“Do we need to be in the social space?” is probably one of the biggest questions facing companies today. Twitter might not be right for all companies (although I wish the Lincoln Park Athletic Club would get on it), but there is something for everyone to gain from social media: The ability to listen.
Before social media, company-customer communication was primarily one-way. Sure, customers could fill out surveys or file complaints, but a dialogue did not exist. In 1995 Netscape went public, essentially giving the Internet life. The cost of communication was virtually free in this new, infinite plane. Less than a decade later social media was born and now customers and companies can have conversations.
Listen to what customers are saying. No matter what business your business is in, it is important to understand what the world is saying about you. The idea of finding this information through the thousands of social media tools out there is daunting, but if you know where to look, the results are easy to find.
While there are do-it-yourself applications like Google Analytics and Yahoo Pipes, companies are actually developing software to trace social space content now. Amber Naslund visited us at Loyola University Chicago yesterday to discuss Radian6’s social media research software. The Chicago-based company’s software not only measures social space mentions down to the minute, but comes equipped to analyze the results as well.
Photo by Ralph Braseth
Amber was a fantastic guest with great insight. If nothing else, she demonstrated that social media is here to stay. While the social media tools will change, the principle of the revolution will not. The ability to listen and connect with customers is an extraordinary advantage that allows companies to respond, build relationships and learn their people.
