Take the risk out of Social media

Social Media risk planning.

You may be new to Social Media marketing or you might be a very experienced player, but have you assessed what the risks are to your brand?

Good strategic planning with alignment to your marketing calendar are essential, and of course having resources that cover all your tasks. If you have not assessed your business risks at the start of your Social Media program, then it is wise to plan a time slot to do it soon. One way to create a list of risks would be to use the Prince 2 approach and detail them in a register. A Risk Register provides a record of identified risks relating to the program, including their status and history. It is used to capture and maintain information on all of the identified threats and opportunities relating to the program. You could go on to value the business risks, and then chart them. Here is an example risk register which you can download and fill in. There are many other models that you could use to list possible risks, so use the one you are experienced with. I am used to the Prince 2 approach.

Avoiding risk

Thorough planning will help to avoid risks that arise when brands move too fast to enter Social media marketing, and have not tested processes or do not have prepared or experienced resources. There are many models that can be used to help you get started. The Forrester POST system is the model I used to create my own way of working for Social media planning and execution.

Jeremiah Owyang from the Altimeter Group created a report that describes how brands should manage many Social media accounts, and I suggest this as a more detailed alternative. For example, it lists choices of Social Media management systems, and ends with suggestions for roll out across a large enterprise, and a checklist. It is highly recommended. You can view this report as a slideshow here.

Developing Risk mitigation planning and getting started.

Once the risks have been identified and listed, make sure you have added information that will allow them to be worked on. Typically;

Risk Description
Risk Drivers (e.g. Lack of integration of x, no shared framework for x)
Risk management response (e.g. Additional funding for x)
Key Risk Indicators (e.g. Issues are showing up for x)
How critical the risk is (e.g. High, Low, medium)

Rank the risks and find owners for each one. Detail follow up dates and re-assessment sessions. It is important to re-assess at intervals, maybe once or twice a year as market conditions change, and new campaigns may use applications that were not risk assessed before. Do not forget IT and privacy information!

Having a good response management/ crisis plan will help with managing a social media problem, but will not deal with the long term cause. I have taken part in a Social Media risk assessment session, have you?

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Clive Roach

Social media marketing expert with +15 years’ experience. Creates and deploys strategy, social listening, tactical planning, analytics, campaign calendar management, all while achieving revenue opportunities and cost savings.

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