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Situational Analysis for Social Media

Guest post by: Scott Van Wagner

Article Overview: This article proposes a model for situational analysis for social media strategic planning

Situational Analysis for Social Media

In a previous post I had laid out a proposed approach for strategic planning as it relates to social media. Contained within that proposal was the act of listening as what amounted to a tool for undertaking situational analysis for social media strategic planning. Upon further reflection, however, it occurs to me that utilizing listening as the sole means of conducting a situational analysis for social media strategic planning is too simplistic.

In an effort to introduce a more rigorous process for conducting a social media situational analysis I am proposing the adoption of the model depicted in the attached image. I would also like to acknowledge an excellent article by Dr. Brian Smith "Hidden Strengths - The Proper Use of SWOT Analysis" from which the structure for my use of the SWOT model for social media draws much.

At the core of this further attempt to conduct a situational analysis for social media strategic planning is the traditional SWOT analysis. By incorporating the SWOT model and adapting it for social media we are seeking to leverage the accepted validity of the model.

To begin our situational analysis for social media we again begin by listening. Listening serves as our market research with respect to the volume, tone, location, and content of the discussions taking place in social media settings. What we seek to gain from our listening activities is insight with respect to the planning aspects for the firm related to social media, as follows:

Talent:

Based upon our listening activities what skills will be required to participate in social media? We need to consider the talent required with respect to technology, content knowledge, and communication skills. If we do not have the appropriate skill sets in house we will be severely restricted in terms of our ability to participate in the social media realm.

Time:

We need to gain insight into the amount of time that will be required to devote to our social media efforts. Key to this consideration is the impact in other areas of the business as time is shifted to social media activities. Listening also allows us to obtain some measure for the timeframe which we facing in terms of becoming engaged in social media.

Tone:

Is the conversation taking place regarding the firm and its brand positive or negative? Indications of a negative bent to the present discussions has implications in terms of the speed of reaction required and the nature of the response.

Tools:

With what social media tools are the discussions taking place? It would be rather difficult to engage with the conversations taking place in the social media realm if we did not know where they were located. The social media tools being used to facilitate the conversations matters as it potentially affects the skills required to engage, the speed with which your efforts mat be deployed, and the costs of doing so.

Capital:

By listening we are able to discern the scope of the online discussion thereby providing an indication as to the time, effort, and hence cost, required to become engaged. There is an obvious cost associated with the time spent by employees training for and participating in social media that must be considered - this is the human capital part of the cost equation. Additionally we must also consider the cost involved in acquiring the appropriate tools to participate in the conversations.

Content:

So what are people talking about? Do we have the in house knowledge to be able to participate regarding the topics being discussed? Having a good understanding as to the location, scope, tone, and costs of the online discussions is only helpful if you are able to respond to the dialogue in a meaningful way.

With an understanding as to the social media planning elements established it is now time to consider applying a SWOT analysis to them to determine our status with respect to them.

SWOT analysis for social media looks at the planning elements we have just reviewed and considers our position with respect to them based upon the information gleaned from our listening efforts. In Figure 1 I have shown a completed SWOT analysis focusing on the planning elements. What is key here is to take the SWOT analysis beyond simply identifying potential SWOT strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats. The first step towards doing so is to consider for each item identified whether or not it is truly valid.

Analyzing our potential SWOT components for validity may be done in each case by applying the four tests indicated on the right hand side of Figure 1. A brief overview of the tests follows:

Testing for Strengths with the VRIO test:



Valuable

It is only a strength if it is of some value to either the firm or the customer

Rare

It is not a strength if everybody shares it. To be a strength it must be something unique to the firm

Imitable

It is only a strength if it cannot be knocked off easily. Possessing a unique capability that everyone can copy fails the test.

Operational

It is not a strength if you cannot act upon it.

Testing For Weaknesses with the MUDD test:



Meaningful

To be a weaknesses it must matter. If you are weak in an area which is of no consequence it is not a weakness.

Uncommon

In order to be considered a weakness it must be particular to you. If all competitors share the same weakness it is not a weakness.

Difficult

It is not a weakness if it can be readily overcome.

