The Power of Organization for Social Media Success in a VUCA World

When I mention Apple, you probably think of their products like the iPad or iPhone, or perhaps about their late iconic leader Steve Jobs. If I were to ask you for a word or two to describe Apple’s competitive advantage you might say things like “innovative” or “great design” or even “intuitive”. You’d likely not surface keywords like “organization” or “supply chain” at the top of your list, but little do many of us know, Apple is actually rated #1 in the AMR Research (Gartner) Supply Chain Top 25 Rankings, a position it’s held for the last 4 years. Let’s look at how this relates to social media, shall we.

Organization at its finest

Oh, and for those of you still wondering what VUCA means, it’s a term coined by the US Army War College that describes the dynamic nature of our world today and has caught on in a variety of organizational settings to describe a business environment characterized by:

• Volatility – The nature, speed, volume, magnitude and dynamics of change;
• Uncertainty – The lack of predictability of issues and events;
• Complexity – The confounding of issues and the chaos that surround any organization; and
• Ambiguity – The haziness of reality and the mixed meanings of conditions.

VUCA characterizes (at least for some of us) the world that we live in and more specifically the world our social media plans must adapt to, which is where organization comes in to play.

For as much as social media success is about engagement, creativity, being a more human brand and earning attention through good content, it’s about organization as well. More specifically, organizing your content and effort so that every ounce of energy expended in social media marketing makes a difference for your brand. So, how does one get “social media organized?”

Organize Your Content

Perhaps the most important thing to organize first is your content. We often do this is a variety of ways, depending on the client, but you can get as simple as a document or spreadsheet, or create a mind map to outline your efforts or even use something like Google Calendar to organize shared content responsibilities with your team.

Organize Your Effort

Your social media effort should be focused and simplified as much as possible. For many, this means using social media management or CRM tools. We’ve talked about several in a previous webinar, but today we’re using a combination of HootSuite, Sprout Social and our new favorite for Facebook page management, Mediafeedia. There are hundreds of options, pick one (or a couple) and get comfortable with them.

Organize Your Channels

“Random acts of social media” don’t work. We’ve been saying that for years. However, many organizations are still working out the specifics on just exactly how to organize their channels for greatest effect. Some have come around to the “Hub and Spoke” model, but realize that there are other models out there. Organization is the key, no matter what model you choose.

Organize Around Your Customer

Companies that are not organizing their social media content around the customer buying cycle are missing a tremendous opportunity for conversion, relevance and overall effectiveness. Whatever method or model you use (we’re partial to this one from McKinsey – Demystifying Social Media), organizing around the customer will boost your social media success.

Organize Your Response

Social media requires an organized approach to responding to the volatility and uncertainty of the world that our customers live in. Random tweets and a round of Facebook posts can expand in importance from “interesting feedback” an “imminent crisis” requiring an organized approach and considered response that respects the customer and maintains your brand reputation. The Air Force diagram below is still one of the best examples of an organized approach to social media response.

As you can see, organization in business success as well as in social media is a rarely discussed phenomenon, but when you dissect the best social media programs and the most admired companies, organization is a critically important contributor to their success as a company.

Moreover, a well-organized social media plan can help to mitigate the VUCA of the modern world of always-on media!

Read more: How To Take A Day Off From Social Media