How to write a one-page requirements list for social media management software

Why one page

A long requirements document gets written once and never read. One page gets read by the owner, sent to vendors and taken into every demo. The limit also forces choices. If everything is a must-have, nothing is, and the vendor with the longest feature list wins by default.

Who should be in the room

Thirty minutes with the right four people is enough. In a small business, one person may hold two of these seats.

• The person who posts. Knows where the hours go.
• The person who answers customers. Knows what the inbox needs.
• The budget owner. Knows the ceiling and wants the report.
• Whoever answers for account access. Knows who holds logins today and what happens when someone leaves.

The six blocks of the page

Use the same six headings every time. A vendor should be able to read the page in two minutes.

• Platforms and accounts. Every network you post on, by name, and how many accounts on each.
• Modules. Which of the five you will use weekly, and which you will not.
• People and approvals. Who prepares, who approves and who only reads.
• Must-haves. Five to eight lines. A product that fails one is off the shortlist.
• Nice-to-haves. Things that would break a tie.
• Limits. The yearly budget ceiling, the date you need it working, and any security or contract conditions your company sets.

Wording a requirement so it can be checked

A requirement is useful when a vendor can show it and you can say yes or no. 'Easy to use' fails that standard. 'A store manager can approve a post without training' passes it. 'Good analytics' fails. 'We can see which three posts drew the most link clicks last month' passes.

Write each line as something a named person does. Then the demo becomes a matter of watching that person's task performed.

An illustrative page

As an example, take a furniture retailer with four showrooms and a marketing team of two. Its page might read as follows.

• Platforms: Instagram, Facebook and YouTube, one brand account on each, plus a Facebook page per showroom.
• Modules: publish and engage weekly, report monthly, advertise at sale times.
• People: two prepare, the marketing lead approves, four showroom managers read.
• Must-haves: one post to all three platforms in a single step; an approval before anything publishes; comments and messages in one inbox; a monthly report the owner receives without asking.
• Nice-to-haves: help making short video; a way to send a link by message when someone asks for the catalog.
• Limits: working before the autumn sale; a first term of one year at most.

Where Link AI fits

We recommend holding Link AI by Linkme against your page, and the furniture retailer's example shows how that goes. Its three platforms are among the five in Post to All. 'An approval before anything publishes' corresponds to drafts that a team member creates and marks 'Needs review'. 'Comments and messages in one inbox' corresponds to the Social Inbox, where replies are drafted. 'A monthly report the owner receives without asking' corresponds to Reports, though how often it goes out is a question to ask. The nice-to-haves have counterparts too: Link AI makes videos, and DM Automations send a link when someone comments a keyword.

Other lines would stay open. A Facebook page per showroom raises the question of how many accounts a plan includes, which this reference does not state, and the one-year limit on a first term is a contract matter. Mark such lines 'confirm', then see Link AI on your own accounts in a demo. The next step is the vendor questions.

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