This was a breakout year in the world of social media, ranging from new people to new companies to new technologies and plenty of new ideas for companies that finally jumped into the social media arena this year.

This was also a banner year for research reports about the impact of social media on global businesses and economies. It’s always tricky to rectify the data from report to report, but I’d rather have too much information to sort through to make decisions than too little like some previous years.

With that in mind, here are the studies and reports I found to be the most insightful this year and that I keep close at hand for reference with clients and colleagues:

• Razorfish: FEED: Consumer Experience Report: This study focuses on understanding how technology impacts today’s digital consumer experience.
• Technorati: State of the Blogosphere 2008: The long time industry standard, this year’s report analyzed trends and themes of blogging and surveyed bloggers about how blogging has impacted them personally, professionally, and financially.
• Universal McCann: Power to the People Wave Report 3: This excellent study measured consumer usage, attitudes and interests in adopting social media platforms and technologies.
• Forrester Research: How to Connect with Bloggers: This paid report helps brands understand bloggers and their motivations before kicking off outreach programs.
• MarketTools Insight: How Americans are Socially Connected on the Web. This report covered the link between socially networked consumers and purchasing decisions.

Those are just a few of my favorites this year. Let me know if you have any others you thought were particularly good this year.

Mike Spataro

I’m continually amazed at how some of the biggest and smartest brands in the world have trouble with the decision-making process over choosing a social media measurement partner. They not only struggle with the process, they often base their decisions on what I would say is an incomplete criteria.

Maybe I shouldn’t be surprised since this is still an emerging industry and area of growing importance to companies. Perhaps the real blame goes to some of us in the business for not doing enough to educate the market about the value and differences of our offerings and the right ways to evaluate the different products and services available.

While attending one of the thought provocative WOMMA dinners the other night in Las Vegas hosted by industry expert Nathan Gilliatt, it struck me that many brands are making decisions on social media companies the same way many consumers make a decision when buying a new car – based on how its looks or exterior design, and hardly ever on what’s really important, namely what’s under the hood.

With that in mind, here’s my car analogy tip sheet to help interested brands in making more informed decisions in the future:

The Dealership: Would your purchase an expensive item like a new car without knowing anything about the manufacturer or the reputation of the local dealer? The biographies of everyone in our industry are readily available on the Web. Start your checklist by looking for people with strong backgrounds in social media research and analytics.

The Dashboard: Don’t be blinded by the fancy interactive dashboards and Flash charts. It’s much more important to understand the data methodologies behind those dashboards that create those results. Without a solid understanding of how the company collects and calculates its data, the dazzling digital displays won’t hold much value for your organization.

The Horsepower: When considering software providers, it’s particularly critical to research the so-called “horsepower” or engine fueling the application. Is it going to deliver your brand what you want to know now and down the road? Will it still be able to move your social media initiatives forward over the next five years or become as obsolete as the Edsel?

The Onboard Computer: The intelligence behind the platform and the people should also be on your checklist. Is the data making you smarter about your business and does it fit into the way your company analyzes other market research and analytics? When you want to go deep and do even more with the information, does the vendor have the talent and team to go beyond just what the technology can provide you?

The Service and Warranty: When things go wrong with a car everyone wants outstanding service and warranty protection. It’s no different in this industry, especially given its emerging nature. There will always be the need for additional support at all hours of the day and night and help when a breaking crisis or emergency strikes your brand. It’s critical to have a partner that will help you in those situations and always be ready to jump in the trenches with you.

With these handy tips, any company can make a better informed decision about selecting a social media partner. I’m also available to help develop your RFP.

Mike Spataro

I think the debate about the ROI of social media has really gone off the deep end. It always seems to be a hot topic at pretty much every marketing conference held nowadays.

On one hand you have people who insist you can’t really measure the business value of consumer conversations on the Web, while others who say social media insights will never be taken serious until they can be aligned with a company’s bottom line.

I believe many of the people who throw the white towel in on the ability to understand the value and measure social media are not looking at the problem or the solution the right way. One of the fun challenges of working in the social media analytics field is helping companies figure out how to learn and apply knowledge from what consumers say online about their brand, products and competitors to strengthen customer relationships and ultimately grow their businesses.

This can be a particularly sticky issue for many companies, and in particular global brands with growing needs to integrate social media data across multiple divisions of their organization, such as brand management, customer service, market research, marketing, corporate communications, and product public relations, to name a few. Notice I said ‘data’ not ‘insights.’ If you cannot convert insights into data, there is no real value to a brand. Smart marketers don’t monitor the Web, they learn from it. There’s a big difference.

The on-demand availability of this new stream of consumer intelligence being pumped into the offices of corporate America today is one of the biggest reasons social media measurement has become a white hot industry over the past few years. Static consumer data owned by market researchers for years now has a dynamic quality and is leapfrogging its way across many parts of an organization.

