By Rebecca Canan

“Even though I have a social media monitoring agency, I do most of my listening through free, channel-specific tools anyway.  My agency just doesn’t have the capabilities I didn’t know I needed.”

“I signed up with Radian6 when it was the popular thing to do, but now I’m frustrated by all the spam that gets through. ”

“We’re looking at signing on with Alterian SM2, but I have no idea if it’s the right choice or if I’m missing another vendor that would be better???”

These quotes from your peers provide a glimpse into the confusion and frustration that a lot of communicators experience when it comes to social media monitoring firms.  As I’ve mentioned in earlier blog posts, I’ve been trying my best to understand how you can listen to stakeholder conversations in a meaningful way.  Based on my interim thinking, I’m dedicating this post to helping you navigate through your social media vendor options.  (Note: As you probably know, there are a number of free tools out there to get started as well—I’ll write my next blog post about these el cheapo tools.)

In the meantime, if you are (a) overwhelmed by the monitoring vendors out there, but know you need help; (2) frustrated to death with your current agency; or (c) in the initial vendor exploration stage and want to know where to start…here are two helpful steps for you.

Step 1: Think about these big-picture considerations.

• Reports or real-time dashboards? While most social media monitoring companies provide dashboards that deliver information in real-time, some vendors (including BuzzLogic) don’t provide a client-facing dashboard.  Instead, they focus on consulting their clients and may take several weeks to deliver fully analyzed reports.
• Large or small shop? Large shops, including Nielsen Online and Harris Interactive, offer a wider range of services and often have the manpower to provide consulting services.  Small shops, on the other hand, are often more willing to provide additional flexibility and service.
• PR agency or social media tracking firm? PR agencies, according to some CEC members, have a deeper understanding of communications and reputation implications.  Many traditional PR firms now offer a digital arm, such as Weber Shandwick’s Digital Communications practice or Fleishman-Hillard’s Digital and Social Media practice.  Alternatively, social media tracking firms, such as Radian6, can give you flexibility in maneuvering your data and customizing it for you company.

Step 2: Compare your options.

The table below provides an at-a-glance overview of popular social media monitoring vendors.  CEC Members: You have access to in-depth profiles of each of these vendors.  Everyone: I know that several companies (e.g., Evolve24, Meltwater, Tealium, etc.) are missing…this space is evolving rapidly and we didn’t capture every service in our initial scan.  If anyone has comments or experiences to share about their vendor, feel free to leave them here.  Or if you’d rather chat off the record, please contact me at cananr@executiveboard.com.