• by Laurie Sullivan  @lauriesullivan, January 9, 2015

Social software platforms that capture, manage, and enable analysis of data are essential tools for marketers, but for most brands the perceived value of a listening platform doesn't seem to make the grade with analytics teams. Even with all the data released in 2014 that defines how social can support search marketing campaigns, social listening platforms will not become a major technology this year, per a Forrester Research study released Friday.

It appears that brands don't want to take the time to integrate the technology into their business strategy. Social media experts are still trying to demonstrate the value of monitoring social data, although channels, ratings and reviews and forums have existed for a decade. The Forrester report suggests that social listening tools are "necessary for success in social media monitoring and social intelligence, but to many marketers it is a necessary evil."

Forrester Analyst Allison Smith believes social listening tools will not make the grade this year because capturing social IDs for CRM is mostly a pipe dream, and to justify the cost and reveal actionable insights requires too many man hours that brands are not prepared to support.

Combining the tracking of multiple media will work to improve the value of social media listening, but few companies are prepared to take that next step. 

Many vendors have added engagement to listening -- or listening to community management -- but unified suites rarely support brands as they should, Smith writes in the report titled "Listening Platforms Won’t Become A Major Marketing Technology In 2015." While salesforce.com offers marketers three of the four social tools, its Buddy Media social relationship platform is merely middle of the pack, and its Radian6 social listening platform has lost its market-leading position since being acquired, she explains.

"Smart listening platform vendors have started to think about other ways to expand their offerings and improve results for marketers," she adds. "In the past few months we’ve seen various vendors try one of these strategic shifts to make a bigger impact."

Some social listening vendors have begun to combine call center transcripts with surveys and social comments. They are also combining tracking of earned, owned, and paid media for an overall view of the brand, and they're developing new ways to organize, query and measure social data, per Smith. Some have begun to combine that social listening data with search engine marketing.

While vendors and processes have changed, it will be another two years before marketing recognizes and benefits from the changes, per Smith. 

"Person Listening" photo from Shutterstock.