The curly task of measuring ROI from social media initiatives may have just gotten a whole lot easier with Google Analytics.

The website tracking arm of Google announced new analytics features yesterday that will enable webmasters to track users who arrive from social sources and if they are converted towards a desired goal, such as a purchase, or move on without converting.

For the better part of a decade, law firms have successfully used blogs to bring in high-quality work. Now, there is new industry research that measures the impact of blogs as business development tools.

Most marketers today recognize the value of third party data-lifestyle characteristics, purchase behaviors, psychographics, demographics, and more in optimizing their display advertising tactics. The industry has evolved to the point where online and offline data and associated analytics are an accepted practice in helping marketers reach their target audience with a personalized message online.

As social media is now the number one online activity, according to comScore, it’s crucial that brands have a social strategy that is tightly integrated across all of their digital presences. Unfortunately, instead of integrating across all of their web properties, ecommerce sites and social presences, brands are too often employing strategies in silos, and not maximizing integration.

Cutting edge apps, software, websites and gadgets are sparking big changes in the workplace. Consequently, traditional performance reviews are no longer making the cut, and with good reason.

How are social and digital tools changing performance reviews? The following key players in the social goal and performance space talk about the effect of digital tools and the future of performance management.