Clearspring Technologies, which has helped everybody from WaPo to UCSF bring their branded wares to the mainstream, has put out a new tool that tells you how popular your widgets are on social networks. The ConnectedAds tool can follow the movement of your branded widget across 80 different social networks, including MySpace and Facebook.
Imagine knowing how many people were putting your widget on their profile in a given moment. Then take it a step further, and imagine seeing how many people saw the widget in their newsfeeds as a result of those postings! Want even more granular data? ConnectedAds can also tell you how many comments were generated across all spaces, as well as whether a link to your widget was shared on Twitter or added to Delicious listings.
In the social space, it don't get any more transparent than that!
Clearspring CEO Hooman Radfar has even suggested that ConnectAds might become "the holy grail for advertisers" because it brings them that much closer to realizing their fantasy: being able to measure and predict word-of-mouth advertising. (Please try not to drool.)
One somber note, though: ConnectedAds costs a bit extra to add to Clearspring's usual suite of tools. Only you can decide if it's worth it.
The Po!nt: Get in the know! There's no silver bullet for measuring future brand sentiments, but you can at least prepare in advance by tracking your WOM now. We'll keep you posted on the latest tools, like this one, that can help.
by Christina "CK" Kerley
