The solution to social media starts with assessment

The nuanced, necessary and challenging relationship small businesses have with social media connected Gretchen Jones and Danielle Franca Swift, co-founders of  OFFLINE pledge.  With mutual concerns and observations, Jones and Franca Swift began to collaborate on how to address the complexity for small business owners. The result is the OFFLINE pledge process -  a series of questions,  designed to uncover the raw data needed to create a social media strategy that is in alignment with each business’s  goals and values. The process and the conclusion is unique for each business.

Jones and Franca Swift present this process in the OFFLINE pledge workbook. The workbook states: “Most of us have never tried to quantify or qualify what we get from active, regular participation online, so a lot of what you come up with may be surprising - that’s the point.”

Using four categories of costs and benefits, the workbook guides business owners through a detailed analysis of social media habits. With questions aimed to quantify and qualify tangible and intangible aspects , the assessment is a thorough examination of four categories of costs and benefits: direct, indirect, intangible, and opportunity.

The assessment tool provides an objective lens in contrast to the emotional and subjective experience of social media.  deBoer identifies the emotions of social media as challenging. She says, “I think what is missing is how to navigate the emotional side - the real/perceived exclusion, alienation, irrelevance if you leave the social sphere.” 

The emotional challenges are why Jones and Swift Franca created the workbook. The workbook states: “OFFLINE wants you to be able to make an objective analysis based on real information, rather than just feelings, so quantify those emotions.”

Finally, the experience of the assessment leads to a social media relationship that aligns with the values and goals of each business. The result is a sustainable strategy.

The OFFLINE statement of purpose reads: “It isn’t about quitting social media — most businesses can’t afford to. But neither can they afford to confine their growth strategies to a few major platforms. Today, the costs of online visibility have come to outweigh the benefits.“

TAKE THE PLEDGE. GET THE SEAL.

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Heather Birch is our in-house writer and is a member of OFFLINE.