In a previous post titled “Business vs. Personal Networking” we discussed the differences in purposes between the two. With the announcement about “Business 3.0″ the emergence of business oriented applications and related processes will accelerate business opportunities throughout the social web.

Social networks are ripe ground for businesses to directly market and sell their products and services to people and other businesses.

Besides using the medium for sales and marketing purposes there are additional benefits for businesses to use the medium for improvement of numerous operational processes. When one looks at the medium systemically it can be applied to numerous business objectives and strategies.

Businesses are organizations of people, products/services and processes. Every business is constantly challenged to improve processes, communications, relations and service. These challenges require a coordinated effort aimed at improving the organizations effectiveness at serving the needs of multiple customer segments, internally and externally, by optimizing people, processes and technology. Some of the never ending targets of continuous improvement in every business include:

1. Branding within specific channels
2. Customer Relationship Management
3. Supplier integrations and communications
4. Employee orientation, training and communications
5. One to One Marketing
6. Media Relations
7. Market Relations
8. and a lot more….

Many business will spend thousands and even millions of dollars rushing into social networks without a full comprehension of the medium or a systemic plan to maximize the value proposition. As a result of observing the need for businesses to have a planning process we’ve developed “7 Steps to Business Planning for Social Networks“. The 7 Steps are outlined below and there is a PowerPoint with more detail which can be review or downloaded by clicking here.

Step 1: Current Situation: Organizational Assessment
This step involves an assessment of the organizations readiness for social networks. Numerous areas need to be examined, analyzed and the subsequent findings will enable the organization to focus on key improvements which influence successful usage of the social networking medium.

Step 2: Problem/Opportunity Identification: Leveraging the Vital Few
From step one the data collected and subsequent analysis should be aimed at the vital few issues that provide the greatest leverage for improvement and fulfillment of opportunities identified.

Step 3: Possible Solutions and Gains: The How and Why
Once step 1 & 2 have been completed correctly then the data should reveal a view of possible solutions aimed at maximizing the use of social networks for specific business purposes.

Step 4: Cost/Benefit Analysis
Many business have and will continue to react to the emergence of social networks. Reactions usually create costly actions that are not well thought out relative to the previous three steps mentioned. Thus many businesses abandon new efforts because a thorough cost/benefit analysis was not conducted prior to launching a new initiative.

Step 5: Measures of Success
Steps 1 - 4 layout the framework of critical elements which are required for any business to have a purposeful objective for engaging within the medium of social networks. Any plan of any sort needs to have measures in place to assure that the assumptions of a new initiatives perceived value is actually producing the stated purposes.

Step 6: Implementation Planning: Organization 1 -5
Steps 1-5 in of themselves can bring a clear path to “what needs to be done” but it is the “doing” that fulfills the envisioned results. Planning for implementation of what is discovered in steps 1-5 is critical to achievement of the stated objectives of the plan. Not planning for implementation is like buying a brand new car but never putting in any gas so you can drive it.

Step 7: Execution and Adjustment Process: PDCA
Once implementation begins you can always expect new learning, new discoveries and new constraints not foreseen when the plan was developed. Planning for adjustments to any plan insures periodic reviews of the unexpected and provides the means for adjusting to the ever changing market dynamic of social mediums.

These seven steps are an outline for any business to follow. However, each business may be at different levels of preparedness and knowledge of the emerging opportunities of the social web. While the framework of the seven steps remain the speed and processes of each step will vary for each organization.

What say you?