Programme Reviews
Part of B2B organic social programme reviews
Deciding whether an organic social activity is worth maintaining
Weigh a social activity's reader purpose, relevant response, workload and alternatives before deciding to maintain, change, pause or stop it.
To decide whether to maintain a particular organic social activity, identify the reader need it serves and the work required to keep it accurate. Weigh what it contributes against the team’s capacity to support it.
Name the activity and what readers would lose
An activity might be a recurring technical answer, a monthly document, a company update slot or time spent replying to relevant discussions. State what would disappear if it stopped. An update that affected clients’ need for accurate information should be assessed for that obligation, not treated as an optional audience-growth post.
Count the full workload: specialist input, claim checks, production, publishing, replies and upkeep. A format that is easy to post but hard to keep current has a different cost from a short, stable answer.
Put observed value beside effort
| Question | What to record | Limit |
|---|---|---|
| What need did it serve? | The question answered or change communicated. | A vague original purpose may need to be restated before review. |
| What response occurred? | Relevant questions, corrections or enquiries. | Visible responders are only part of the audience. |
| What exposure did it receive? | Available impressions or reach, period and distribution. | Exposure does not establish understanding. |
| What did it require? | Preparation, approval, response and upkeep time. | Use the team’s own records for actual effort. |
| What else could serve the need? | A simpler post, maintained page or occasional update. | An essential answer must remain available through the chosen route. |
Use relevant observations alongside the workload, keeping their limits in view. Do not assign a monetary return or sales contribution without the organisation’s own evidence and a defined method.
Choose and record an action
Maintain when the activity serves a clear purpose with accurate answers and a workload the team can support.
Change when the need remains but the format, subject or response route could serve it better. Name the change and the observation that will inform another review.
Pause when necessary facts, ownership or capacity are temporarily unavailable. Name the condition for resuming.
Stop when the need has ended, the claims cannot be supported or another route serves readers better. Preserve information people still need before withdrawing the activity.
For example, a hypothetical team might struggle to keep monthly document posts about a changing process current. A maintained destination with notices of material changes could be easier to manage. That is an editorial option, not a reported cost saving or a rule about documents.
Record the action, reason, owner, remaining uncertainty and review point. The decision concerns this activity’s contribution and upkeep, not the value of the whole programme.
