Build Your Social Media Center of Excellence 
2011: The Year of the Social Business Model Social media for the sake of doing social media is dead. I might even be so bold as to say that it's a waste of time if you're pursuing social media at the enterprise level without considering the implications of how it can benefit the entire organization. This is there the concept of 'the social enterprise' comes in. As I look across our base of social media/thought leadership clients, social media class attendees and the industry as a whole, the we see the shift already taking place. Remember CRM, ERP, Kaizen, Lean, Re-engineering…? All of the aforementioned disciplines were taken seriously and have transformed the businesses that adopted them wholesale. The same thing is happening with social media. Those businesses that are pursuing a 'social business' model are seeing benefits far greater than those which are simply dabbling in the technologies. We saw this already last year with the release of the Engagement DB report on social media ROI. Build Your Social Media Center of Excellence Very few social media strategies are exactly alike, but there is one common element that you can employ (or copy from Intel) to all but ensure success. That key is the 'cross-functional social media team' or in the words of Intel, the Social Media Center of Excellence. I'll let Kathleen Malone, Senior Manager, Social Media Strategist at Intel, explain it as she did for a recent interview with eMarketer: The Social Media Center of Excellence is part of the marketing strategies and campaigns team. We report to Nancy Bhagat, VP of sales and marketing, and then ultimately to Deborah Conrad, our VP and chief marketing officer. Our role is to drive strategy, enablement and, to some extent, activation for social media at Intel. So we manage the guidelines and the governance, making sure that social media practitioners all around the company—both in the corporate marketing group and in the other business units—are up to speed on the latest guidelines. For example, they need to represent the fact that they are with Intel in their Twitter handles and their blogs. So we do a lot of training and education. Standing at the beginning of the social enterprise journey, it's hard to explain just how much work will be involved with the project. It's an extraordinary undertaking, but the outcome and payoff is, and will be worth it. When we worked with Intel a few years back to put together a 2-day social media strategy and solutioning session, they were at the beginning of this long social enterprise journey. It's truly amazing to see how they've progressed down the path. Thinking forward to 2011, what are you doing to move down the path toward the social enterprise? Have you gone through any formal social enterprise education? Are you piloting enough projects outside of the Marcomm area to make a difference? It's a long road – enjoy the journey! | 
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