Socialnomics: How Social Media Transforms the Way We Live and Do Business, 2nd Edition

Chapter Seventeen

Social Analytics: Big Data and Beyond

Corporations, small businesses, and organizations exhaust exorbitant amounts of manpower and money to ensure their social media presence is the best it can be. Yet, more often than not, much of the potential from these efforts isn't fully realized. An underinvestment in, or a misunderstanding of, social analytics causes these missed opportunities.

According to Satmetrix, a customer service software provider, only 49 percent of companies it surveyed worldwide in January 2012 tracked and followed up on customer feedback on social media, while 28 percent did neither of these.¹

Most believe that social analytics is merely listening to what is being said on social media. While those who have read the earlier chapters of this book understand this is a critical first step, it is simply that: a first step. The purpose of this chapter is to help organizations move beyond simply listening to social media chatter. Organizations that are able to move beyond just listening will have a definitive advantage over their competition. Even those organizations that simply improve their listening capabilities will see dramatic results.

To move beyond basic listening, organizations will require more robust analytical tools to properly analyze the data to produce actionable insights. The investment in these tools is worth it, as these actionable insights will enable real-time decisions that will help propel the business forward.

Those that don't ...