No matter what one thinks about social networking, it has become a force that no one ever anticipated.

In his article “7 Questions Key to Social Networking Success,” which appeared in “Information Week” and was reprinted in the book “Social Networking,” John Soat offered insights about social networking.

Soat argued that social media is primed to emerge as the most significant business enabler since the Internet itself. Further, he contended that leaders of organizations planning to leverage social networking must be able to answer seven key questions in order to have social networking success. Those questions are:

• Are my competitors continuing to invest in social networking? Soat says this is a good question considering the flash-in-the-pan potential of social networking.
• Where’s the ROI? Return on investment (ROI) depends on what the organization is trying to accomplish with its social media strategy.
• Which way works best? Experts agree that entities must develop a dual strategy that incorporates homegrown online communities and involvement with public social networks.
• How deep within my organization should social networking be allowed to penetrate? Answer this one carefully.
• Is it necessary to have a corporate policy around social networking? Yes, and it needs to be short, simple and clear.
• What can social media teach me about internal collaboration? Little about technology, much about transparency and knowledge flow.
• What’s next? Think: measurement and analytics.

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