Social Media Marketing

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c h a p t e r

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SOCIAL ANALYTICS, METRICS, AND MEASUREMENT

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know where you can get it...” is the one that is remembered and appreciated. Building

social capital works the same way, and it most defi nitely applies to infl uencer relations.

Figure 6.4 Relative Trust

Social Capital

Author and thought leader Brian Solis offers a clear, concise view on social capital and its impor-

tance in business. You can follow Brian on Twitter (@briansolis) and read his post on social

capital here:

http://www.briansolis.com/2010/03/social-capital-the-currency-of-digital-

citizens/

Apply Your New Infl uencer Knowledge

Once you understand—quantitatively—the people in the marketplace or stakehold-

ers who matter to your fi rm or organization you’ll want to do something with this

information. Much of what can be done with infl uencer knowledge involves the use of

the social graph and applications that navigate it. Tools like Buzzstream and Sysomos

MAP are examples of how the social graph can be used to provide information that

defi nes the people talking about your brand, product, or service. You can combine

this with information that highlights the interconnections between people to create

an assessment of how infl uence actually fl ows. This can be tracked over time and tied

back to your social-media-based marketing efforts.

Infl uence ranking further allows you to prioritize your efforts. Like any other

program, there is a cost to undertaking it that can be measured in terms of other

opportunities foregone. The same applies to building relationships, with one caveat.

When using infl uencer scores to prioritize your efforts, it’s important to use more than

Social Capital

Author and thought leader Brian Solis offers a clear, concise view on social capital and its impor-

tance in business. You can follow Brian on Twitter (@briansolis) and read his post on social

capital here:

http://www.briansolis.com/2010/03/social-capital-the-currency-of-digital-

citizens/