State of the SMinOrgs Community 2013

The Social Media in Organizations (SMinOrgs) Community began in May 2009 as a LinkedIn (LI) group, and quickly expanded to Twitter, Facebook, and other social media platforms. In early 2010, the S.M.A.R.T. (Social Media and Related Technologies) Blog was launched. Since then we have continued to grow and expand, most recently establishing a presence on Google+, Pinterest, and Tumblr. The start of a new year seems like a good time to reflect on where we’ve been, where we are, and where we’d like to go in the year ahead.

===//===

Scroll down to view the embedded SMinOrgs State of the Community report or click here to view/download the report on SlideShare. Here's a quick list of the contents:

• About SMinOrgs
• Reflections from the Founder
• Looking Forward
• SMinOrgs by the Numbers
• Current and Future Projects
• LinkedIn
• Twitter
• S.M.A.R.T. Blog
• SlideShare
• Pinterest
• Tumblr
• Email
• Facebook and Other Platforms

As I put together this report I was surprised to realize how much we’ve done and how much has changed in the past year. When you’re immersed in the day-to-day, progress feels slow and incremental at best. Pausing to take stock helps put the daily grind in perspective and allows for a moment, however brief, to relish our accomplishments.

But we can't rest on our laurels...

To lay a stronger foundation for our future, the Community is undergoing a “digital makeover.” The first step in the makeover is to create a new brand identity that better reflects our evolving focus on new technologies beyond social media (i.e., mobile, cloud computing, and big data and analytics). We have identified four possible options and are currently seeking input via this survey. The survey will remain open until mid February. If you haven’t already provided your feedback we’d love to hear from you! Once we’ve decided on a new brand, we’ll transition to our new identity by rebranding some of our existing digital properties and creating new ones.

 

Other major initiatives for 2013 include:

• Developing  a long-term strategy for Community growth and development, as well as more tactical short-term plans
• Creating and sharing more original content focused on both high-level issues and practical concerns
• Embarking on a large-scale member recruitment campaign
• Optimizing our web presence and increasing traffic flows via search engine optimization and other means
• Exploring ways to monetize the Community and its activity

We have formed a Global Leadership Team (GLT) to help guide our decisions and lead some of our activities in all these areas. The current GLT has over 15 passionate professionals from the US, Canada and Europe, and their input so far has been invaluable.

We are also in the process of creating an Equity Leadership Team (ELT), which would be comprised of professionals with relevant expertise who are willing to invest sweat equity to help build the Community, in exchange for a financial return once the Community becomes a sustainable business.

If you think you have what it takes to contribute as a member of the GLT or the ELT, please send an email expressing your interest and highlighting your credentials to leaders@sminorgs.net.

Here's to a fabulous 2013!

Courtney Shelton Hunt, PhD
Founder, SMinOrgs

PS - I'm curious to know if anyone knows of other reports that focus on things like "social engagement," "digital engagement," "community engagement," "social enterprise," "social learning," "social recruiting," or "government 2.0." It'd be great to see what other organizations are doing along these lines. Thanks!

 

State of the SMinOrgs Community 2013 from Social Media in Organizations (SMinOrgs)