The SAPLING Approach to Leveraging Social Media

Helping You Succeed in the Digital Era

The SAPLING Approach to

Leveraging Social Media

Strategize

Assess

Plan

Lay a FoundationImplement

Adjust ‘N’ Fine Tune

Grow

Copyright © 2014, Courtney Shelton Hunt2

Introduction This deck offers an ebook-type guide for individuals,

groups, and organizations to establish and manage a strong digital presence

Although the focus is on social media, the ideas and suggestions can be applied to broader notions of digital engagement as well

Many Denovati SMART Resources delve into the details of some of these steps, as well as providing additional guidance; visit denovati.com to access them and learn more

http://denovati.com/


Everybody’s Doing It

Should You?Should You?

Sound Familiar? Are you trying to decide whether to create a stronger

digital presence? Have you dabbled with social media but aren’t sure what

to do next? Have you experimented with different tools and

technologies and find you’re disappointed by the results?


If you answered “yes” to any of these questions,you’re not alone.

In fact, you have lots of company!

If you answered “yes” to any of these questions,you’re not alone.

In fact, you have lots of company!

The Reality

What’s holding them back?– Lack of understanding of social media and/or

its potential benefits– Uncertainty where or how to begin– Concerns about risks– Resource challenges (esp. time)– Concerns about whether efforts will pay off


In spite of all the media attention and exhortations from social media enthusiasts, the vast majority of individuals and organizations have not leveraged the available tools and technologies in any significant way. This is especially true when it comes to managing their careers and/or running the groups and organizations of which they’re a part.

Learn from the Mistakes of Others Common flaws in social media approaches include:

– Approaching usage tactically rather than strategically– Confusing experimentation with implementation– Lack of discipline– Poor or no planning

These flaws are compounded by tendencies to underestimate:– The complexity of social media– Necessary time and resource commitments– The long-term commitment required for success


Remember:• Simple doesn’t mean easy• There is no “one size fits all”

approach• There are no silver bullets

Helping You Get Started The SAPLING Approach provides a general guide for

establishing and managing a social media presence It can be used

– By individuals, groups, and organizations– Whether you’re just starting out or if you’ve already

engaged and want to refine and improve your approach


SAPLING is an imperfect acronym, but a useful mnemonic for remembering the steps you’ll go through...


Strategize

Assess

Plan

Lay a FoundationImplement


Grow

The SAPLING Approach

Things to Keep in Mind Limitations

– The SAPLING approach can help you identify WHAT to do but doesn’t directly address WHY or HOW

– The suggestions are very high level – especially for organizations

Although the steps are presented chronologically, the process isn’t perfectly linear– You don’t have to complete each step fully before starting

future steps– Future steps will often require revising decisions made in

previous steps based on what you learn from experience and thinking at a deeper level


Things to Keep in Mind The process should not be overly bureaucratic or time

consuming– If you aim for perfection at any step, you’ll likely end up with analysis

paralysis, which will delay your engagement and ultimately be counterproductive

– You have to balance planning with action Guiding principles

– Working hard is a given; you must also work smart– Prepare for a marathon, not a sprint– Remember the 10/90 rule: for each $10 spent on technology, plan on

(at least) $90 in people time– Listen first, then engage– Quality is more important than quantity


Proceed with “Mindful Flexibility” Be mindful

– Have a general sense of what you’re hoping to accomplish– Let your objective(s) serve as a guiding force for your decisions and

actions– Think long term even when you act short term

Be flexible– Accept that you cannot perfectly pursue a “master plan”– Recognize that the environment within which you’re operating is

constantly changing• Technology• Platforms• Best practices

– Develop a high degree of tolerance for ambiguity and chaos– Be nimble


Should You Go It Alone? It’s your mountain to climb, but having a Sherpa can help. If you can afford it, hiring an outside consultant to work with you can

be a worthwhile investment. A qualified consultant, one who has both broad-based technological

understanding and a strategic perspective, can– Ask questions and raise issues that insiders would not consider– Provide technical expertise (e.g., social media, communication, sales) that

insiders lack– Help you identify/clarify your objectives and prioritize them– Enable you to make a determination as to social media’s potential value more

efficiently and effectively– Be more objective about the value of your current activities– Share experiences and best practices based on work with other individuals and

organizations– Help avoid anchoring effects, break stalemates and facilitate effective group

processCopyright © 2014, Courtney Shelton Hunt12



"Many people fail in life, not for lack of ability or brains or even courage, but simply because they have never organized their energies around a goal" – Elbert Hubbard

