- A vast amount of market insight and consumer feedback is contained in social media, but how it should be extracted and how that extracted data can be transformed into action are complex questions.
- A daunting number of vendors and a fluid set of features make it difficult for organizations interested in beginning a social analytics project, and this market demands continued attention from organizations already involved.
Our Advice
Critical Insight
- Due to social analytics immaturity, organizations cannot treat these projects like traditional BI projects. With BI, you are operating in a mature market where organizations can afford to approach in a slow, cautious fashion and benefit from it. With social analytics, organizations need to look for quick results and little commitment.
- An immature market generally means consolidation is coming. Organizations need to be wary of investing too heavily in any single vendor since there is a strong chance of bankruptcy or acquisition.
- The continually changing tools and ideas supporting social analytics require organizations to regularly review the initiative, revising goals and adjusting metric use.
Impact and Result
- Social analytics can help companies to measure social efforts in terms of brand awareness, sales, product development, and customer service.
- Social analytics should be used to direct the organization’s overall social media strategy as it is revised going forward. Considering the fact that companies are only beginning to dive into this new customer channel and explore its potential, this guidance is particularly crucial.