There's certain times when you have that gut feeling about something. That time when you just know there's better ways to do things but you can't seem to decipher the right approach to get there. One shift in today's business landscape that doesn't make it any easier is enterprise 2.0, big brother of its more publicized and consumer-oriented Web 2.0.While few of the digerati would ever debate enterprise 2.0's worth, a lot of businesses still struggle with where to start or how to build a team of technical communicators and media creators.And if you're a buyer, you're acutely aware of all the tool sets, software and services at your disposal,something that certainly doesn't help enterprise 2.0's signal to noise ratio.
So how do you 2.0-ify your approach to do doing business inside the firewall?
* Start with clear-cut business objectives
This is one you'll hear us harp on. Too many times we see businesses rush towards technology and tool sets before ensuring there's a comprehensive look at what the business really expects to gain from an enterprise 2.0 project. A lot of times it can be simple objectives like cutting down on the number of weekly meetings or reducing the amount of emails sent. For every departmental batch of emails you show me, I can give you plenty of ways to move that information into a more conversational and interactive channel with things like blogs, forums, or a wiki.
* Educate and inform
This is your chance to use enterprise 2.0 techniques to socialize your goals internally.Don't push out an email and cross your fingers you'll get responses. Create a blog and show the skeptics how easy it is to create content and receive that content automatically through RSS.
* Find the right people
One of our recent webinars with BtoB Magazine included a poll question that asked more than 1000 attendees about their biggest challenge related to creating an online community. Almost 30% said personnel and staffing is the biggest roadblock they're facing as they develop an enterprise social media strategy. As you put together you're plan of attack,do an analysis of your colleagues and map their skills back to a social media task or activity. If Jane in corporate communications is almost too good at articulating her thoughts in long emails, there's a good chance she could lead some of your blog efforts. Let's call it the social computing "skills audit".
* Focus on the low-hanging fruit
This one's about looking at your business processes and figuring out simple ways to incorporate some collaboration and conversation. Marketing, sales and corporate communications are good candidates to get on the enterprise 2.0 bandwagon because the flow of information tends to be fast and furious and collaboration is essential. As you begin socializing enterprise 2.0, make sure you quickly identify the pain points of each group. Try not focus on the technology too much until you have things teed up and can demonstrate how processes will be improved.
* Think of your vendor as a long-term partner. It's about more than technology.
As you develop your enterprise 2.0 approach, there's no doubt you'll need to supplement your talent pool with things like professional services or strategy. The vendors (like us) are often times the best source of readily accessible horsepower. Look beyond vendor roadmaps and dig for subject matter experts (SMEs). These are the folks that have been in the trenches and can quickly identify and uncover industry standards and common practices to build a strategy around.
What else would you add?
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