I've long contended that social media is a vital part of the marketing mix and that the analysis of social commentary has fundamentally changed marketings function. When any communication is put in the market it will be discussed somewhere on line. The marketing message is no longer fully under the control of the brand.
This is so important for so many reasons - it used to be that a badly written piece of copy or a badly targeted campaign might have lead to a few conversations down the pub, well no longer are those conversations private, they are wide open and easily discoverable, it is vital that this kind of reaction is assessed and the impact measured.
I've met a number of big brands that are running scared, but I think that this is actually a great new way to really gather feedback, far more interactive and all encompassing than a focus group.
So putting our money where our mouths are, Alterian has acquired a social media monitoring company, Techrigy, that has indexed more than 1.5bn conversations and can put that data right into the hands of marketers so that they can really assess their impact of their messaging. I believe that all marketers need to access this data so that they can capture the zeigeist and ensure that they are making the most of their communication opportunities.
