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Social Media Monitoring Tools for Asia

I recently answered a few questions about Social Media monitoring in Asia for Arun Sudhaman of Media magazine. Arun’s article was an excellent synthesis of many views (I cannot find the link!).

Here are my views:

Which are the key social media tracking tools (paid and unpaid) that you use, and why? How do they compare in terms of (a) price, (b) functionality and (c) ease of use.

Many claims are made, but I have looked at more than a dozen providers and not yet seen a satisfactory regional solution for social media monitoring in Asia, paid or unpaid. For now, the best solutions in many markets remains manual mapping of online conversations using free tools such as Google blog search, Yahoo or locally dominant sites such as Baidu in China, Naver in Korea, etc. We have gathered the best free social media search tools for easy reference at the website http://thedailyinfluence.com/.

What are the challenges and pitfalls involved in using tools to track social media?

Anyone trying to track social media across Asia faces numerous of issues starting at the simple and obvious level of language and culture, but then moving on to the wide range and variety of digital eco-systems across the region. In addition, geo-targeting can be highly misleading. A Singapore blogger user Wordpress.com will look like a US blogger to an unrefined geo-tracking system.

To what extent can you really automated tools? How important is the human element and can you provide any examples of this?

The ideal scenario is not built around any specific tool, but rather a rational approach that may or may not include specific tools. You want to obtain as clear a snapshot of online conversations about your brand and then measure the impact of tactics moving forward.

The most clear shortcoming in automated social monitoring comes with sentiment monitoring. This is not just about machines confusing a blogger’s use of “bad” to mean “cool”, but with many postings reasonable people could disagree about some sentiments expressed in posting.

Recent research shows that Asian CEOs are considerably less concerned about their online reputations. Why is this finding of concern - and why is social media monitoring important in this context? Do you have any specific examples?

Reputation monitoring for senior executives will only get more important over time. I would be curious to know how many of those CEOs who are unconcerned about their online reputations do Google searches after meeting someone new. For the vast majority of executives, Google search will affect an executives reputation far more than traditional media.

What are the key things for a client to remember when:
(a) selecting social media monitoring tools?

The tool is not the answer, it is the approach and strategies that matter most. Some of the best tools are free, so it comes down to how you use them.

(b) determining how best to put a monitoring plan into action?

You need to have a full understanding of your purpose for engagement. There is a great deal of danger in leaping to engagement tactics before seeing what conversations are out there about your brand.

Perhaps you should start a Facebook Group or Twitter feed, but before doing so, it is better to take a strategic look at how you are deploying your resources. Everybody has limited time and money.

What are the most common mistakes made when attempting to protect your online reputation?

Leaping to engage with bloggers and the blogosphere without understanding how to behave or join the conversation. Social media is like a global cocktail party and you don’t want to be the bore of the party, talking loudly about things nobody wants to hear.

How can social media help a brand’s reputation - do you have any specific examples?

So many examples! In the United States, some classic examples include Microsoft allowing Robert Scoble to become a corporate blogger, but many come as the result of a bad experiences online. Both ComCast and Dell built state-of-the-art social media teams following disasters they faced online.

We are helping brands putting together social media campaigns in countries across Asia all the time. A few weeks ago, for example, we completed a very interesting blind trial of facial creams with more
than 100 bloggers in China.

The bloggers, all influential voices within the target demographic for the facial cream, matched up their favored brand with a mystery sample sent to them. The results were stunningly positive throughout the process and by the time Ponds (Our client) was unveiled as the mystery brand, the bloggers had embraced the product they would switch to use.

Any other comments to add?

Brands need to understand that not having a social media strategy is equivalent to not having a media strategy. Many companies could not imagine failing to monitor what publications are saying about their
brands, but today consumers spend more time online than reading publications.

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