It’s quite amazing how fast this relatively new category of enterprise social software has grown. Virtually non-existent just a few years ago, the space is now moving fast.
Very fast.
One of the latest to attempts to organize and clarify the space is a new report from Altimeter Group analyst Jeremiah Owyang, titled, “A Strategy for Managing Social Media Proliferation.” As a company involved in the briefing process, Buddy Media received an advance copy and was featured in the report. Owyang cited us as “strong player,” with “numerous strengths.” He also notes our heritage as a charter member of the Facebook Preferred Developer program, and that we now support, “other platforms such as Twitter, LinkedIn, and Google Plus, while pushing integration of features right on to the corporate website.”
For those familiar with Jeremiah’s work, the first half of the report should be familiar, as it reviews his Q2 2011 research, and includes some interesting statistics. For example, companies average 178 total corporate social media accounts. Yes, that’s a lot.
Moving into the new report, it breaks down the space under the “Five Use Cases for Social Media Management,” which can be reviewed in the chart below.
We applaud all efforts to clarify our space for buyers, but Jeremiah’s report in many ways does little to clarify the market. We join others who agree that Jeremiah added to the confusion. You can read one such critique here.
Why the confusion?
First, the report only spoke with 18 brand-side contacts. Given Owyang’s respect in the marketplace and vast network, we were hoping he and his Altimeter colleagues would have completed more buyer-side interviews, something this industry needs to see more of – it’s why case studies and data are so critical to our business.
Second, if you’re a company like HootSuite or Argyle Social, which cater almost entirely to small and medium businesses (SMBs) – you may be disappointed that all of the brand-side interviews are with large brands, especially when the report addresses a range of capabilities to serve those small and large businesses. You may also notice that this is in many ways an apples to oranges comparison, with the SMB solutions compared almost directly to enterprise solutions, which some may see as unfair.
Third, there is not much diversity in the 18 brand-side interviews. Virtually no consumer packaged goods, fashion and beauty, media and entertainment or healthcare companies are represented, with a number of those verticals seeing critical growth and success, in social today. Also, many of the companies that are perceived by the marketplace as doing social “well” – think PepsiCo, Ford, Starbucks – are not included in the interviews.
Another recent report, by analyst firm Gleanster, surveyed almost 400 brands from a wide variety of industries, and Buddy Media was the only social software company out of 41 to be ranked “best” across all four categories – “ease of use,” “ease of deployment,” “features and functionality” and “overall value.” We don’t share this because of how we ranked in the results – really (ok, maybe a little) – but we felt it worthwhile to point out how different perceptions can be based on how a report is put together, and whether many more on the “buy” side are involved.
There are only several reports on the social software space published so far, but there will likely be many more. Ultimately, as a brand, it’s crucial that you understand your goals and needs and then select a software vendor that can help you attain those goals. Please get in touch if you have any questions about industry research, or Buddy Media’s products and how they can help your business.
