One of the things I'll be doing at the PRSA International Conference is looking at the various conversational monitoring services in the exhibit hall. There are a number of firms that all 'say' they can automate the monitoring of blogs (social media) and provide metrics, tonality, sentiment analysis, etc. It should be noted that a number of these services cost a pretty good amount of $$$.
What's interesting about the search is the I have long said (as have many of the colleagues in this industry that I know/trust/respect) that the free tools and a trained staffer can do the same thing. Plus there is that community context thing :-)
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Josh,
(First, disclosure--CustomScoop has a blog monitoring service that provides the above listed services.)
I think that a lot of the question depends on what the client is looking to gain from monitoring blogs (are they looking for product insights only? to respond to conversations? etc.), and even more importantly how much content has to be sorted through.
If the scope is narrow enough, and the company or PR firm has a staffer that can do it, then the free tools are an excellent option that will absolutely fit the bill. Paid services are not necessary for everyone looking to monitor blogs.
When you start considering the range of thousands of posts per week, and don't have an employee (or employees) with the desire, understanding, or time to delve into technorati scores, impact, analyze the content, and so on, it makes sense to seek out one of the many services out there.
As far as the community context goes, any company providing these services should do a 'deep dive' into their client's issue/issues. That should be a question that is asked--and answered to the client's satisfaction--of any blog monitoring service prior to signing on as a client.
I hope you are having fun at PRSA!
Jen
Posted by: Jen White | October 22, 2007 2:56 PM