2009 predictions revisited: 4 metrics tools for social media (& competing with Steve!)

January 14, 2009 :: Jill Foster

2009 at night

Predictions…got game?
Have you ever met someone who predicted outcomes for a coming year – say in the technology sector for example – who had over a 50% success rate?! Well look no further than the track record from our very own Steve Fisher. Last year of his (10) 2008 forecasts, he nailed 70%. Come on!…the pressure (Joe Loong, fellow blogger on our Solutions Are Power team, brought some humble humor on this point when making his predictions too).

…must…overcome…the pressure.

So my tact? Stick to one prediction!
And this year for our Solutions Out loud podcast, The Predictions Show, we had fun while making reasonable predictions to boot. Both Steve and Joe dove in with multiple visions for the year on Twitter, the social media space and customer service, and even thoughts on Obama’s Blackberry. And I made a single prediction: 2009’s increase in online measurement tools to analyze social media’s success.

How do we know if this stuff works?
By all means industries, small businesses included, using social media have been keenly interested in whether or not their social media strategy worked. So a new year won’t bring a new awakening on the value of metrics and analytics. But in light of economic conditions, there will be a usage surge of many less expensive (or free) Web 2.0 tools. Businesses communicating online in this way will likely – and aggressively – see their community and client engagement grow. And with this I foresee an inspired and innovative push for more ways to measure results.

So as we watch this market unfold, in the interim, here’s a quick mini-link-dump of current metrics tools out there that could help gauge your online engagement:

1. Radian6 – provides varied services with options that customize measurement of data and assess online influence across social media engagement;

2. Compete – offers a range of services like comparing which keywords direct traffic to your site vs your competitors;

3. SM2 by Techrigy – tracks the blogosphere’s conversation and sentiment on your company in real time plus more;

4. Google Analytics – a useful staple in detecting sources of your site traffic, the keywords that attract site/blog visitors with user-friendly set up, and then some.

This is just the tip of the metrics and measurement conversation (…of note Merics Man is a favorite voice on news and opinion). And a note on my own education at Network Solutions (it’s a big place!): I’m learning more about their business Education Center here which recently led to some insightful posts on assessing site visits and conversion rates.

This is just a mini list; so what resources do you use for measuring your online presence and success and how does your business define its online success standards?

photo by Voetmann, Creative Commons

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Comments are moderated and will appear shortly. See terms.

  • AmberNaslund
    Hiya Jill,

    Thanks so much for mentioning Radian6!

    I sure think you're right that data is going to start becoming ever more important, specifically in the social web. Metrics as we've always known them are evolving, but even more importantly, so is the practice of knowing what to do with the data once you've gathered it. We're moving from the "why" to the "how" in social media, and measuring brand evolution through the use of these concepts is going to be super important to the businesses who are still undecided about how to proceed.

    Appreciate your insights, and look forward to hearing and sharing more about how the measurement and engagement space involves over the coming year.

    Cheers,
    Amber Naslund
    Director of Community, Radian6
    @AmberCadabra
  • Great points Amber and thanks for stopping by. What you said about "knowing what to do with the data" resonates big time, especially if implementing social media - let alone measuring it - is a new decision for one's brand. I look forward to gaining more from your work at Radian6 (and see you for sure at BlogPotomac).
  • Hey Jill,
    Listening is definitely important!and definitely so if you're going to track your predictions.

    Thanks for including Techrigy SM2.

    And I love the new additions you've made to NetSol's presence. Rock it on!
  • Connie - Thanks for the enthusiasm and kind words! I've gained from your Techrigy SM2 insights; I appreciate you emphasizing the point too on what value listening online can bring to finding (and responding to) customer community.
  • Tobias_B
    Jill:

    Great post.

    If you are an SMB (Small to Medium-sized Business) and plan to buy any kind of marketing services, metrics are a must. But they need to be meaningful. For example, social media may increase visits, but will it increase conversions (visitors who become customers). You will need to create special landing pages to track this kind of behavior. More importantly, Google has broadened the relationship between keywords and results and that means it is getting hared to get on top of the paid search results page. If you are using a keyword management service, again, landing pages are important. But what if your product or service requires a solution sale - that is to say someone will not buy it online without calling your business. Make sure every person who answers the phone asks how the caller found your site. Track that somehow - on paper, in a shared document, or better yet in a Sales Force Automation (SFA) tool.

    Whatever you do this year, ask hard questions of marketers and sales consultants. Ask about their success in your industry. Ask about their contributions to the top and bottom lines of companies like yours. Most importantly, if you sell through channels, make sure they understand how to help your business improve the performance of the outlets that sell your product. Simple marketing plans are off the table - in this climate you need a program that helps your clients be more successful.

    Tobias
  • Tobias - You nailed it. Thanks very much for saying what you did on tracking conversions, solution sales, and the hard questions. Although it is a trying economic climate now, I do think this year will be an exciting one for metrics; and as you mentioned, at the core of that will be how services in general commit to and plan for client success.
  • Hi there, great post, and I am sure you're right that this year will see even more companies looking to measure the impact of their social media engagement.

    You have listed some of the very best tools on the market for sure, all of the companies provide valuable information for their clients. The problem with them though is that it is still very difficult to answer the fundamental questions of "so what does this actually mean?" and "so what have I actually achieved"?.

    The companies listed are very good at sourcing and automating the basic categorisation (or 'bucketing') of the conversations, but are not so good at interpreting it and answering the so what questions. That's why there will be a strong meed for companies to use the services of the more sophisticated social media measurement companies like Metrica (www.metrica.net) and KDPaine (www.kdpaine.com) who are able to make sense of the millions of data points.

    We blog about these kind of issues at Metrica's Measurement Matters (www.metrica.net/measurementmatters) and we would welcome you and our readers there to further the conversation and the debate.

    Warm regards,

    Richard
  • Richard -- Thanks very much for your resources and remarks on "the so what?" relevance. Addressing that can be a daunting task; and your suggestions help answer the question for small business engaging with social media.

    I once heard KD Paine speak at Blog Potomac last year. She was fantastic and insightful on the deeper ways to view social media metrics.
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