The Dashboard is a good metaphor for displaying current key business activities - it has become a necessary tool for more efficiently driving your business... VROOM!These are modern versions of Business Intelligence Scorecards that help accumulate (KPI) data for performance and progress assessment; enabling easier decision-making. A "Social Media Dashboard connects throughout your company and the Web.
Simply, you gotta have it to benefit from it.
Our agency is getting a lot more requests to clarify what is happening for our clients in the marketplace - such as what is being said by employees, partners, customers, and prospects... including the same evaluation of our client's competitors. Done correctly, the Dashboard is the best way to assess, share, and get the necessary corroboration for your best next decisions and moves.
Hint: By limiting your display view to just one page, you are forced to prioritize the most important info. But it is way too easy to believe that more info equals better understanding ... the opposite is true because if it's not a quick read, you won't get to it!
Here is a look at a Social Media Dashboard by one of our partners. Radian6:
Have your management, trusted advisors, and tech vendors keep it as simple as possible when pulling together data from across your company (including other media campaigns) and across the Internet - sites, forums, blogs, tweets, etc.
See my recent post on how CMOs need participation and support from the entire company. Your Dashboard will get you all, literally, on the same page.
Tweak the Right Knobs
After you set up your "assessment dashboard" to clarify where you are, the data will show you the obvious areas for action... usually Sales-related. Also consider the one's that will have the right ROI - Big R and little i (big Return for little investment).
You will find less resistance putting next-step resources into maximizing existing assets:
- Reengage customers that are reaching out to you
- React to market surprises with accurate assessments
- Plan for known calendar opportunities
- Learn what competitive moves effect you
- See which of your Partners need attention
- Push or change current ad and PR messages
- Learn where you can automate your CMS functions
- Find the efficiencies!
Two Different Example to show the diversity of Dashboards:
Google Analytics delivers data in a simple Dashboard. It is the most popular service for assessing effectiveness of your site and advertising activities because it is easy, valuable, and free - 3 good reasons... the most important being EASY.(Cross-company and Internet data accumulation is not)
The Indianapolis Museum of Art shares a Dashboard of data to the public so everyone knows how THEIR museum is doing, who is being served, fund-raising activity, even electricity usage... An unexpected example of Dashboaard as Transparency