Uncompensated

In order for something to be considered a weakness it must not be able to be offset by another factor.

Testing for Opportunities with the CLAC test:



Complimentary

To be considered an opportunity it must not be counter productive to another, perhaps more optimal, opportunity.

Large

If it is too small to be considered significant it is not a real opportunity.

Accessible

In order for something to be considered an opportunity you must be able capitalize on it.

Lasting

For something to be considered an opportunity it must have lasting impact and not be transient in nature.

Testing for Threats with the OSUL test:



Offset

It is not a threat if can be offset by some other factor.

Significant

In order to be considered a threat it must have serious consequences for the firm.

Undefended

To be considered a threat it must not be presently being impacted or reduced by other actions of the firm already underway.

Lasting

A true threat must be considered to have long term consequences.

Having validated that our strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats are indeed real we must then move on to identify what exactly the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, or threat means to us. As indicated in Figure 1 we need to consider the "Key Issue" brought to life from our analysis.

As an example in Figure 1 we have identified as a strength the number of capable people we have to engage in the ongoing social media conversations. The "Key Issue" identified with respect to this strength is that given the large volume of conversations taking place we are well positioned to be able to participate in a meaningful manner given the scope of our resources.

Following through on each of the remaining SWOT elements is the middle step to be taken in the completion of our SWOT exercise. What logically then follows is moving to identify how we merge the SWOT element identified with the "Key Issue" to clearly identify a strategic direction. Continuing our example in Figure 1 we can see that as a result of the large number of resources that we have and the need to engage in the large volume of online dialogue we have the opportunity to influence a large number of people.

Continuing in this same manner for each of the other SWOT elements (strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats) we have created guidelines which may now be out to use in the development of strategic directions.

To compete the social media strategic planning cycle one needs to move on to set objectives, strategies, and tactics. A detailed review of this process has been provided in my previous posts "Strategic Planning for Media Strategy."

Social media strategy has been largely intuitive to date. The introduction of a social media SWOT process is intended to focus our efforts on what truly is important and provide a measure of rigor to the planning process not previously seen. As with all strategic planning the true benefit lies in the thought required to address the issues presented resulting in improved understanding of the issue. Ignorance of the situation is simply not an acceptable planning basis.

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Article Tags: marketing strategy, situational analysis, social media, Strategic planning
Referred by: http://www.connectuscanada.com



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Re: Kevin needs "social glue" ideas - [quote="WebBizIdeas.com":gvtxsu7g]Hi, I like the idea of "10 items that could act as "social glue" because I am an internet marketer. But I agree with the rest that the 10 recent post is nice. Maybe we should open up a new section in the forums on Social Media...or Social Media Marketing. I will tell you that the world is about 1 1/2 behind when it comes to understanding social media. Building a section now will put EvanCarmichael.com is a great position a year down the road when people realize Social Media can produce more traffic than SEO. Jeff[/quote:gvtxsu7g] Hi Jeff, Thanks for the suggestion. Why don't you start a new post (with a poll) to see if there's enough interest in your idea for a social media section?
Re: UPDATES: New Campaign! New Layout! New Ideas! - GT - thanks for the FYI - I'm not sure if we'll put a link back. Something to consider though! Trent - the new category is "Social Network and Media" which was put in to compliment the Online Businesses category that currently exists. Overall the new categories are: - Looking For, Networking and Events - Review My... - Social Network and Media - Brags and Rants These came as a result of Ringo doing research on other forums and thinking about what could be improved on ours to give a better experience for everyone. I hope you enjoy them! David, I'm looking forward to reading your Brag / Rant!
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Re: Social Media Marketing Ignorance - [quote="vbn411":7qciluxl]Social Media is space that you have to be in to succeed in our current climate. People are going to be discussing your brand / product whether you like it or not, so you might as well join the conversation and add value. [/quote:7qciluxl] I think that's probably one of the most realistic way to think about it. There's no real textbook way of understanding Social Media, it's the networks of people and their interactions that will exist with or without your input. As for Jennifer, You can always have 2 Facebook pages. Many people do. There is also LinkedIn, which is like a professional networking version of Facebook. The only way to know is to try it.


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