The Social Tools Won't Save You - A Refresh Events Report

It is not the strongest of the species that survive, nor the most intelligent, but the one most responsive to change.

-Charles Darwin

This past Monday, Justin Kozuch of Refresh Events hosted another one of his popular StayFresh meetups at Toronto's Drake Hotel.  StayFresh16, titled "The Social Tools Won't Save You" featured guest speakers Aubrey Podolsky of Sysomos and Tamera Kremer of Teehan+Lax.

Aubrey kicked off the evening underscorig the fact that monitoring social media is important.  However, being proactive is even better.  Sysomos, which brands itself as the leading provider of social media analytics, has 2 very powerful tools:  MAP and Heartbeat.  Both of these products monitor social media and create detailed accounts for their clients. 

Probably the most innovative and creative aspect of their services involves reporting on the "mood" of specific and aggregate mentions.  For example, if you're a brand you're obviously interested in monitoring what is said about you.  Now, if you're popular you may not have the time to read through every mention.  Sysomos wil take care of this for you.  And they will also let you know if the mentions are positive or negative.  Kinda like an online mood ring.  Sysomos will also offer solutions and suggestions on actionableplans to help paint a more positive picture of your brand.

Tamera wrapped up the evening with her talk entitled, "The Social Tools Won't Save You. But they can help transform your business."  Tamera focused on the human aspect of social media.  She reminded the audience that marketing (traditional or new media) has always been about and should continue to be about community and engaging rather than pushing and shouting.

Tamera urged the audience to be helpful, useful and friendly.  She said it is important to not just listen and pay attention to what is being said, but to also learn and make adjustments and transform.