Chapter 8

Taking the Corporate Plunge

In This Chapter

  • Absorbing the spectrum of social technologies
  • Selecting Social Analytics vendors
  • Protecting consumer privacy
  • Paving a path for social media measurement

Whether you work for a large enterprise business, a small mom-and-pop shop, or anything in between, social media will change how you operate. I write this chapter for those of you engaged in social media at any stage because the topics herein are essential for getting started, but they’re also worth revisiting if you’re underway.

In Chapter 3 I mentioned that you can get away with listening to your customers across social media with free tools, ingenuity, and hard work as you’re getting started, but to maintain a world class social presence you will need tools that span the gambit of social interactions. That’s why I set out to paint a picture of the spectrum of social technologies and define what each technology category can offer to your business. Understanding the differentiating capabilities for the multitude of social media technologies out there will save you time and energy when it comes to selecting vendor

partners. This chapter will help you do just that—it also offers an insider’s view into seven leading Social Analytics tools in the marketplace. I assessed these technologies by developing a 75-criterion evaluation matrix that you can carry with you to any vendor demo to determine if they have what I deem to be the critical elements of a robust Social Analytics ...

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