But “being out there” is not all! Social media is all about conversations, and conversations need to be listened to.

Are companies listening to the conversations that go on about them? If they aren’t, they could be in for a surprise. What some companies are yet to understand is that the Internet buzz can turn negative to the extent of even ruining businesses. It was only a couple of months back that Nestle tasted the sourness of social media. Listening and closely following Internet conversations can often aid timely interventions to deflect possible catastrophic outcomes. However, keeping track of all the different threads of online conversations is a big challenge. Social media monitoring and analytic tools go a long way in helping organizations on this front.

A typical social media monitoring tool scours the Internet for specific keywords/ search phrases and aggregates relevant bits of ‘mentions’ to display collectively on an easy-to-use dashboard. These mentions can be tagged or grouped based on a number of factors like sentiment of the article, type of media source, credibility of the source, etc. While many of these online tools are fully automated, there are a few like Trackur that provide for human intervention to make the results even more meaningful.

Snapshot of the Trackur Dashboard showing results for the search term “Qburst”.

Based on the data collected, grouped and analyzed, users can generate customized reports and trending charts which can also be exported. Some of these tools have extensive collaboration features which make them all the more attractive to companies. Radian6 and ViralHeat are examples of tools that go beyond just monitoring, to offer value-added features like third party application integration. Tools in their genre also provide co-branded or white label products for agencies.

Reputation management services go one step deeper. These monitor, analyze as well as take proactive or reactive measures to help maintain a general good impression on the web. Media monitoring and analysis is only a part of online reputation management services (ORM). ORM covers a wider range of services including creation of social media profiles, search engine optimization, development of microsites, promotion of positive content, link building and removal of negative content.

As a result, ORM services can be much more expensive. While social media monitoring tools are available for as low as $1/month, streamlined ORM packages fall in the price range of $100 – $5000 per month. Some providers have a set-up fee in addition to the monthly or yearly charges. WebpageFX is a web design and development company that offers Internet marketing services. Their reputation management packages are bundled with an interesting variety of features for which they charge a one-time investment along with the monthly fee.

As with SEO services, online reputation management services are also offered on a consultancy basis. Tailor-made solutions can be drawn up to suit specific requirements. Large corporations and enterprises may opt for such customized services while SMBs would probably find the streamlined services or tools more affordable.

Big or small, companies do need to monitor social media chatter to maintain their reputation and increase customer base. The options are many; businesses just need to sift and sort through the market to find a solution that best suits their need.