“Begin with the end in mind” – Stephen Covey

Strategize

What Do You Want? Identify (or clarify) your goals and objectives, irrespective of

tools and technology. Unpack vague ideas like “I want a job,” “I want my group to be

high performing,” or “I want to increase revenues” to identify in more specific terms what those ideas mean in the context of your unique situation

Make sure your goals are SMART and prioritized– Specific– Meaningful– Achievable (but challenging)– Rewarding– Trackable



Unpack Vague Goals

Individual“I want a job”

Group“We want to be

high performing”

Organization“We want to

increase revenues”

Targeted industry Ideal companies Ideal position Previous work experience Relevant knowledge and

skills

Purpose Size Composition Physical location(s)

Mission Core values Key stakeholders Industry Competitive environment

Considering factors like the following will help you define your goals in more specific terms

Can Social Media Help You? Determine whether social media can help

you achieve your goals, not whether you should leverage it.

To make this determination, you need to be knowledgeable about social media. You should have a high-level understanding of the tools and platforms available (beyond LinkedIn, Twitter, and Facebook!).

Don’t limit your determination based on current capabilities. The pursuit of your goals using social media may require you to increase your skills – and increasing your skills may be a competitive differentiator.


It’s ultimately a question of

“when” not “if”

You may conclude that you can achieve your goals without leveraging social media (yet).

Deciding “not now” or “not yet” should not be viewed as permanent, however. Plan to revisit the issue to determine when engaging with social media will be in your best interests.


Think Beyond Current Capabilities


Group“We want to be high performing”

Organization“We want to increase revenues”

Technological expectations of prospective employers

Skill levels of incumbents and other applicants for positions you want

How other individuals are leveraging social media as part of their career management efforts

What members of your professional peer group are doing

Technological expectations of key stakeholders

How peer groups are leveraging social tools as part of their communications and project management efforts

How related associations are using social media

Technological sophistication and expectations of clients and prospects

How other companies in your industry are leveraging social tools as part of their business development efforts

How related associations are using social media

What competitors are doing with social media

Determining whether social media can help you achieve your goals requires thinking about factors

such as…

Even (and especially) if others aren’t leveraging social media,

it can be a competitive differentiator…



When you determine that social mediacan help you …

Assess

Assess Current (& Potential) Practices Critically evaluate the current tools, technologies, and techniques you’re using to

pursue your goals– What’s working well?– What’s not?– How effectively are your current approaches helping you meet your goals?

Compare current methods with new methods that leverage social media– Identify the expected utilities of various alternatives (i.e., the potential returns relative to

their required investment)– Rank alternatives based on their expected utilities and your prioritized goals– Be prepared to make the necessary trade-offs to pursue the options with the highest

expected utilities Be tough during this process

– Push yourself outside your comfort zone– This is an opportunity to develop and implement more effective methods– Don’t cheat yourself by perpetuating current practices because you’re reluctant to change


Things to Remember Social media should be viewed as “new tools for doing old

things” not “old wine in new bottles”– New technologies don’t fundamentally change what you are trying to

achieve– They DO, however, offer potentially better ways to pursue those

objectives Social media initiatives should be integrated with your other

initiatives and programs. Rather than simply layering social media on top of current activities, think about how you can weave them into the overall fabric of your other goal-directed activities to increase the synergy among them and maximize potential results.


not


Sample Questions to Consider




What is my current digital presence?

How do I communicate with prospective employers today?

How do I leverage my professional network?

How do I communicate my professional brand?

How effective are my current efforts?

Can leveraging social media improve my chances of meeting my goals? If so, how?

What should I stop doing? What should I start doing? What should I change?

How do we communicate within the group today – both digitally and otherwise?

What are common frustrations with our current approaches?

What do we like best about our current approaches?

