In today‘s digital world, social media listening is invaluable for truly understanding your customers. As a social media strategist, I‘ve seen firsthand how these insights directly improve products, marketing, and the overall customer experience. In this post, I‘ll share five compelling benefits of incorporating social media data into your market research.
Social Media Enables Personalized Brand Connections
Social platforms facilitate two-way communication between your brand and customers. This allows for tailored, humanized interactions at scale. According to Sprout Social, 63% of consumers want to see more conversational content from brands on social media.
Messaging and online brand communities deepen engagement. For example, Sephora‘s Beauty Insider Community has over 4 million members discussing beauty tips and new products. This level of personal connection provides invaluable insights into your customers‘ preferences and values.
In fact, 78% of consumers say interacting with brand communities makes them more loyal customers, according to Social Media Today.
Optimizing Content Based on Social Media Analytics
Analyzing engagement metrics for each of your posts reveals what resonates with your audience. Tracking views, likes, shares, comments, and clicks shows you which content types, topics, and formats perform best.
You can then optimize your strategy around creating more of what works. For example, Humans of New York saw a 7x increase in Facebook engagement after focusing on video content.
Hashtag and keyword tracking also uncovers rising trends and events relevant to your audience. Staying on top of these allows you to provide the most interesting content.
Social Listening Identifies Customer Expectations
Customers openly share product suggestions, feature requests, and expectations on social media. Listening to these conversations on all platforms provides insight into demands.
For example, after multiple requests for vegan menu options on Twitter and Instagram, fast food chain Leon added a vegan burger. This led to a significant increase in customer satisfaction and sales.
In one survey by Twitter, 67% of respondents said brands should respond to tweets requesting support or sharing complaints. Social media allows you to have your finger on the pulse of customer expectations.
Honest Feedback for Improvement
While praise is great for morale, critique is what helps brands grow. Negative reviews and complaints on social media highlight areas for improvement.
A report by BrightLocal revealed that 79% of consumers said negative online reviews made them less likely to use a business. Clearly, addressing critiques is crucial.
Competing brand analysis also provides insights into weaknesses your brand may have by comparison. This frank feedback enables you to enhance your products, services and marketing.
Leveraging Trends in Marketing
Tracking trending hashtags and keywords keeps you aware of the latest viral trends. Understanding what resonates with your audience informs marketing efforts.
For example, when Pixar‘s movie Coco was released, brands joined in on trending hashtag #DiaDeLosMuertos with relevant content. As a result, Tex Mex restaurant Chili‘s saw a 33% engagement spike.
As a social media professional, I‘ve seen firsthand how riding these trending moments leads to increased reach and engagement.
Start Listening to Customers on Social Media
While surveys and polls provide useful data, I cannot overstate the value of social listening. The insights gained by monitoring conversations and analytics enable you to better serve your customers.
Combining social media listening with traditional methods gives you a comprehensive understanding of your audience. This drives success by informing product development, marketing, and customer experience.
So if you‘re not tapping into social media data in your market research, now is the time to start! Let me know if you have any other questions on leveraging social listening.
