Social business: Creating a foundation for growth

November 30, 2009 |

As social media continues to gain mindshare - common reports show that 80 percent of all marketers now use social media - the basic challenges remain: where to start, who to involve, and what to do.

he starting point for nearly any social media program -- Fortune 500, small business, B2B, B2C, city government, or nonprofit -- is understanding what the social marketplace is saying about you right now. This seems obvious, yet basic monitoring isn't a universal best practice.

Traditional, awareness-based push marketing is different from participative, collaborative engagement of customers through social media. Shifting from one to the other requires a solid understanding of current, unfiltered perceptions. The good, the bad, and the ugly.

Tools like Techrigy's SM2 and BuzzStream are good at delivering this insight simply and clearly, and at a cost that is surprisingly accessible to any organization. I'm a solo practitioner, for example, and I use and pay for both of these services.

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