• by Gavin O'Malley  @mp_gavin, January 9, 2009

Social media services provider Vitrue, Inc. has launched a suite of strategic services to help clients better understand the social media space.

The consultative arm builds on a Social Media Index, which the company recently launched to help brands and agencies measure their "share of voice" across the Web.

"Much of what we do for clients is data-driven, but we want the emphasis to be on simplicity," said Adam Benjamin, chief strategy officer at Vitrue. "That's our competitive edge, because we're not trying to become the next (Nielsen) BuzzMetrics."

The Atlanta-based Vitrue is one of many companies seeking to provide brands and agencies with a technology platform to integrate social media programs into their marketing mix, including user-generated content campaigns, promotional contests, branded communities and social network applications.

Vitrue's technology includes content-sharing tools, community functionality, program management dashboards and brand safety controls for moderation.

On the brand side, Vitrue clients include Unilever, Asics, Dell, and Anheuser-Busch, while direct marketing clients include Skechers and 1-800-Flowers.

The Strategic Services suite provides analysis on a brand's current social media presence, competitor comparisons, and overall industry trend analysis.

The Social Media Index system can determine a daily share-of-voice index for a brand by tracking the extent of online conversations about that brand, including mentions on social networks, blogs and Twitter and video and photo sharing.

The offerings also include case studies, strategic recommendations for improving a brand's social presence, and best practices, as well as education and training for staff and executive teams.

Vitrue has also released a suite of Facebook-specific applications for brands to apply marketing components to their Facebook presence.

"Facebook provides unparalleled distribution," said Benjamin.

The Facebook applications, including contest, media gallery and surveying solutions, will attempt to achieve deeper engagement between brands and consumers.