This SmartBrief Insights guest post comes from Deirdre Reid, CAE is an association consultant, speaker and trainer focusing on member engagement and social media at Deirdre Reid LLC. Connect with her @DeirdreReid.

Umair Haque, in his Harvard Business Review post, From Social Media to Social Strategy, believes social strategies will change the essence of organizations and social media tools can be a catalyst for that change. He talks about seven social strategies that will be the key to success and help organizations provide meaningful and sustainable value to members, customers and communities. I’ve already examined Character, Control, Creativity and Culture. Today let’s look at Clarity.

Clarity

Haque writes that most organizations “have limited visibility about changes in the marketplace” and that “social tools are a powerful way to gain clarity.” Social media gives you access to an online real-time focus group. By setting up listening tools – keyword searches that automatically send you results – and by being present and responsive on social networking platforms, you learn what people are saying about your association, events, publications and services; your industry or profession; your competitors; and trends and issues that concern your members and the customers of your members.

An online community of members, fans, followers or readers can also give you valuable feedback on existing programs and new ideas. However, if you solicit feedback, what do you do with it? Member expectations are now influenced by their social (online) experiences with other companies; your social presence is being compared to theirs. If members give feedback, they want to be acknowledged for that and know that the time they took to give it was not in vain.

Trade associations with company memberships often find it difficult to reach beyond company representatives to other employees that would also benefit from association services. Having social media outposts makes it easier for the association and those employees to find each other, and helps create more ties between the company and association. The association has access to a more complete picture of member needs, not just the needs of those in executive and management positions.

Don’t forget your existing resources for learning about member needs — staff that interact with members and prospects by phone and email. What questions and concerns are common? What search terms do people use to come to your website? What keywords are used in internal searches on your website?

Haque refers to Google’s “rapid, frequent, consistent experimentation,” and how “Google always has more clarity about what really creates meaningful value” than its rivals do. I alluded in part 4 of this series to some of the traditional challenges that associations face when it comes to experimentation, particularly sacred cows. Many of you have witnessed budget reviews where old stale programs are allowed to continue, while new ones are dismissed. Sacred cows are often kept alive because of a sense of tradition, egos are invested in their existence, or they are enjoyed by the leadership but not relevant to the average member. Resources are used to keep these old dogs alive instead of being used to come up with ideas that can benefit more members and ensure the association’s meaningfulness.

Using social media as a tool for market research and member needs assessment can bring additional clarity to your association when planning, providing and reviewing your member services.

Related Posts:

• How to make time for a “small bite” of community
• How associations can engage a crowd of curators
• Give membership the flash mob treatment
• Missing in Action: Young Association Leaders
• Social Strategies for Associations – Choreography (Part 7)