This trend is presenting some unique challenges for companies as they grapple with ways to convert learnings into actionable data within their corporate environment. It’s a fascinating exercise to see how different companies in different industries are approaching this new challenge. Depending on your job description, a consumer sharing information about your brand can either be viewed as extremely valuable or mostly insignificant.

In other words, even though one disgruntled customer could trigger an immediate response from someone in the corporate PR department, that same consumer would barely attract any attention in the product marketing or market research groups unless the information can be substantiated as part of much larger issue or trend that will impact whether or not the company will alter its marketing strategy or product development. And that’s not to say that companies should not listen to what one person says. We’ve all witnessed how a single voice can inflict damage on a brand, but rather it underscores the point that not all social media is equal in the eyes of a company.

While most of us would argue that 50 consumers complaining about a brand is substantial, you have to first figure out if that is 50 people out of 100 like-minded individuals or 50 people out of 1 million to gauge the real impact on this information. This is at the heart of how many brands are approaching the argument about an ROI model for social media.

There are two schools of thought about whether social media data should be analyzed on its own merits or integrated into existing Web analytical models used by most brands and interactive marketing agencies. It’s a debate that continues to pick up momentum and plays into the social media ROI debate. I’m a big believer in social media data integration with other forms of research. It’s where smart brands and agencies are now placing their bets.

As always, I welcome your feedback and comments.

Mike Spataro

I finally got around to digesting Technorati’s new 2008 State of the Blogosphere Report (I’m glad they are back with the new numbers), and here are the less sexy stats that I found most interesting in the recent report.

I don’t get too excited about the size the community numbers as much as I do about the more insightful data. The devil in this industry is all in the details. So here’s the ones that caught my attention:

• 80% of bloggers say they have written about brands and products (companies beware);
• Nearly 40% indicate they have been quoted in mainstream media (15 minutes of fame?);
• Majority of bloggers have full-time jobs (they must be great at time management);
• 12% are blogging on behalf of their companies (that’s higher than I would have imagined);
• Two-thirds of bloggers reveal their identifies online (I expect that number to decrease over time);
• 33% of them have received free products (I wonder how many have returned them); and,
• “News” was the the most popular tag used by bloggers (does everyone think they are a journalist?).

Mike Spataro

A civil lawsuit accusing an entertainer with a negative reputation of financially benefiting by promoting his bad boy reputation on the Web was the crux of an interesting trial I was asked to testify at. It was a real Web 2.0 case with viral marketing labeled as the “smoking gun.”

The plaintiffs are four young adults who allege they suffered injuries and emotional distress during a brawl that erupted in the audience at a 2004 concert in Springfield, MA., where the non-jury trial recently took place in District Court. The defendant is well known rapper Curtis Jackson, a.k.a 50 Cent, who leaped into the audience along with his entourage of band mates after being doused with a bottle of water by someone in the audience. The ensuing brawl was ugly and disturbing.

Arguing the famous rapper has a long history of similar bad behavior, the plaintiffs claim Jackson is reaping economic rewards as a brand and a business thanks in part to a professionally produced YouTube video of the brawl that has been viewed by nearly 200,000 people over the past year. The video also has been linked to by dozens of other popular gangster rap music sites, which further promote his bad boy selling image. The defense, of course, strongly disagreed.

The intersection of that argument is why I was asked to testify as a paid “subject expert” about online reputation management and quantifying the value of viral video marketing, namely the five-minute YouTube video.

I think there is little doubt in the world of marketing that people can make as much money from being a bad character just as much as Miley Cyrus does from her wholesome image. The main issue came down to whether or not Jackson’s complacency in allowing the video to remain online is contributing to sales of his music and merchandise. It was a hot topic that resulted in me being under oath a surprisingly long two hours. Even the judge got into the act, asking poignant questions about digital marketing and the comparative value of paid advertising on television vs. a free on-demand video on the Web.

It was difficult for the defense team to justify why Jackson’s camp didn’t have the video removed from the site if he really thought it was having a negative impact on his image. I’ve worked on campaigns with celebrities before and none of them were ever unaware of what was in the public domain and whether or not it should be stopped or enhanced. Jackson’s attorney was also surprised when I pointed out that in addition to the dozens of free 50 Cent videos on YouTube, his client also has his own paid branded community channel on the very same site.

At the moment the case rests in the hands of the judge so I’ll be sure to update on here the verdict when he rules sometime in the future. On a personal level, it was the first time I had ever had to testify in court and you quickly learn on a witness stand that your opinion means very little if it isn’t based on fact and first-hand personal experience. I hope I don’t have to “face the music” again anytime soon.

Mike Spataro