From one-way speech to multi-way conversation - social media, particularly Twitter, have shifted the relationship between suppliers & consumers.

In the old days suppliers essentially made presentations to consumers. Now the relationship is much more of a conversation in which a network of participants share experiences, thoughts and ideas.

That network is developing as a vital resource for research and development, sales, marketing… creating the goods and services that people want and need, and blurring the distinction between suppliers and consumers into evolving communities of engaged users, playing important roles in improving those goods and services they use, and sometimes in creating new goods and services.

Data, the information on how people behave - such as when, where and how they engage - is another valuable resource for business that social media can provide. Yes, such information can be abused, and this danger must be prevented and monitored, but the same information can be used for positive ends, to create better, safer products for people.

To make the most of what social media can offer, businesses need tools. Without those tools a business is like one individual in a vast hall filled with thousands of people. That individual knows there are people among the thousands in the hall to talk with, but not who or where in the hall they are, when they will be available to talk with, how to approach them or what to say after an initial greeting.

What if that lone stranger in the hall had a guide to point out the potential new friends to talk with among the thousands in the hall, what to talk about, and when to talk about it? That’s an analogy of part of the service that a social media analytics consultancy can offer.

But don’t social media platforms already offer analytics - those guides to the party in the hall? Yes, but these analytics are basic, like robots that can answer a few set questions. How much better to have a human guide with whom you can actually have a conversation and discuss anything you want to ask and maybe learn about new questions to consider.

How much would such a guide cost? Now, not as much as you might think. They used to cost a lot but prices have come down as ideas, technology and techniques have developed.

Social media is business media and the conversation is just beginning…