Knowing what to expect prior to launching a white label community is essential, every step of the way. Now that you have chosen your online community provider, there
is a process which takes place, beginning with your community
configuration and continuing to the date of deployment. We will discuss
deployment strategies in our next series’ post. Nonprofits and
associations, especially, should expect the step-by-step timeline to
reflect the following basic elements. Please note, however, that the
complexity of the chosen platform will affect the completion of each
step as well as the overall timeline.
1) Review the Project Specification Document from Your Vendor
The
next step should be a detailed project specification. Look for an
initial document that is in-depth yet flexible enough to incorporate
critical changes. This important handoff should include a final
community design mock-up. Make sure to devote quality time to
reviewing it. Carefully check the details and proposed functionality.
The project specification should include feature descriptions, a
timeline, along with roles and responsibilities of both parties. Sign
off on the specifications and mock-up.
2) Receive the Formal Configuration Document for the Community
Approve
all of the specification elements as well as module positioning,
advertising scripts and url/domain name. This is the outline for how
your community will look and function when it is completed.
3) Gather the Necessary Resources from Your Organization
Your
social networking community provider should provide details on exactly
which members of your team will need to be involved in the building of
your community. Most likely, members of your technical, web, and
communications teams will need to be present at minimum. These teams will need to be able to address questions around your databases,
website, branding and messaging.
So that your vendor can furnish a detailed, accurate project
specification, you need to think about some of your community’s
critical elements:
-
If your organization is implementing Single Sign On with the community,
plan out the steps to procure the technical information your community
supplier needs to implement single sign on. If SSO with a custom-built
database is being implement, you will need a technical resource on
standby to work with your social networking community provider. Utilizing management systems from a provider such as Avectra,
Blackbaud, Convio or TMA Resources will expedite the process, as these
systems have standard Single-Sign-On procedures and tools that can help
the process move faster
-Think
about the look and feel of your community. Do you want the
socially-enabled side of your web presence to perfectly reflect your
website, or would you prefer the community to be unique? If you are
creating a new look for your community, you'll need a designer that can
work with you, and you'll also need to work with your community
provider to ensure the CSS of your new community reflects the updated
design
-At the
least, you will need to furnish your community provider with your
website's header and footer so it can be plugged into your community
design
-Because your
website and servers have unique DNS settings, you will need to
reconfigure them to create a unique subdomain for the new community
(community.yourwebsite.com). Also, decide upon an appealing domain name
that reflects your community and its mission.
It is important, as you create the project plan for the community, that
you have gained appropriate buy-in from all departments involved in the
community and get them to commit to project deliverables.
5) Construction and Branding of the Community
Your provider will tailor the platform to your needs in terms of design, branding and functionality.
This may take as little as a week or months, depending on the
configuration and sophistication of your community. Gathering all of
the required information from your organization's different departments
in a timely manner will improve the time-to-launch for your community.
6) Community Walk-Through Followed by Q&A
Once
the community construction and design has been completed by your
providers, give the community close scrutiny and a rigorous trial.
Your provider should adhere to industry-standard Q&A and testing
practices before releasing your community. Key members of your
organization should also take time to test all of the different
components of the 
community, ensure that the organization's message and
branding is properly reflected, and ensure that the community's work
flow will make sense to your organization's members and constituents.
7) Final Review and Acceptance
Prior
to deployment, you will have the opportunity to formally review your
new community. When your team is satisfied, you will be expected to
sign and return an acceptance certificate.
The
final step in the process is launching the community and getting your
members and constituents to join the community—we'll cover this next
week.
Evaluating
the process of a social networking deployment can be complicated. It is
our hope that these common steps will aid your research. If you would
like to learn more about the real-world benefits and ROI being realized
by nonprofits and associations in white label social media, please
click here.
