Twitter, Facebook, Linkedin, Bebo, FriendFeed, Digg, YouTube, MySpace… with new social media sites popping up almost daily, it can seem quite daunting as to how your business can use them effectively.

This is where the highly anticipated Media140 conference comes into play. The Perth leg of the event was held last week and I was lucky enough to score myself a ticket.

For those readers who are unaware of Media140, it’s a conference held worldwide which takes a look a how the real-time web (specifically Twitter & Facebook) is changing brand engagement, marketing & communications practices.

With guest speakers from a variety of industry sectors it was sure to be an action-packed day, and it certainly didn’t disappoint.

Courtesy of blaquestudios

The overall theme for the day was monitor, listen & respond. Businesses can no longer simply control their “company message”. This is because social media has given consumers more control to say what they feel about almost anything, including how you run your business, your products, your customer service etc. Businesses simply have to monitor the chatter online closely, listen to what the consumers have to say and respond truthfully and in a timely manner.

One of the guest speakers who definitely didn’t disappoint was Nick Hodge from Microsoft Australia. While Nick isn’t the designated spokesman for Microsoft (he’s not in the marketing or PR team, but a self-professed Professional Geek) he has taken it upon himself to get onto the internet and converses with people who are already talking about Microsoft. Nick’s greatest tip for getting started with social media? Passion! Find people at your company who are passionate about your business and give them the tools to communicate with the outside world online. If these people are not passionate about your company, then the discussion will just not happen.

How can you best monitor your business across social media sites?
Besides just doing a simple Google search for your business name, there are a variety of tools available. I use Google Alerts to monitor anything being mentioned about ineedhits online. If I am looking for mentions of ineedhits specifically on Twitter, then I will use Twitter Search. However, at the conference social media expert Richard Giles mentioned another tool, Social Mention. I have taken the tool for a quick test-drive and it seems quite comprehensive, so I will certainly add it to my collection.

So, that’s my wrap up in terms of monitoring your business on social media sites. Next week I will discuss why businesses should monitor their employees’ social media habits & the legal implications of social media.

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