Deploying Social Media Tools

Elizabeth is a freelance writer and project manager living and working in London. She runs The Otobos Group, a project communications consultancy specializing in project management.

  Communications Management   Knowledge Management   Lessons Learned   ProjectsAtWork  

Harnessing the power of social media tools can greatly improve the communication and collaboration on your projects. But a test drive is prudent, and you must take into account team skills and location, among other considerations, before you dive in. Here are five pre-requisites for a successful social media deployment.

This is an excerpt from Get Started Using Social Media on Your Projects (3rd Edition), a 54-page ebook, recently updated and available here. Through May 30, there is a 30 percent discount with the code “pmbc.”

Once you have chosen a social media tool to help you manage your projects and teams, you need to start thinking about how you will implement it in your organization. But hang on — social media tools are not going to be suitable for every company, every project, or every team. Here are five things you should consider before embarking on a project-based social media initiative.

1. Your skills

It is great that you want to champion the use of social media tools in your project environment. How confident are you in the use of social media technology? If it is all quite new to you, try out some of the tools in a safe environment first. Set up a LinkedIn profile, connect with your friends and family on Facebook, start a Twitter account or contribute your knowledge to a wiki. This will help you feel confident in the principles …

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