Working for a social media agency means that I’m often inundated with infographics. Some are insightful, some show great design aesthetics…and some tell me absolutely nothing! The infographic to the right, by Fred Cavazza , which highlights the social media landscape in 2011, stood out for two reasons (click on the infographic to enlarge it). Firstly, it has removed Google and Facebook from all categories and placed them as a central focus point. This reflects the continuous evolution of these platforms and their multi-functional capabilities. MORE >>

Image courtesy of McKinsey. In order to use social media to influence purchasing habits you need to embed it at key customer touchpoints. Using  McKinsey’s customer journey model as a base, we’ve looked at how and where you can use social media at key customer touch points. Initial consideration. What’s happening at this stage? Something has triggered a need for the customer to start thinking about making a purchase. The consumer considers an initial set of brands based on brand perceptions and exposure to recent touch points. How can social media be used? Active evaluation. MORE >>

While Social media monitoring tools are invaluable for helping with buzz tracking and for finding influencers, it’s important to take into  account the importance of human analysis.The results are not just about the quantitative metrics; it’s more nuanced than that and you need someone who can understand and interpret the data according to the needs of your business. When choosing a tool, one of the most important things to consider is how the tool lets you sort, filter and drill down into the search results. For now, here are a few of our highlights: Brandwatch. Alterian SM2. Peer Index. MORE >>

Image by Scoobymoo via Flickr. lot of people are excited about social media and think it could have a hugely positive impact on their brand, their marketing and communications, the insight they get, the way in which they deal with customer service and many other benefits it can bring to an organisation and to the way it interacts with and engages customers. They are right to be excited, the opportunities are great but brands should not hide from the fact that getting an engaging social media presence takes proper thought, some effort and may take time to embed. harsh realities in Social Media. MORE >>

The Social Network. Facebook will today announce that it has reached 500 million users. This number is incredible, and perhaps even more impressive is the rate at which the social network is growing. Just five months ago they had 400 million users. The site’s user base has grown by 25% in less than half a year. Incredible stuff. The problem is that huge numbers like this can stop us from examining them in more detail and acknowledging what they don’t tell us as much as what they do. But let’s not get carried away by this. And all too often it isn’t. Tweet This! MORE >>