INFLUENCE

Community Relations 2.0

by GeraldC. Kane, Robert G.Fichman, John Gallaugher, and John Glaser

I

n 2003, Boston University Medical Campus (BUMC) announced plans to build an advanced high-security laboratory to studyvirulent biological agents.Stakeholders expected the lab to conduct groundbreaking researchleading to public health and counterterrorism advancesthat

wouldcombat weaponi.zed versions of Ebola, tularemia, anthrax, and other lethal diseases.At first, the project was widely hailed as a boon to national security, to the region's standing as a biotech leader, and to Boston's economy.

And then suddenly the tide turned. Known officially as the National Emerging Infectious Diseases Laboratories, the facility was sited near BUMC at the junctionof Boston's residential South End and Roxbury neighborhoods. The more residents heard about the kinds of substances their new neighbor would handle, the less eager they were to have the building in their midst. How secure would it be? What if something got out? Wouldn't the lab be a high-profile target for terrorists? If it was as safe as proponents claimed, why couldn't it be built inan affluent suburb like Brookline, Newton, or Wellesley?

Businesses and other institutions have long practiced "community outreach" to nurture positive, cooperative relationships between themselves and the public. Before the internet, firms had far more time to methodically monitor and respond to community activity. With the rise of social media, that luxury has vanished, leaving a community-management vacuum in dire need of fresh skills, adaptive tactics, and acoherent strategy. In fact, in today's hyperconnected world, a company's community has few geographical barriers; it comprises all customers and interested parties, not just local neighbors. This article,based on our research examining social media engagement at more than two dozen firms, describes the changes wrought by social media platforms and shows how your company can make the most ofthis brave new world.

What's Different About New Communities?

IT-enabled collaborative tools such as social networks, wikis, and blogs greatlyincrease a community's speed of formation and magnify its impact and reach. New communities come together and disperse quickly and are often led by different people at different moments. And mobile interfaces keep groups on the alert,ready to drum up information or break into action.

Communities vary widely in their purpose and membership-and in their tone, which can range from friendly and collaborative to ardently hostile. The importance of sorting out which is which and then deciding whether and how to engage-makes the discipline of managing them a delicate and highly strategic internal capability.

Social Media Capabilities

Deep relationships.

Rapid organization.

Knowledge creationand synthesis.

Information filtering.

The Community Opportunity

To many businesses, online communities look like antagonists, not would-be partners with intersecting interests. It's true that they're often formed, in part, as reactions against mainstream practices, values, and philosophies-but don't let a community's pedigree cloud your thinking about opportunities to create value.In the health care field, communities like Sermo, PatientsLikeMe, and Inspire may be the seeds of a future in which it's common practice for diverse constituents to attack shared problems together.

Engaging the Next Generation of Online Communities

A company's social media team must develop policies and strategies for managing online communities, both to mitigate negative consequences and to foster positive engagement. Its responsibilities should include monitoring online communities that exist outside and inside the company, engaging those communities when necessary, and serving as first responders in the event of a social media crisis. (For more details, see the sidebar " The Mandatefor the Social Media Team

The Mandate for the Social Media Team

1: Develop a Formal Social Media Policy

Accountability.

Accuracy and transparency.

Lawfulness.

2: Monitor External and Internal Online Communities

Leverage tools.

Mobilize internal deputies.

3: Engage Online Communities

Reach out to community leaders.

Be a liaisonto internal communities.

4: Act as First Responders

Some issues requireimmediate action buta rapidyet ill-conceived reactioncan makematters worse. Therefore team members, like real-world first responders, should be trainedto triage situations.

Acknowledge mistakes.

Ward off crises.

Engage selectively.

Explain this case study with 5 Reference, In text citations, Situation, Causes, Alternatives, Recommendations, Implementations and Control ?

Gerald c. Kane ( gerald.kane@bc.edu) is an assistantprofessor of information systems,