Welcome back to Gauravonomics Blog! Subscribe to my blog, follow me on Twitter or become a fan on Facebook and you'll never miss a post again!
Here is a short list of seven social technology firms I admire. Each firm listed here is in a category of its own — social business design, emerging technology consulting, enterprise 2.0 consulting, social media marketing, word of mouth marketing, technology consulting and interactive advertising — but they are listed here together because I want to learn something from each one of them.
I have earlier written about the difference between “social media + marketing” and “social + business strategy” (see the 20:20 Social Position Paper on Social Business Strategy). I have also earlier listed Indian social media agencies under six distinct categories. My understanding of the international social media agency landscape is still evolving, but you can expect a similar categorization soon.
So, here are the seven social technology firms I admire –
- Altimeter Group: For putting together the great team, the Altimeter Wiki and the ENGAGEMENTdb report.
- Dachis Group: For putting together the great team, coining the “social business design” label, and buying Headshift.
- Headshift: For building a strong enterprise 2.0 services practice.
- Gaspedal: For creating the Social Media Business Council.
- Beeline Labs: For the thought-provoking Tribalization of Business report on branded communities.
- Sapient: For building a strong practice at the intersection of technology consulting and digital marketing.
- Razorfish: For being at the cutting edge of design and technology and for the thought-provoking Fluent report.
Here are some other firms that I am watching: Ant’s Eye View, Forum One Networks, New Marketing Labs, Social Media Group, Ignite, Powered, Allyis, Customware, Blinkit, NextModernity, Made By Many.
The McKinsey Business Technology Office is also getting into the social technology game with its global survey on how businesses are using web 2.0 technologies.
Rachel Happe and Jason Keath have also made similar lists recently and the Altimeter wiki lists social media consultants, social media agencies and interactive agencies.
I am still searching for more social technology firms who approach the intersection of social technologies and business strategy from a strategic perspective. I’m specifically looking for firms that go beyond conversational marketing, and focus on creating large community platforms and collaboration programs, both inside and outside the organization. Do let me know in the comments who I have missed.
Interesting list !
What is amazing to know is that there are so many different firms
Check out Watson Wyatt – the HR consulting firm which is getting into the game from a workforce communication perspective
http://www.watsonwyatt.com/us/news/press.asp?ID=18787
However I think communication is just the tip of the iceberg
Your readers and yourself may find the following useful:
A Wiki of #Social_Media #Monitoring Solutions: http://bit.ly/ImUYa
Best,
Alexander
http://www.twitter.com/aainslie
Hi Gaurav -
Thanks for the link to our list – there are indeed a lot of interesting firms emerging – both on the PR/Marketing side and on the business management side. I think it’s critical as the information revolution started 15 years ago or so is finally pushing real structural changes to the way we do business. Just like the hyperlink dramatically changed the categorization of information, social technologies are changing how people organize themselves and their work.
It’s a fun time to be working in this area but it can also be pretty disruptive and anxiety producing.
Interesting article Gaurav.
Glad your keen research is on again..
Regards
Hi Gaurav,
Impact Interactions has been helping enterprise level organization such as Cisco, SAP, Intel, NetApp, and many others utilize social media technologies to further specific business objectives since 2003. Our methodology is grounded in using metrics and data to drive decisions. To help our clients we offer consulting, execution (facilitation & moderation), social media monitoring, web analytics and reporting, as well as project management services.
We’ve helped Cisco scale its customer support channel and reduce costs through our work with Networking Professionals Community (NetPro). We’ve helped NetApp, Cisco, and SAP broaden their marketing reach using multiple strategies using both communities and social media tools. We help SAP understand how using PPC campaigns can drive stronger lead quality and reduce cycle times when integrated with social media. We’ve built ROI frameworks and analyses for Cisco, NetApp, SAP, and AARP which all tie back to their specific business objectives in using social media.
Lastly, we help our clients understand what is going on in the social media world when it comes to their reputation and brands by performing social media monitoring. This gives our clients the full picture and enough data to adjust their strategies using proven tactics.
If you’d like to learn more, I encourage you to visit our web site. We may be the quiet company out there, but our clients’ results speak for themselves.
Regards,
Mike Rowland
President
Gaurav – we are honored that you included our company, Powered, in the list of companies you are watching. If you’d ever like a deeper dive on our services, platform and content capabilities, let me know and I’ll be happy to have a conversation.
Best,
Aaron | @AaronStrout
CMO, Powered
Hey Gaurav – great list!
Although you seemed to have missed We Are Social (although, of course I would say that).
BC Web Wise
Great list. Thanks. In post What is Social Strategy http://bit.ly/mU6lN, I came across one more to add to your list that I think it doing some great things in the area of strategy. You should watch Oliver Marks of ZDNet. In addition, there are some interesting things being done in the Recruitment industry as well by Hollister (hollisterstaff.com) and their partner 451. I hope to see more coming soon.
Thanx for the valuable information. This was just the thing I was looking for, the list is awesome… u have provided good details about it…. keep posting. Will be visiting back soon.
@gautamghosh: Yes, communication is just the tip of the social media iceberg.
@Rachel: Yes, these are exciting times indeed.
@Mike: My good wishes for the good work you are doing at Impact Interactions.
@aaronstrout: It seems that @evansdave & you are already in touch.
@gautamghosh: Yes, communication is just the tip of the social media iceberg.
@Rachel: Yes, these are exciting times indeed.
@Mike: My good wishes for the good work you are doing at Impact Interactions.
@aaronstrout: It seems that @evansdave & you are already in touch.
@Robin: Of course, I am watching We Are Social.
@Heidi: You were prescient: Oliver Marks has moved to Dachis. I'll check out Hollister.