Social media exposes an organization to the community like never before. Assembling the team that drives this effort – and equipping it to be effective and successful – depends upon addressing a broad set of strategic needs with a staff who is well-prepared to sustain and nurture the effort.

Social media demands that while you adapt it to your company’s needs you stay true to the expectations that have evolved within the community. Staff the team proactively with thought for that social environment. Be prepared to listen actively and to engage authentically.

Here are some guidelines for staffing that will provide the team with the support and flexibility it needs to create a model that bridges your company’s voice and interests with the community’s needs and desires.

Establish clear goals for your social media business plan

Social media is no different than any other business project. Consider how it will further an organization’s goals and establish clear objectives for a social media initiative. Common objectives include: improving sales and marketing, facilitating customer service and support, connecting to the community through collaboration and crowdsourcing, and strengthening the brand. It will likely be some combination of these that guides a company’s first efforts in social media.

Match internal resources with your social media goals

Once goals are established for your social-media program, look to existing resources to implement the plan. The communications team is the natural place to start. This group is well versed in communicating the company narrative to the public. While social media uses a different set of tools, this team should be able to help establish a voice for a social-media program. At the same time, social media resonates with customers and the community because it removes the structured process of traditional corporate communications. To fully represent the company, establish a team that represents all its interests, including

• Sales and marketing
• Client/customer service
• Product and business development

While these three groups will be responsible for much of the content, brand management, experience design, IT, and legal and executive teams may all have a stake in the execution of a social-media initiative. Make sure all the relevant stakeholders are represented and engaged from the onset of the program.

Members within each department should be responsible for providing strategic input relevant to the program and their functions. Additionally, identify the levels of involvement in the social media initiative’s actual execution. At a high level, their responsibilities may include:

• Driving content creation in social media
• Development, implementation of or adherence to appropriate policies and procedures
• Community management within social media, moderating and administering social interactions
• Communication and education between the social-media team and functional departments
• Sharing best practices learned from social-media interactions with all departments in the company, both operationally and to improve products and services

Staff resources can be one of the biggest challenges to a successful social-media program. It is critical to assess each prospective team member’s capacity to make the necessary commitment. When evaluating prospective team members ask three essential questions:

1. Can they be dedicated to the social media effort?
2. Is their existing role flexible enough so they can make adjustments to meet shifting demands?
3. How will their involvement change as the project moves from initial planning phases to growth and maintenance? 

These questions focus on objective expectations concerning capabilities needed to provide a satisfactory experience for company and community alike. Other qualities to consider are specific to each individual’s ability to meet the demands of social media and fall into the category often considered “soft skills.” Assess the following when considering how to staff the social-media team, taking into account whether each individual will be in a community-facing or internal role:

• Diplomacy – Social media levels the communications playing field in significant ways. Most users expect a dialog, and certainly not the kind of single-direction broadcast common to corporate communications until now. The ability to establish rapport with others and set them at ease will be highly valuable in the dialogs engendered by the social community.
• Adaptability – Social media is a collection of frequently changing environments. Members of the social media team will benefit from an intrinsic ability to adapt to these shifting conditions, whether they are environmental, technical or tied to user-generated content and sentiment. In the compressed cycles of social media, the need for agility can be paramount, provided such speed does not lead to a fumble.
• Product & Process Knowledge – A clear understanding of the company’s products and services, as well as knowledge of how to navigate internal systems and protocols, is important. Everyone involved, whether interacting publicly or responding behind the scenes to issues that arise, should be broadly knowledgeable about the company’s products and procedures, and equipped to expedite matters outside their expertise areas.
• Finally, Social Media Skills are a clear baseline requirement. Ultimately these are abilities that can be trained through exposure to and practice with various social-media platforms.

It’s important to put the best foot forward when making any foray into social spaces, and those who have already spent time within these environments will have the benefit of experience to inform their interactions and improve the opportunity for success. Leverage those with greater experience to help train or guide those who are still developing it. Ultimately, each company’s social-media initiative will be unique to the culture, objectives and resources that it brings to bear. The skills and qualities outlined here are simply a blueprint to help position a corporation for success in its social endeavors -- then let the conversation begin.

This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it PMP, is a consultant with Slalom Consulting, Atlanta. Mr. Fitzgerald has more than 13 years of consulting experience, with a focus on delivering interactive solutions across industries, including Telecommunications, Financial Services, Automotive, Hospitality, High-Tech and Retail/CPG, to a wide range of Fortune 500 companies. He has a deep knowledge of social media strategy, interactive design and marketing, and program and project management. Most recently, Mr. Fitzgerald has provided strategy to a telecommunications firm in its launch of a social media-based customer care program. He is a certified Project Management Professional (PMP) with the Project Management Institute.