Many people tend to think of using social media monitoring to either affirm positive conversations, or turn around negative ones.

But there is a middle layer that companies are beginning to focus on: the “white space.”

The “white space,” as Blake Cahill calls it, is neutral comments within social media. These comments neither disparage a brand, nor compliment it. They may just mention the brand or its products.

Blake Cahill

Such innocuous comments account for between 65 percent and 80 percent of all social media conversations, according to Cahill, SVP of Marketing for Visible Technologies, a social media management vendor that is able to parse sentiment within conversations.

Increasingly, brands are starting to mine these neutral conversations to see if they might be able to spark passion and interest, and gain brand advocates.

Once you have gotten through the positive and negative comments, “there is still a huge number of conversations that are just white space,” Cahill said during a phone conversation to promote the company’s newest TruCast product version. “It represents an opportunity – you might be able to move them into your camp.”

“Moving them” begins with listening, followed by bringing them into the conversation in some manner.  Microsoft, for example, uses TruCast to pinpoint conversations among IT folks who may be on the fence about switching to the company’s upcoming Windows 7 OS, due out for the enterprise in August. Microsoft has a small team that engages and provides links to relevant information on Microsoft web sites (this case study will be featured in an upcoming MarketingProfs.com special report).

Regarding TruCast’s new version (2.8), the main capability involves geo-mapping, or targeting English-language conversations in different countries or regions. Cahill said this is valuable for big brands that want to monitor the differences in conversations and perceptions in different markets.

For more information, read the press release.

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Nice thought leadership piece in Adotas.com last week by Andrew Edwards of Technology Leaders, an Engage client, on what happens when Google, as Edwards anticipates, upgrades its free web analytics tool to enterprise-class status. The industry ramifications will be deep, for vendors, consultants and everyone involved, he said. Here’s an excerpt:

“On the vendor side, everyone will be affected. But I might be willing to place a bet that Omniture will be the most impacted because they have a SaaS-only offering and a more marketing-focused constituency. Of all the vendor, theirs is probably the smallest group that is deeply concerned about privacy of data. This may be offset (partly) by their European operations, where privacy is much more sacrosanct than it is in the “free”-wheeling USA.”

Read more …

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Twitter. Facebook. YouTube. Blogs. Digg. StumbleUpon. When it comes to social media, these are the tools and web sites that everyone seems to be talking about.

But there is another underlying set of Web 2.0 utilities that more people (businesses specifically) should be discussing — and using — for their ability to truly engage and mobilize a customer sales force.

Leverage Obama's Best Practices for Your Business

I’m referring to some of the companies, products and tips detailed  in the back section of the “Obama Playbook: How Digital Media and Social Media Won the Election,” a 30-page special report put out by MarketingProfs.com this month. I can’t list them all, but here are a few of my favorites (disclaimer: I helped write the report with the incredibly prolific MP.com staff writer Kimberly Smith)

• UserVoice – One of the best ways to get customers involved and engaged, is to give them direct feedback into your product or service. UserVoice makes it easy for customers to do just, allowing them to leave suggestions, and vote on the suggestions of others (wisdom of the crowds). Administrators can let consumers know the status of their suggestions, including whether any are being planned. People just want to be heard — UserVoice.com lets them do that.
• Pluck — These days, consumers expect some of type of social media interaction with nearly any site they visit. Pluck provides the actual tools to help provide these capabilities. Through its on-demand platform, Austin-based Pluck increases enagement through user comments, ratings, recommendations, reviews, photo and video sharing, forums, social networking profiles and more.
• Simplified Messaging –What, this isn’t a product! No, but for all its high-tech wizardry, the Obama’s success was rooted in something very simple: simple, clear, crisp messaging that resonates (hope and change anyone?). You can have the greatest product in the world, but if the messaging is muddled, getting your customers behind it is that much more difficult. As Obama campaign staffer Scott Goodstein notes, messaging that resonates gets pushed around a lot faster.

There’s much more in the report, including analysis of every part of the campaign, from Facebook to email marketing to mobile. There are also interviews with the Obama staffers who made history happen. Become a premium member of MarketingProfs.com today and get your free copy. Let us know what you think!

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While many people view Twitter as a place for engaging in conversation with like-minded folks, or perhaps distributing their content, Brian Carter sees something else: a stage.

Brian Carter is Twitter’s resident comedian, delivering a stream of jokes and observations in 140 characters or less. While others are pontificating about social media best practices, including yours truly, Brian is quietly sending in his next pun, such as these proto-typical Tweets:

It’s a tough gig — there’s no immediate feedback, except maybe the occasional LOL, and of course, the space issue. But Brian pushes forward, determined to bring laughter to social media’s brightest stage. So far, Brian’s been a hit, having amassed more than 16K followers in less than a year’s time (compared to 13K followees). Part of the reason is that he’s also a highly respected search engine marketing and social media ninja for Fuel Interactive — he Tweets about that too.

Having enjoyed Brian’s off-the-cuff Tweets (view his favorites here), I decided to send him a few questions. He produced and sent back two videos of answers. Here’s Part I, check back later for Part II:

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Welcome to Engage Social Media, a results-oriented social media marketing and measurement firm. We specialize in social media monitoring and measurement — laying the groundwork for creating and optimizing successful social media marketing programs. Please have a look around the site and contact me with any questions.

- Erik Bratt

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