<p>Most organizations are only at the "intermediate" stage of becoming social businesses. That's a key finding in a new report from the Altimeter Group, which looks at the current state of the social business transformation. The report is based on interviews with social media strategists and executives at 65 firms with more than 500 employees.</p><p>The report, "The State of Social Business 2013: The Maturing of Social Media into Social Business," points out "there is no one way to become a social business." Rather, an evolution occurs that aligns social media strategies with an organization's business goals. In fact, companies are using a variety of organizational structures, with hub-and-spoke being the most common (41 percent of respondents). In this structure, a cross-functional team occupies a central position and helps other units.</p><p>There's a significant difference, the report notes, between a company that executes social media strategies and one that is truly a "social business." To reach the latter state, it explains, an organization must have undertaken the "deep integration of social media and social methodologies into the organization to drive business impact." In other words, social media thinking, techniques and technologies are part of the corporate DNA.</p><p>The report identifies six stages toward that state:</p><p><a href="http://www.cmswire.com/cms/social-business/most-organizations-have-yet-to-become-fully-social-altimeter-group-finds-022948.php">Keep reading...</a></p>