Analysts keep adding social media capabilities, something AR needs to emulate

While updating the various SageCircle social media directories, we were struck about how the industry analysts continue to embrace blogging and Twitter. Here are some statistics from this week:

Blog Directory – Forrester – four new personal blogs, for a total of 96 entries

Blog Directory – Gartner – 18 new blogs, for a total of 79 entries

Twitter Directory – Analyst – 42 new entries, for a total of 534

We already have 16 new analyst Twitter handles for Monday’s update even though the weekend is when we usually do the research to identify new tweeting analysts. In order to support the Analyst Social Media Traffic Analysis service, we are going to add Gartner analysts’ personal blogs to the Gartner Blog Directory. In addition there are hundreds of other analyst blogs beyond Forrester and Gartner blogs we actively track.

So, how is AR doing when it comes to adopting social media? Not so well. The Twitter Directory – AR had only 18 new entries for a total of 339. The analysts are typically joining Twitter about 50% more than AR. On the blogging side, we have identified only five AR program blogs.

Social media is clearly a missed opportunity for most AR programs. Most AR managers and professionals we talk to indicate that time – or lack of it – is a major reason why they are reluctant to start with blogging or Twitter. This is clearly a valid concern.  However, adopting social media does not have to be a major time sink if AR uses the appropriate best practices, tools and discipline. Not to beat our drum too much, but SageCircle has developed the best practices, training, and advice to get AR programs up-to-speed quickly and efficiently.

SageCircle Technique:

• Start simple
• Embrace social media then experiment and adapt
• Incorporate social media into your AR plan
• Add social media to your measurement program
• Use tools like RSS and TweetDeck to reduce effort
• Keep your finger on the pulse of change

Bottom Line: With more and more analysts blogging and tweeting, AR programs that do not systematically add social media to their toolbox will find themselves at a competitive disadvantage. AR managers need to make adopting social media, with the appropriate emphasis, a major objective for 2009.

Question: AR managers – What are the reasons, in priority order, why you do not incorporate blogging and tweeting into your mix of interactions? Analysts – Which AR teams or individuals are best at using social media? 

Get up-to-speed quickly and efficiently with SageCircle services

SageCircle has a portfolio of services that can help both individual AR professionals as well as AR teams adopt this fast growing trend in the analyst ecosystem. Our flexible pricing and packaging means there is a service at a price point and time commitment that fits into almost every AR situation. Here is a sampling from our portfolio:

• Launching a Social Media Strategy for AR – Half-day workshop ($495 per ticket). June 17^th 1 pm to 5 pm in Silicon Valley. Dedicate four hours and learn almost everything you need to know
• AR Team Briefings – 90-minute in-house webinars ($495 for unlimited attendees). Topics:
  • The Fog of Influence: Social Media Trends in the Analyst Ecosystem
  • Introduction to Twitter for AR
  • Introduction to Blogging for AR
  • Adding Blogs and Twitter to Your Measurement Program
• Services
  • Analyst Social Media Traffic Analysis ($195 or $395 or $595) AR workload impact analysis – determine the time it will take to track your analysts
  • Analyst Relations Diagnostic^TM (free) Concise assessment of an AR program
• Reference
  • Online SageContent^TM Library ($395 per seat for 12 month subscription) Best practices, downloadable tools
  • Analyst Twitter Directory (free)
  • AR Twitter Directory (free)
  • Blog Directories for Gartner and Forrester (free)
  • Blog, 80+ articles on social media (free)
• Advisory
  • Blocks of Advisory Hours (2 hours $495, 5 hours $995 or custom quote) On-demand phone-based advisory
  • Annual Advisory Service (inquiry for pricing) Bunde: inquiry, Online Library seats, AR briefings, more

To learn more about how we can help you get up-to-speed quickly and efficiently, please contact us at 503-636-1500 or “info [at] sagecircle [do] com”.

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