Power tools make the work go faster…

You might find it useful to think of tools (and agency services for that matter) in terms of where they fit into the lifecycle of a Social Media Initiative:

1.)  Intelligence/Strategy Development – In the “homework” phase, you are doing a lot of listening and learning in order to understand the people you plan to engage with, what their needs and preferences are, how best to connect with them, etc.  Monitoring tools can be used to gather good intelligence in this early phase; tools like Unbound Technologies can help you identify Influencers across multiple comunities; channel/platform specific tools like Tweetdeck can help you analyze community norms and habits.

2.)    Execution/Implementation/Deployment – This is the action phase.  In this phase, you’ll need tools that help you put your plan in motion.  Some examples: Ratings and review tools (Bazaarvoice); community/ social networking platforms or tools for creating special communities (Ex: Leverage Software, Communispace), project/data management tools (many monitoring tools have a management module that allows you to track engagement and outcomes), online advocacy tools for ambassadors (Zuberance), tools that help you manage specific channels or work with content (Cli.gs).

3.)    Measurement: This is the phase that is critical to holding on to your job and your Social Media budget.  True measurement requires data from multiple sources, including Buzz Monitoring, Web Analytics, and various social channels.  Our measurement tool, Social Snap, brings all of this together in one easy to use dashboard.  Call us at 703-556-3390 for a demo. 

The good news is that new tools pop up every day.  The bad news is that new tools pop up every day.  At Serengeti, we specialize in helping clients set up and grow successful in-house marketing teams, so part of our job is to identify and select the right tools and vendors for our clients based on their unique strategy, tactics and measurement infrastructure.  If you are confused about the range of tools available, give us a call.  We can help.