Exploring Social Media Measurement: Cymfony - Social Media Explorer
Exploring Social Media Measurement: Cymfony
Exploring Social Media Measurement: Cymfony
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This week’s look at Social Media measurement focuses on Cymfony, one of two firms singled out by Forrester Research as best in class for monitoring online buzz about your brand. There are a handful of very good services on the higher end (both cost and deliverables) of the measurement spectrum, but finding a differentiating factor is difficult. All seem to offer some combination of user dashboard for quick hits of information, coupled with human analysis and reporting for deep looks at conversations happening about your brand. However, there is one component of Cymfony’s offering I found to be outstanding. It’s the same factor Forrester pointed to in their analysis of Cymfony’s services.

Cymfony’s Orchestra Dashboard screen shotCymfony’s user dashboard tool, called Orchestra, is the most robust and powerful self-service mechanism for measurement I’ve laid eyes on. All the standard metrics are there: posts/conversations, tonality, topic, influencer, share of voice and so-on. There are additional features not found in some others like media distributions, author volume, competitive tonality, message pick-up and more. But the attractiveness of it all is that Orchestra allows you to slice and dice that information to produce any combination of the metrics you need in a very simple, drop-down menu format. The basics are intuitive but even the most complex spin on manipulating the information seems possible.

The ability to view brand vs. competition comparison side-by-side, then sub-divide each by theme, sentiment or reach is the kind of information CEOs would salivate over in an annual report. With Cymfony, you can show it to them daily.

To offer a bit of balance, the dashboard can appear overwhelming and the learning curve to optimize its use could be a challenge depending upon the designated person in your company is who will use it, but of all I’ve seen, this is the most comprehensive delivery of self-serve social media metrics available.

Other strong points of Cymfony’s service (neither of which I would call differentiating, but still worth noting):

  • Dedicated client program managers for ongoing support and assistance
  • Human analysis and actionable insights delivery via monthly or quarterly reporting

While ala carte pricing for additional competitors or brand reviews can make Cymfony expensive, their pricing is competitive with other deep analysis firms. They have a long list of awards for their technology and, did I mention their user dashboard kicks ass? This is a firm well worth the time to investigate if you are a medium to large size company looking for a wealth of information. If you’re smaller, they do have pricing that includes access to the dashboard feature alone. This gives Cymfony a bit of an advantage in being competitive for the business of the smaller-needs clients out there.

At its core, however, Cymfony is going to battle the big firms for the business of the big brands and its big user dashboard is a primary reason why.

Previously Featured:

  1. Radian6
  2. Collective Intellect

Coming Soon: Nielsen BuzzMetrics

[tags]social media measurement, Cymfony, buzz measurement, buzz monitoring, measurement, metrics[/tags]

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About the Author

Jason Falls
Jason Falls is the founder of Social Media Explorer and one of the most notable and outspoken voices in the social media marketing industry. He is a noted marketing keynote speaker, author of two books and unapologetic bourbon aficionado. He can also be found at JasonFalls.com.

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