Market research has come a long way from surveys and questionnaires. AI and Big-Data-driven tools are the big guns supporting quality research now. However, there is still a disconnect. This could be because the transition from traditional ways to modern tools has been so rapid that there has been little clarity. Social data can be used to access various data streams depending upon the insights we want to derive.
Social Data and Market Research
Among the many ways, the top 3 uses of social data include:
Social Listening
Monitoring social data and extracting insights sums up the act of social listening. This is a complete tool in itself. Social listening tools can be used to observe what consumers are talking about, their views about the product/brand/industry and expectations about the functionality of the product/service. This use of social data helps you capture real-time, spontaneous opinions that are hard to come by when customers consciously fill out surveys. The best part about social listening is that it pulls out data from not just social media platforms but also other review forums and websites too. Also, it can be used for more than just monitoring your brand. Comprehensive competitive analysis, industry trend analysis, buyer persona analysis can all become easier with tools like this. All these features make this the best bet for any marketer looking for an enterprise market research tool.
Search Data
Search data helps us gain information about the searches made on search engines. The search volume and trends complement our social listening set up and help with keyword-based social listening. Identifying information gaps is also made possible via search data analysis. A brand trying to increase its presence on a search engine can fill in the gaps where information is needed for keywords, especially when there isn’t much existing data available.
Social Ethnography
Social ethnography can actually help with traditional researches. Listening to how consumers profess their sentiments online can help marketers strategize to interact with them. So how does social ethnography work? With the necessary permissions, tools can help you map the activities of individuals on social platforms. You can draw insights from their activities, their interests, the kind of topics they engage with and the way they express their opinions. Further questions can be based on these insights for traditional surveys. This method has proven to be useful especially in the case of the medical industry. It also eases the process of connecting the dots between the self-reported behavior (when filling out survey forms or in focus groups) and the spontaneous responses. We have found this technique to be able to present a more wholesome picture of the interests of your targeted audience.
The techniques discussed help provide an additional layer of deeper understanding and insight into the minds of your customers. Besides traditional techniques, these help to uncover real-time and spontaneous data which in turn paves way for quality insights. Social data and market research go hand-in-hand when it comes to uncovering unprofessed details of customer needs and expectations. These tools are of great help in achieving insights unattainable via primary approaches alone.