Analytics is being viewed as an increasingly vital tool in business. Social media has been seen as a new way in which businesses can employ analytics technology. Analytics is being seen as a hugely important tool with many CIOs, rating the employment of analytic technology as one of their new top priorities for 2012.

The use of high quality data to inform high value decision making has become increasingly valued. The employment of analytics can provide cost-savings, efficiency as well as generate insights that can allow for market breakthroughs. The acquisition of social media companies or their employment externally from businesses in order to increase analytics within business has become increasingly prevalent.

This week multinational computer technology company Oracle entered into negotiations to buy social media marketing company Virtue. The acquisition of Virtue would provide the technology giant with the ability to combine Virtue’s services in providing social media campaigns and direct interaction with consumers with Oracle’s own data analytics and management capabilities.

The coupling of social media with advanced analytics will allow customers to accurately gauge how effective their social media campaigns are performing. Companies are increasingly releasing technology designed to incorporate analytics with social media for both internal use as well as selling the technology within a wider market.

Companies spend multi millions on social media campaigns however the implementation of analytics can allow the user to assess the success or failure of the campaign. Social media sites such as Facebook are widely recognised by businesses as being key in engaging and advertising to consumers, without analytics the impact of such services cannot be measured. General Motors pulled a multi-million dollar advertising campaign from Facebook after determining that the success of the campaign did not warrant the revenue expenditure.

The importance of social media in attracting consumers is being increasingly recognised and social media is being increasingly focused on within business strategies. The use of business and consumer analytics with social media provides insights and analysis revenant to business strategies and allows for a flexible approach which adapts to the evidence that analytics gathers. Analytics allows users to identify new areas open to innervation. When the technology is used in conjunction with a social media strategy then innovation can occur on-demand and be adapted to fit the evidence.