Staying with the Times in Social Media

The quest of finding the perfect solution to measure return-on-investment with social media is an ever changing event. New websites and analytics tools are being created at lighting speeds. It’s important for those utilizing this new whirlwind of social technologies to be on their “A” game. A social media presence is an absolute must for any company or business owner looking to establish a relationship with customers. Any business with a brain is going to want results and data to measure the effectiveness and results from invested time!

It’s now easier than ever before to get lost in all the intricate webs of social media analysis tools. I’ve outlined a few that you might have never heard of.

• Feedly.com- is a Google Chrome extension that displays the latest updates from feeds, blogs, and sites like Facebook and Twitter in a magazine-like view. It integrates with Google Reader, Delicious, Amazon.com, YouTube, and other sites. The makeup of this site in very crisp and straightforward. If your looking to reach a specific niche market you can easily use this site to measure industry trends.




• Tweetdeck.com- Twitter is a real-time information network that connects you to the latest information about what you find interesting. Simply find the public streams you find most compelling and follow the conversations. This website helps to easily keep up with what people are doing.




I’ve always wanted to see what businesses are doing to fill these needs. Many companies don’t have individuals trained in using these new platforms there is only one option hire someone who does. I came across some very comforting and insightful statistics. A study done by www.epistar.com helps highlight the new trends companies are taking to establish an effective social media presence.

• 28% already have a social media or community manager in place and a further 41% expect to appoint one in the next 12 months.
• 73% of businesses are running online communities, or looking to do so in the next twelve months.
• The most challenging aspects of social media management are attracting users (32%), generating content (28%) and dealing with abuse (27%).
• Research released today finds that 69% of UK businesses have appointed or plan to appoint a social media or community manager in next 12 months.

*These statistics are from the United Kingdom. I found them to be very insightful and assume they would be similar to the U.S. market

“As more businesses start to take social media seriously, more will look towards employing community managers to ensure activities hit the mark. As this job function grows in importance, businesses will need to adjust to accommodate this person into the fabric of the company. Social media touches many or all parts of the organization, from marketing and IT through to customer service and HR. And that’s a good thing, as it forces companies to become more transparent and encourages them to listen to customers in new ways,” said Maria Wasing.


Here is a little video that shows us the new world of "socionomics"

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ypmfs3z8esI\

Written by: Keith Hayes