Starting a social media team? Here are some high level thoughts that you should consider before you get started. This is not a comprehensive list and there are many specific details within each of these to consider.

(1) Get Support from Senior Management

Show senior management why social media is important. Bring case studies, research and most of all, a plan. The plan should include the high level strategy, tactical execution and metrics for success.  Also, ensure that you have buy in from other business units (i.e. legal, customer support, PR, privacy & security, product teams, etc.), as their support is key in any social media activation.

(2) Determine your social media objectives (talking, listening, energizing, supporting, embracing – from Forrester)

This will help determine what skill sets should be on the team; and show management that you have done adequate research. Besides, having a plan with specific objectives will help when it’s time to execute; and the tools you use will depend on what your objectives are.  Follow the Forrester POST Method; it’s awesome.

(3) Hire and recruit the right people

Here are some questions you should consider when looking for the right people to hire, whether external candidates or internal employees; (1) are they passionate about talking with customers?, (2) Do they understand how to use various social media tools?, (3) are they authentic/real (and down to earth also helps)? If they are not directly on a team and are volunteer(s), ensure that participation is part of their “official” job responsibilities and that they are held accountable <– this is a tough one. 

Of course, these are in addition to the standard interview questions a recruiter or hiring manager would ask.

(4) Decide what tools to invest in and use

There are many tools available in the marketplace. For blogs, there’s Wordpress, Expression Engine, Movable Type or custom solutions built with Joomla or Ruby on Rails. For communities, there is Jive, Leverage, Lithium, and Ramius to name a few.  Movable Type also has community features assuming you have the right software version.  Be sure to have IT involved in these discussions.  They will be a valued partner in activation.  If listening is an objective, you may want to look at software service providers like Radian6.

(5) Create a governance model

The governance model should outline and identify roles & responsibilities; and ownership of social media should be determined prior to execution of the plans/programs/campaigns.  This will alleviate any confusion up front.  Collaboration and communication is important and weekly or bi-weekly meetings should be managed.  Also, it would be wise to publish external social media guidelines.

One other thing to consider – does the target audience even participate in social media. If not, than you probably don’t need to spend a lot of time active in social media.  Hire a research firm could prove to be valuable (unless it’s obvious). 

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