Can leveraging social media improve our chances of meeting our goals? If so, how?

What should we stop doing? What should we start doing? What should we change?

How do we communicate with clients and prospects today – both digitally and otherwise?

What are common frustrations with our current approaches?

What do we like best about our current approaches?

Can we measure the effectiveness of our current approaches? If so, what is their ROI?

Can leveraging social media improve our chances of meeting our goals? If so, how?

What’s the potential ROI of leveraging new technologies?

What should we stop doing? What should we start doing? What should we change?



When you decide to leverage social media …

Plan

Start Planning the Work Start by sketching out a social media strategy Though it may be tempting to think in terms of tactics (e.g.,

blogging or tweeting), a collection of tactics does not constitute a strategy

Specify your social media goals using the SMART criteria Be sure your social media strategy dovetails with your other

strategic initiatives and high-priority projects


Develop a High-Level Plan View the plan as a guideline rather than a detailed

blueprint You don’t have to figure out every nitty-gritty detail at

the outset, but you should establish things like – Implementation priorities– Required resources– Roles and responsibilities– Basic operating guidelines– Monitoring tools– Key success metrics


Planning Considerations Depending on the complexity of your social media initiatives, you may need

a master plan with subordinate plans for things like– Training– Implementation– Communication

Though you’ll want the plan to match your unique operating characteristics, you may also need to address systemic issues that could inhibit social media success, such as– Resistance to change– Skill deficits

Create a social media system that has a clearly-defined “home base” and “satellite channels.” Determine how– You will use each channel in the system– Information will flow among them



Sample Planning QuestionsIndividual“I want a job”



What platforms and technologies do I want to use – and why?

What are my priorities for leveraging them?

What’s my learning plan? What’s my implementation timeframe? What are my rules of engagement? How will I build digital maintenance into

my schedule?

What platforms and technologies do we want to use – and why?

What are our priorities for leveraging them?

What’s our implementation timeframe? What will our governance structure be? Who will be our Social Media

Manager(s)? What are our rules of engagement? What training do we need to provide –

and to whom? How will we handle digital

maintenance?

What platforms and technologies do we want to use – and why?

What are our priorities for leveraging them?

What will our social media system look like?

What’s our implementation timeframe? What will our governance structure be? Who will be our Social Media

Manager(s)? Who will be responsible for content

creation and dissemination? What are our rules of engagement? How will we revise our policies and

procedures to incorporate social technologies?

What training do we need to provide – and to whom?

How do we measure the success of our efforts?

How will we handle digital maintenance?


It Ain’t Over… You will continue to revise and refine your plan(s) as

you expand your digital presence Be prepared to codify lessons learned into more

specific– Communication plans, programs, schedules– Governance structures– Guidelines and policies– Resource requirements– Roles and responsibilities– Training programs



You can actually do this at any time …

And since social media implementation is generally a question of WHEN not IF, you should get started as soon as possible

Lay a Foundation

Plant the Seeds of Your Digital Identity Establish accounts on any major public

social media platforms you may use in the future– Populate them with basic information– Hang the “coming soon” sign

Acquire necessary domain names and redirect them to your main web presence


L also stands for “Listen” & “Learn”…

http://www.youtube.com/

http://www.linkedin.com/

http://www.facebook.com/

http://twitter.com/


Listen and Learn Listen

– Follow individuals and organizations on LinkedIn, Twitter, blogs and other platforms

– Watch how they engage to identify best (and worst) practices and determine your own approach

– Set up Google and other alerts on your own name/brand and those of other individuals/organizations you’re interested in

Learn– In addition to learning from the digital activities of others, learn about

the evolving impact of new technologies by reading about social media trends, both in general and in the context of your industry/field

– Train folks to use new technologies effectively and abide by established guidelines



One you’ve planned the work,start working the plan…

Implement

Getting Started If your resources are limited, an incremental approach

to implementation is fine– Start with your “home base”– Expand to other platforms based on your established

priorities Announce your digital presence to engage

stakeholders, but limit fanfare until you’re better established


Seed, Feed, and Weed Seed: add fresh content on a regular

schedule to each platform

Feed: promote engagement on your platforms and engage on other platforms to drive traffic back to your home base

