Here we are now, after some time since the web 2.0 services were launched, contemplating the partial results. The 2.0 social network standard was expected to have huge potential and these days it surely has a richer meaning than in the past. Despite skeptic voices, the public started to recognize the enormous impact of the new social media. So do companies… increasingly and all around.
Among others, Tom Parish and Rod Amis have been pointing out for quite some time now that social media can be of great help to businesses. Or better said, it proves to be more of a crucial requirement, as the emphasis falls more and more on the online environment and its growing population. Companies started to use corporate blogs, public online presentations — including within virtual wolds like Second Fife (as Sun did recently), — software that monitors the web in search for prospects and client opinions about the company’s products and services, official involvement in talks with clients that discuss the company in other blogs or discussion boards, and the range of online tools valuing the social media can go on.
Because the ultimate goal for a business is — or should be — a good relationship with a satisfied customer and because more honest customer opinions can be found in the online talks — where people recommend or criticize — than in offline focus groups and market studies, many companies decided to turn to the social media, give it a closer look and use it for the better. In this concern, social media case studies and news at the Leverage Social Media website may be exciting and useful to those interested in the topic.
Comments
@ 17:25
The fact is that, in this highly interactive age, your customers will be talking about you whether you like it or not. Companies who embrace that fact and make themselves part of the debate, rather than just the subject, are going to be the ones to benefit from Web 2.0.
@ 20:46
You spoke nothing but the truth, Andy.
Actually, on Leverage Social Media there is good cover on this topic, analyzing software by which a company can scan the web in search for people’s online discussions about the company’s brand, products or services. Finding these discussions is only the first, passive part. The nice thing about more recent software platforms, like the one from Kalivo, is that they provide companies with means for involvement and feedback, engaging them in an interactive dialog with their clients or prospects.
If you’re interested in this, be sure to read both parts (one and two) of Rod’s interview with Brian Magierski, founder of Kalivo, and perhaps also listen to the podcast on Tom’s Talking Portraits.
Thanks for your thoughtful comment, Andy. Hoping to hear more of you in Smart Mobs.
@ 07:19
Marius,
First of all, thanks for this kind review. In a few days, I’ll be sharing a report on tracking the influence of these kinds of social media conversations offered from a recent study by Dow Jones. Stay tuned.
Meanwhile, I hope others will join in the discussion as we explore more on metrics over the next couple of weeks.
Regards.