Publications

Update features profiles of 63 companies that provide tools and services for monitoring and analyzing social media worldwide.

Apex, NC (PRWEB) August 20, 2008 -- Social Target (http://www.socialtarget.com/), an independent social media research and consulting firm, today announced the publication of the second edition of the Guide to Social Media Analysis.

The Guide to Social Media Analysis (http://www.socialtarget.com/research/) is an international reference to social media monitoring and analysis tools and services for business. Written for the client or agency exploring options, the second edition features profiles of 63 vendors based in 14 countries. Social Target surveyed and interviewed vendors to collect information that is unavailable from any other source. The Guide's vendor profiles focus on what makes each vendor different or interesting, while its quick-reference tables provide comparisons of vendor capabilities.

The result is a wide-ranging look at a market that includes very different approaches to brand monitoring and market intelligence services. The Guide to Social Media Analysis gives readers the information to understand how the vendors are different and which offer the services a client needs. The 145-page second edition more than doubles the number of profiles from the first edition.

"This market is growing in every way," said Nathan Gilliatt, principal of Social Target. "Existing companies are adding new services and new capabilities, while new companies are entering the market at every price level. Most vendors cover the emerging types of social media this year, and they are more likely to analyze multiple languages than they were last year."

Most social media analysis vendors focus on marketing and communications, either monitoring current activity or researching online opinions. The Guide to Social Media Analysis also includes vendors that monitor social media for investment purposes, as well as companies that provide specialized technology for clients developing their own social media analysis platforms.

http://www.socialtarget.com/research/