It pays to listen and become a Facebook fan

Companies are struggling to track online conversations. While 80 per cent of Australian marketers consider it important to track online conversations, only three per cent have invested in online listening tools, according to a Meltwater Group study.

Alicia Kennedy, Meltwater, director, said that the key to understanding social media’s impact is to listen to what’s being said about your company. “It’s about understanding how social media works, effectively measuring activities and analysing its impact to business.

“Listening to what is being said about your company and learning where these conversations are taking place online is a key part of measuring changes in sentiment and the impact of online activities,” said Kennedy.

The business intelligence company, released the results of the Future of Content research on Friday, which found that 37 per cent of Australian marketers are challenged by the lack of adequate online monitoring tools. As social media is an evolving, fairly new media there is a competency gap as a high percentage of companies do not feel there are accurate tools for tracking and monitoring online.

“Yet there are tools available and the lack of adequate tracking and monitoring is an impedament. Companies want to invest but only one in five are doing it,” she said.

A further 32 per cent of Australian marketers plan to invest in online monitoring and listening tools in the next 12 months. Kennedy said companies are some way off where they need to be or indeed want to be in their social media strategies and tactics.

“As budgets increase companies will have money to purchase tools to track and monitor what’s going on.”

The research, from 450 companies from Australia, US, Europe and Asia, produced insight into how companies are tackling social media and content marketing. Up to 52 per cent think it is difficult to measure the true ROI of social media activities. Only one in six companies is fully satisfied they can measure return.

“The first step is to engage in the right way in what the company wants to do and what the company’s aims are,” said Kennedy.