A Brief Look into the Evolution of Social Media

In the last week I’ve been preparing for a social media strategy discussion with a non-profit organization. The backdrop for this discussion is focused on how social media strategy resources within the organization can be best positioned given the evolving social media landscape. I’m particularly interested, and impressed, by this organization’s cognition for taking the time to really think critically about the roles & responsibilities, skill sets required, and expectations for their social media strategist(s) – and certainly believe that changes have, and will continue to, occur in the social media landscape that are pivotal to resource re-positioning.

Rather than going into detail on my assessment of the qualifications, experiences, and skill sets required to address these changes (as I’m no HR expert), I’d like to focus this post on highlighting the most salient shifts in social media:

• A few years ago: the question was whether to get involved in social media and why. Organizations were more concerned about whether to invest the time and resources in creating a social media presence. It was still uncertain as to whether there could truly be value derived from building a social brand image. Even the early adopters at this time really only flexed their social media muscles in the form of Facebook pages, LinkedIn profiles, and twitter accounts.
• Now: the question isn’t whether to get involved, but rather how, and what should our social media strategy be? The pervasiveness of mobile and digital has push social media beyond a competitive advantage, to a business requirement. Businesses now must meet their customers where they are, and that’ in the social sphere. Thehow defines the business’ strategy (e.g., audience, channels, message, engagement, return).

Social media ‘strategies’ that treat social media as a marketing broadcasting channel, or take the fire hose approach (put a bunch of content out there and hope it works) will #fail. People are inundated with too much information (noise). Business’ with social media strategies that pay careful attention to audience segmentation, building personal incentives (i.e., pushing the most relevant content), and creating sustainable 2-way viral loops will have the best shot at surviving this quickly changing landscape.

#Business Model Generation: The 9 Building Blocks

Undoubtedly I am a bit late on this post but I do believe late is better than never. As I continue to read through Alex Osterwalder’sBusiness Model Generation, I want to make sure I’m sharing some insights from this quick read. Today, I want to talk about the 9 “building blocks” to a business model. But first, let’s start with how we define a business model:

Business Model:A business model describes the rationale of how an organization creates, delivers, and captures value.

The following 9 building blocks are intended to establish a simple, relevant, and intuitively understandable breakdown of a business model while not oversimplifying the complexities of how businesses function. They show the logic of how a company intends to make money. These elements allow you to describe and think through your own organization’s business model, or even that of your competitors. With this shared language, you can easily describe and manipulate business models to create new strategic alternatives. The 9 building blocks are as follows:

1. Customer Segments (CS) – An organization serves one or several customer segments.
2. Value Proposition (VP) – It seeks to solve customer problems and satisfy customers needs with a value proposition
3. Channels (CH) – Value propositions are delivered to clients through communications, distribution, and sales channels.
4. Customer Relationships (CR) – Customer relationships are established and maintained with each customer segment.
5. Revenue Streams (RS) – Revenue streams results from value propositions successfully delivered to customers.
6. Key Resources (KR) – Key resources are the assets required to offer and deliver the previously described elements…
7. Key Activities (KA) – …by performing a number of key activities
8. Key Partnerships (KP) – Some activities are outsources and some resources are acquired outside of the enterprise.
9. Cost Structure (CS) – The business model elements result in the cost structure.

Osterwalder offers a visual representation of the relationship between these building blocks. Although it is quite simplistic and not entirely helpful in understanding the intricacies within and between each element, I find it somewhat helpful in at least remembering the 9 blocks listed above:

As I continue to dive into each of the 9 building blocks, I will share more details around each element and how it acts as a pillar within the business model. Also, Fred Wilson has been covering various revenue models in his “MBA Mondays” series. He has covered Advertising, Commerce, and Subscriptions. He is very comprehensive and explains each very clearly – highly recommend reading.