Many companies are taking advantage of the customer engagement characteristics of social media, but have yet to develop a complete understanding of the medium's effect on marketing efforts. To that end, the Nielsen Company and McKinsey announced this week a new joint venture that offers social media tracking services.

Called NM Incite, the group folds together Nielsen's BuzzMetrics with McKinsey's experience in working with clients on cross-platform marketing and purchase behavior strategies. According to a statement, BuzzMetrics will become "wholly part of NM Incite."

The joint venture has been working with "pilot clients" to develop services in three initial areas: measuring marketing effectiveness, product launch optimization and customer service. Actual services are expected to be available in the fall.

"Social media is an increasingly critical issue for business leaders and an area of untapped opportunity for many of our clients," said Dominic Barton, McKinsey's global managing director, in a statement. "This joint venture will equip institutions with real-time insights to help their leaders drive better results."

Dave Hudson, formerly executive vice president, global client services of Nielsen's Telecom Practice, has been tapped as CEO of the venture.