Thinking Through The Social Matrix

Thanks to Jay Baer we received tons of positive feedback and questions about our earlier post titled “5X6 Social Media Revenue Matrix“. Subsequently we thought it would be helpful to discuss the method behind using the matrix.

Lets use a common story to try to make use of the matrix simple.

Brand X wants to either begin to use “all things social” or improve how they currently use it. So either before using social or attempting to improve how your using it needs to be thought out.  A logical “map” for “thinking” about relevant and relative issues that create the most value would seem appropriate.  That being said lets illustrate  “thinking about the issues” and doing so thoroughly.

Think Through Attention

Thinking through the relevant and relative issues that pertain to “getting attention” from the marketplace is the same process for each “A” but in different context for each “A”.  First the process should be facilitated with someone who has experience and knowledge to do so through a team of people with diverse knowledge and experience. This “team” encompasses people from inside and outside your organizational walls. Getting the right team together with the right facilitator will definitely impact the quality of the process and next results.

Getting the Right Answers to “Attention”

The following is a sample of  questions the team ought focus on with the aim of getting the right answers. These are just some example questions and with the right thinking you should be able to think through other relevant questions that drive the matrix.

1. Who will help the “thinking” process?
2. Who should be on the “social solutions” team?
3. Who are we trying to reach? Demographics, Sociographics, geographies, gender  etc
4. Who influences our customers most to least?
5. Who influences our suppliers most to least?
6. Who internally interfaces with our customers most to least?
7. Who will train the relevant people to reach whom we want to reach?
8. Who knows how to use the relevant technology? Who will train others to use the technology?
9. What does our market now do and use online? Behavioral assessment
10. What does our market read off-line? Media assessment
11. What networks does our market use?
12. What groups are most popular with our market?
13. What affinities does our market have?
14. What is our market attracted to?
15. What type of content and its relevant context gets the most attention of our market?
16. When is our market online and off-line? When off-line where are they?
17. When on-line where, what and who “pulls” them and their interest?
18. Why would the market spend time with us online and off-line?
19. Why would our market want to engage with us?
20. Why does our market use one network over another?
21. Why and what “media” does our market read?
22. How does our market use social technology?
23. How does our market relate to different messages?
24. How much time does our market spend online and where?
25. How does our competitors use social technology to get the markets attention? Do they know how?

Remember this is merely a sample of questions relevant to “thinking through attention factors“.  Each “A” cause will lead you to better understand the social dynamics of your marketplace, people’s behavior (internal & external) and then who, what, when, where, why and how your actions can create attention and influence behavior.

By going through the same exercise for attraction, affinity, audience and actions you in essence will learn the critical few factors that drive market behavior. Then and only then can you even begin to think about measuring the right things for the right reason. The right reason is to learn how to ask more relevant questions for improving the related processes that influence each of the “A’s”.

Your results are only as good as the relevant thinking and the related learning produces from the ongoing experience. To not think through the issues with the right team only means you’ll end up doing the wrong things for the wrong reason. A lot to think about and a lot to lose if you don’t.

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