Weed: monitor your platforms regularly and delete inappropriate content quickly




This is where the fun (???) really begins…


Digital Engagement as Improv Though your actions will be guided by basic plans and rules,

your success will be determined more by your ability to– Critically evaluate the effectiveness of your own efforts – Monitor and recognize the implications of the words and actions of

others– Develop the ability to respond quickly and effectively to opportunities

and problems when they present themselves Public networks and/or tools created by others will change

(usually for the better, but not always)– It often happens with virtually no notice, and you don’t get a vote– Be prepared to adjust to those changes quickly


You Gotta be Cruel and be Kind Be your own biggest critic

– Observe your own actions with a critical eye to identify what works and what doesn’t

– Attention to details matters, and healthy doses of perfectionism can pay off

But be gentle too– EVERYONE makes mistakes in cyberspace, especially rookies– Embrace your mistakes as opportunities for growth

Learn to– Forge ahead in the face of embarrassment and adversity– Accept criticism and apologize when necessary– Develop a thick skin


Measuring Success Monitor and measure your progress and successes, both

quantitatively and qualitatively– You can use various analytic and monitoring tools to identify traffic

flows and other activity– But don’t rely exclusively on numbers – they only tell part of the story– Human judgment matters – be sure you are able to read between the

digital lines Know the difference between general, long-term engagement

and short-term campaigns– You can assess the success of short-term efforts more directly, using

quantitative measures– Assessing longer-term branding and marketing efforts will rely on more

indirect and qualitative measures


Is Anyone Listening? Listening is an important (but too often undervalued)

form of engagement Expect a 90/9/1 activity ratio – out of 100 members:

– 1 will be a strong contributor and conversation starter– 9 will like and comment actively– 90 will not join the conversation (but that doesn’t mean

they’re not engaged) To assess engagement, you’ll want to seek feedback

from participants via comments, surveys, and other tools

Always be prepared to respond to the feedback you receive




GrowOnce you get your “cyber legs,” you can expand your digital presence and increase your digital

engagement

Kick Things Up a Few Notches Increase the amount and/or frequency of content on existing platforms,

making sure you– Follow the norms of the platform– Can easily maintain the increased level of engagement

Expand your digital presence by– Adding new platforms– Integrate them into your existing social media system

Grow your membership and participation in each platform – Expand high-priority platforms strategically– Let lower-priority platforms grow organically

Identify and leverage key influencers and passionate participants to help you achieve your growth objectives

Announce your digital presence more broadly, and promote each new platform as you expand


Pruning is Necessary for Growth Pare back content and/or leave specific platforms that

haven’t proven valuable But don’t leave any digital ghost towns behind

– Tidy up any site/account you are going to stop maintaining and say good-bye, but don’t abandon it altogether

– It may prove viable – and valuable – again one day


Temporarily ClosedPlease visit our

website


Closing the Loop by Starting Over In addition to ongoing

refinement efforts, you should also revisit your entire social media strategy/plan periodically– Your goals and priorities will

change, as will circumstances and technologies

– You’ll want to reevaluate and revise your social media engagement to reflect those changes

It’s a continuous – and hopefully virtuous – cycle…

ABOUT THE DENOVATI GROUP

The Denovati…Pronunciation guide: day-no-VAH-teeDeconstructing the term:

– DE = Digital Era– NOV = short for novani, Latin for colonists, immigrants, new

residents– ATI = those who seek knowledge and/or are in the know

The Denovati areDigital Era explorers, pathfinders and pioneers

who seek to understand and effectively leverage social and digital technologies

The Denovati GroupCourtney Shelton Hunt, PhDCourtney is the Founder and Principal of The Denovati Group and an international consultant, speaker, teacher, and writer. Her background in business development, communications, human capital management, information technology, and academia, combined with her business acumen, enables her to provide a unique holistic perspective and strategic leadership to organizations.

The Denovati Group enhances the success of individuals and organizations in the Digital Era through an alliance that provides thought leadership and guidance, research, consulting and training services, and a professional community that fosters the sharing of information and best practices. These objectives are accomplished primarily through:• Denovati Solutions• The SMART Blog• SMART Resources

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