The majority of companies (70%) have embraced social media but very few social collaboration initiatives succeed. Research conducted by Gartner has established that most social media projects are launched without a clearly defined and compelling purpose. As a result of this “provide and pray” approach, merely 10% of social media campaigns succeed in creating business value.
As Gartner vice-president Anthony Bradley explained, most social initiatives fail simply because they lack purpose. Companies do not make the effort to provide social media audiences with a cause that is sufficiently compelling to bring people together and motivate them to contribute to the community. The key is to have a well-defined purpose, which involves identifying target participants, specifying a collaboration issue, assessing value for the community and targeting a specific business outcome, Bradley said.
To help companies in their social media endeavours, Gartner has provided a list of characteristics associated with a good purpose. Participant magnetism is perhaps the most important characteristic. This means providing people with an incentive to participate, giving them a clear picture of the importance and value of their social community contribution.
A good purpose is also characterised by community draw, which is to say that it has enough appeal to create a community and get people to make generous content contributions. Next on the list is organisational value, meaning the presence of a clearly defined business outcome. Another characteristic of a good purpose is its low community risk and this is particularly important in the early stages of a social collaboration initiative. Finally, companies should choose a purpose that promotes evolution, which means that both the organisation and the community can build on it.
