embraces change and believes that their organization was or should be
“progressive” (without regard to the industry stereotype of progressive/non-progressive and sometimes
without regard to the organizations standard approach to business); and (4) previous success using a
strategic approach, or failure created by not using this approach, on other initiatives. Approximately
two-thirds of those organizations utilizing this approach required outside assistance; approximately one-
third employed a new senior level person to lead this initiative.
© 2012 GSMI 21

22. Recommendations
While it is still too early to create what may be considered “best practices” for the implementation of
social media into the enterprise in any deep, meaningful way, there are clearly actions that can make an
organization more successful. The following recommendations are based upon the information
presented within this report:
 Accept that social media has the ability to impact the success of the entire organization. The
most successful organizations are those that adopt a broad definition of social media and
attempt to understand its ability to impact their strategic success. They follow a process to
understand and develop the connection that social media can create between the customer and
each functional area of their organization. They then use each of these connections in diverse
ways to expose their customers, potential customers, and influencers within their industry, to
the underlying, and long-established, value proposition of their brand, product and service.
 Develop social media skills separate from traditional marketing. During the early phases of a
social media initiative organizations often believe that marketing experience can directly
translate to these new mediums. It often isn’t until they struggle to gain fans and followers that
they accept that to run a successful initiative they must invest significant training in current
employees, hire new staff, or seek outside assistance. Nearly every organization successfully
using social media to drive its performance has established clear responsibility for it within their
organization. Accepting, planning for and creating this separate internal resource as early as
possible will reduce long-term costs.
 Prepare for more consumers utilizing social sites to resolve complaints. Like it or not
customers understand that via social media they can often get a significantly better resolution
than through traditional customer service (especially after their initial issue was not properly
handled). Organizations should focus on creating a formal connection between social media
and their customer service and sales departments to deal with the greater number of customer
inquiries and complaints that will be voiced via social media. This not only reduces negative
conversations, but also when handled properly, provides significant positive conversations.
 Develop personal connections for early success. For all but the most advanced organizations,
social media practitioners must interact with managers throughout the organization from a
position of little power. Therefore, success in these environments is often achieved based upon
the ability of the social media analyst to create and build relationships with key influencers in
each critical area. For example, social media analysts who expressed less frustration at their
ability to solve problems typically worked outside of formal communication channels using a
personal connection with someone in the necessary department. While this is far from optimal,
social media analysts who focus on creating these personal connections are more likely to be
successful.
 Intentionally select the platforms you will most often use. Most organizations begin their
initiative by creating a presence on every leading social media site and quickly find that they
cannot consistently deliver content via all of these sites and adequately follow-up on brand
mentions. To combat this, organizations should integrate content across sites where possible,
© 2012 GSMI 22

23. and if necessary intentionally select which sites and platforms are most appropriate for their
brand (i.e. twitter versus YouTube). While it is good planning to secure your name or page on all
leading platforms, it is not necessary to maintain an active presence on all platforms. Direct
visitors to the platforms you are most active on and focus available time and effort on creating
one primary and highly active community.
 Accept that despite the short duration of transactions, social media is not a short-term
initiative. Social media is often deceptive to those who are not intimately involved with it. The
lifespan of an average post is rapidly decreasing while at the same time the need for greater
frequency of posts is increasing. This often leads to a tactical and short-term approach to asset
allocation and investment, and a shorter planning horizon. However, organizations in the most
mature section of this report all, either intentionally or by requirement, created a long-term
vision of the role of social media within their organization before their initiative showed real
success. Those organizations that showed the highest ROI for their initiative adopted a formal
planning process for their social media initiative, as is typically done for all major initiatives the
organization undertakes. When possible this approach should be taken by every organization.
 Begin long-term planning for an ROI now. To date, senior executives have largely funded social
media initiatives based upon the belief that at least a basic presence must be established to
remain competitive. Initial staffing levels for these initiatives are low and early adoption
technology is often free. However, once an organization finds success, their initiative quickly
becomes uncontrollable with resources and larger expenditures are required. This, combined
with the overall increasing maturity of social media, is causing senior management to ask with
increasing frequency how these initiatives lead to a traditional return-on-investment. Social
media leaders should begin planning now for these questions since an overarching theme is that
these questions are inevitable.
Conclusion
The shift of social media from primarily a marketing tool to an enterprise-level initiative impacting
nearly every aspect of an organization was not unexpected; it follows a natural progression that has
been the case with every major change in business. Yet, for most organizations this change was
unanticipated, and the majority now find themselves seeking answers on how to catch up to those who
adopted a strategic perspective much earlier. What has been less expected and anticipated was the
significance of the impact social media has had on the customer-corporate relationship, and the ever-
expanding influence of non-customers upon this relationship.
Undoubtedly more significant and potentially unexpected changes driven by social media are imminent.
Those organizations which fall into the most advanced category of this report may be in no better
position to anticipate what these changes will be, but they are most certainly in a better position to deal
with the impact and seize the opportunities these changes will create.
© 2012 GSMI 23

24. About the Global Strategic Management Institute
GSMI is a leader in the industry of executive education,
creating conferences, summits, workshops and training
sessions that combine rich learning environments with the
opportunity to network with today’s most relevant thought-
leaders, speakers and practitioners. GSMI’s annual events have reached 70% of the Fortune 500, in over
30 countries, and cover topics that today’s leaders find most challenging and inspiring.
About the Author
David F. Giannetto, CEO of the Telos Group and Senior Fellow
with GSMI, is co-Author and creator of The Performance Power
Grid, today's leading performance-oriented methodology and the
nationally recognized book of the same name. He has been listed
as a thought-leader by Business Finance Magazine and is widely
acknowledged as one of today’s most experienced practitioners
working to assist organizations in overcoming challenges
affecting performance at the enterprise-level – strategic
execution, social media, operational and financial performance
management, risk management and business intelligence. He
uses this experience to lead GSMI’s SocialAxcess25 Executive
Working Group – a peer-to-peer environment for senior social
media professionals focused upon integrating social media into
each organization to drive performance, achieve strategic objectives, create competitive advantage and
differentiation, and improve the customer experience. This experience, his work with fortune 2000
clients and his extensive experience as a writer and keynote speaker, has led to his recognition as one of
today's leading business theorists. His client list includes: award-winning initiative at FujiFilm USA and
Seattle City Light, as well as the United Nations Secretariat, the UN Joint Staff Pension Fund, FujiFilm
USA, JPMorgan, Black & Decker, Kelly Services, Mediacom Communications, WHX Handy & Harmon,
Seattle City Light and Public Utilities, BlueCross BlueShield in 6 states, Roche, Schering-Plough,
Regeneron Pharmaceuticals, American Express, Scholastic books, Engelhard Chemical, Men’s
Warehouse, Huntington Learning Center and others. David is a Chairman of the Board for the Spina
Bifida Resource Network, a former Rutgers University MBA Professor and a former US Army officer.
© 2012 GSMI 24

25. Contact Information
Global Strategic Management Institute David F. Giannetto
San Diego, California The Telos Group
info@GSMIweb.com 20 Valley View Drive
888.409.4418 Basking Ridge, New Jersey 07920
www.GSMIweb.com DGiannetto@TelosConsulting.com
Twitter: GSMIonline 908.797.9306
www.TelosConsulting.com
Twitter: @dgiannetto
LinkedIn: dgiannetto
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© 2012 GSMI 25