Marketers want better social media analytic tools

A recent Web Liquid survey shows that although 95% of respondents state that monitoring social mentions is a priority, only 74% have strategies in place to do so.

The most used social monitoring tool is Google Alerts, used by 59% of respondents, followed by Radian 6 with 9% of respondents.

Not surprisingly, only 23% of respondents were satisfied with to monitor social mentions and only 23% are “very” satisfied with their social media analytics tool.

In an environment still ruled by traditionalists driven by traditional metrics, analytics still are the weak link.

Using Social Media to Recruit Talent

UnitedHealth Group’s Director of Employment Marketing, Heather Polivka, shares how they are redefining the recruiting process with social media.

A great example of large company in a highly regulated environment mastering social media for recruiting purpose and later leading the way for other departments to dive into social media.

The keys to remember here are:

  • Preparation
  • Social media policy (as Heather states, the Navy and Air Force have a thorough template that can be easily adapted for any organization)
  • Training
  • Mentoring
  • Engagement on a personal level as well as professional.  It’s the “social” part in social media

Who would have thought that HR could lead the way? Congratulations Heather and the UnitedHealth social media team

See a copy of the US Air Force engagement policy mentioned in the video ( same as the Navy) bellow.

The changing internet

A March 2010 to March 2011 study from Silicon Alley Insider shows that the way people spend their time on the internet is rapidly changing and if you are not paying attention, your brand could become a victim.

The study shows a rapid increase (69%) in time spent on Facebook and a steady decrease (9%) in time spent on traditional websites shrunk by 9%

Social media has dramatically changed the way users look and think about the web, how they spend their time on the web and what they expect from the web

Does that mean  you should abandon your website?  No, but you should seriously think about how you use it and how you drive traffic to it.

If the trend persists, SEO will become less important and will progressively be replaced by social media.

Another recent study (May 2011) by Comscore looks at how users spend their time on social media sites like Facebook.  By the way, Facebook accounts for 90% of the time spent on all social media sites

  • 27% of their time is spent “consuming and interacting” on the newsfeed/wall
  • 21% on the profile section
  • 17% on the photo section

Interacting has become a big part of the web experience, experience delivered through social media sites.  What that means is if a brand or organization wants to keep their website relevant, they have to promote interaction.

How do you promote interaction on a website?  With a blog section, with comments and by integrating your site with social media platforms.