Determining the value of social media in your communication

[Jon Hoel]

Tell us about the approaches you use.
Ask other members questions.
Share links to resources.

[Jean Douglas, CMC]

I'll keep this first post brief (only because I can easily fill pages with ideas and want to read what others have to say).

In a nutshell, there is a lot of interest in incorporating social media as an internal communication tool. My specific interest is in helping to determine the need and value it can be to the organization. This is an area that is often overlooked - measuring the value of communication tools and programs (meeting needs, ROI, or relationship to other metrics) - and it applies to all forms of internal communication not just social media.

Some of the questions that research can answer are:
- what are the communication needs and preferences of the various employee groups in the organization?
- what is the comfort level in using new technologies?
- how much are our current communication tools/programs costing (e.g., email, newsletters,etc.)?
- what is the relationship between communication programs and other business metrics?

Research can reveal budget opportunities, communication holes, preferences and importance of messages, etc.

Just because social media is fairly inexpensive to implement doesn't mean should be implemented. Make sure the decision is the right one - a decison supported by research.