What Time Is It? Social Media Data Mining Time

What Time Is It? Social Media Data Mining Time

We first published this post about 18 months ago. It’s one of the most popular posts we have had the pleasure of presenting, and we thought some of you may find the information is still relevant and informative. To that end, we’ve updated some links to bring you a fresh look on social media listening tools and what’s new and best for your business’ success. Thanks for spending time with us and reading this post.

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Is your company using social media to engage your target audience? Chances are, you probably don’t know the full answer to that question. According to a study by Forrester Research, most major corporations fail to use social listening tools effectively to uncover valuable data from their social platforms. Failing to pay attention to – and act upon – social media data can result in either missing out on potential customers or upsetting your current customer base through apparent neglect. Both are costly. Engagement is the key. It always has been and is the primary element that makes social media so unique.

To succeed in the social arena, companies need to react in real time to both the opportunities and the threats that arise on their social sites. The more engaged and responsive you are, the better. Then, there’s the data side, where you have insight to how, when, where and what your  audience is seeing, reading, and responding to. Honing your skills in mining social data can help a company address anything from potential product quality issues to improving the customer experience, and, ultimately, your brand integrity. Companies astute at the practice have been able to get in front of problems and prevent major losses in reputation (not to mention the bottom line).

As Forrester notes, you can improve your company’s data proficiency by following the four P’s of social intelligence: Purpose, People, Process and Platforms.

PURPOSE

What’s the purpose of the data, and how can it improve your marketing program? By building a successful social and nonsocial marketing program, you can better connect with your audience and, in turn, prevent a potential viral nightmare. No company wants to be involved in one of those (think United Airlines).

PEOPLE

Hiring people that have both marketing and analytics expertise will help enormously. Let’s face it. It all boils down to people – good people, that is. And that often means people from a variety of backgrounds. A marketing expert can unearth unique opportunities that analysts are likely to miss, and vice versa. So if you have good people on your team, good opportunities will inevitably arise. Likewise, your social sites are a public voice for your company. Ensure you protect your company and your brand by placing an experienced voice at the helm.

PROCESS

Now, process that data and turn it into the knowledge needed for real-time engagement. Your team should be able to analyze the data and have a plan to implement responses in real time. For example, Oreo’s timely tweet (yes, we know that’s everyone’s favorite example…but it’s a great example for a reason) during Super Bowl XLVII–sent during a power outage at the Superdome–practically broke the Internet. It read, “Power Out? No Problem” and featured a picture of a dimly lit Oreo cookie with the caption, “You can still dunk in the dark.” It received (and still receives) unprecedented social traction in the sharing sphere.

PLATFORMS

Leverage platforms that are proven to generate insight from your data. With all of this data swirling around you, it’s easy to get overwhelmed. The solution is to find a vendor that has a proven ability to generate marketing insights. They will know how to both sort through the data-noise and monitor the information so that you can capitalize on it.

As companies grow and learn to master the tips above, more and more mining professionals will be scooped up. As McKinsey & Company predicts, there will be a shortage of 1.5 million “data-savvy” managers and analysts by 2018. So, for all of our business-minded readers with Generation Z kids tweeting and instagramming their way through pre-K, now may be the time to steer them toward a career in data mining. Wouldn’t that be #awesome?

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3 Comments
  • social media data
    Posted at 05:39h, 08 July Reply

    Great post! You really post a very informative post. I really appreciate your work. Thanks for sharing this information. Keep posting.

  • Lisa
    Posted at 13:42h, 28 March Reply

    Yes,Social Media platform is doing a great job.They can bring more more customers and can help in direct interaction with customers.

  • Sherly
    Posted at 10:04h, 03 April Reply

    I agree with above article.Very impassive and helpful.

Post A Reply to Lisa Cancel Reply