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What You Need to Know about Launching a Social Networking Community, Part 2 in our Series
Posted by:
Walter Roark on
September 22, 2009 at
9:30PM AFT
In the second stage of evaluating an online community deployment, comparing platforms and costs is essential. If you  have
a limited budget, for example, can you select an affordable platform
that still provides real value for community members? If you’re a
nonprofit or association, is it possible to choose a platform that
gives your constituents new ways to interact with each other and your
organization? Will the platform seamlessly scale to meet the demand as
more and more members begin taking advantage of the technology?
Today we present an overview of elements associations and nonprofits
might consider in their selection of a white label social community
platform.
Questions Abound, but Start with Two:
1) Does Your Social Networking Provider Specialize in Serving Organizations Like Yours?
2)Will the Proposed Platform Be Secure and Scalable Plus Integrate Seamlessly with Your Existing Database Systems?
After you’ve determined precisely what you expect to accomplish with
your new online community, start evaluation by formulating a list of
requirements generated by the above questions:
-Make sure you compare the level of industry experience your
prospective software vendor possesses with organizations similar to
yours
-Explore your provider’s track record with online communities much like the one you envision
-Study the design and functionality of relevant communities. Do they look and work as you would expect?
-Inquire about the level of support vendor candidates offer in
terms of a well-planned launch strategy. Can they offer best practices?
-Your potential vendors exhibit expertise, but do they offer
100% reliable, secure and scalable hosting, even during traffic surges?
In a best case scenario, the servers will be housed in a
state-of-the-art Tier IV data center
-Determine if the proposed platform offers full integration
with your existing brand and web presence, and full compatibility with
legacy applications that you will continue to run
-Look for a flexible, enterprise-focused platform that will
help your organization achieve a return on your investment while fully
meeting the needs of your customers and members
-Whether your organization is a large or small nonprofit or
association, will the new online community help you address multiple
issues such as membership retention, fundraising, consistent member
engagement, non-dues revenue generation, and significant support for
special events?
-It is essential that full integration exists with your
database management systems so that your staff can easily access
constituent data and leverage it. Will you own your data?
-Ask your candidates about open, flexible APIs (Application
Programming Interfaces). Will your deployment offer a suite of
next-generation API modules and the option of allowing your tech staff
to create more?
-Does your prospective vendor offer a reasonable,
subscription-based partnership that does not demand significant upfront
investment?
-If your budget is limited, your provider should help you
utilize Twitter to enhance the impact of your online community
-Ideally, your community should include social media solutions
that help your constituents support your mission, whether it takes the
form of socially-enabled education groups, advocacy causes, actions,
fundraising events or supplier directories
Evaluating the costs and benefits of social networking deployments can
be complicated, even intimidating. It is our hope that these ideas
serve as a logical beginning for 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.
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