Social media holds all the secrets. You just need to know where and how to look!

That probably sounds more mysterious than it is, however, it holds some truth. Today customer information is only a few clicks away, and easy to access. You need this information for better-targeted strategies, improvements, customer relationship management as well as new product development. 

To tap into these benefits it is important to use the data effectively and efficiently. If you have no idea where to start, then this post is for you. Read on to find out what exactly social media includes and how you can use it for the benefit of your business. 

What does social media data include?

Data collection is an integral part of a company’s success. This allows you to ensure that the data is accurate, complete, and up-to-date for your business and issue. 

Companies collecting data across multiple channels, and sources and drawing on complex sets of data give rise to big data. This big data is what is used by a business to derive patterns, analyze customer behavior, and identify causes. Companies can also analyze past strategies and be aware of what needs to be changed. 

Social networks collect tons of information about their users and most people don’t know how much of their data is tracked and stored by these big companies. 

In addition to tracking your posts, likes and shares, social networks also collect a long list of data about their users, including:

• Personal information such as age, last name, email address
• Location 
• Social interactions
• Financial information 

Every social media platform also collects and stores your information, including highly sensitive data, for example, what products you buy and what other websites you visit in your browser. Every action we take on a social platform leaves a digital footprint. Social media data may be collected manually or automatically. Which approach works best for you depends on the size of your business, the audience and the platform you want to collect data from, and the purpose of your social media data collection.

After the initial collection, finding ways to analyze social media data beyond simple percentages and several instances is not easy. When looking for the best analytics tools, it is important to understand what type of data you are analyzing and how standardized it is. To get this data and use the right analytical tools you will also need a reliable internet connection such as Cox Internet. With this service  , you will be able to get access to a variety of budget-friendly Cox internet plans that will help you get the strong and secure connection you need to run the analytics and derive the information you need. 

It is also integral to use the data collected effectively and efficiently. Here is how the data can be used:

1. Content Optimization

Social media analytics give you information on how your content is performing and what your audience likes or dislikes. By using this data you can improve the quality and relevance of your content by trying a variety of formats, tones, and topics optimizing posting frequency and hashtags to increase your engagement and reach. 

You can also select your competitors and analyze the performance of their different content pieces and post formats. Additionally, with this data, you can determine your brand’s voice share and positioning, and tailor your marketing efforts to the type of content that resonates best with your audience. For instance, maybe by using social media data analysis, you discovered that people are looking for reviews about a particular product of your brand. Based on this, you adjust your content plan get product reviews, and then post optimized content accordingly. 

Product development 

This can help change product designs or training materials or even lead to the development of new products to meet otherwise unmet customer needs. Assessing social media and product reviews to identify key product features that customers liked and disliked, as well as key factors influencing customer experience and perceptions. 

Listening to social media can serve as a channel for market research as it helps R&D teams get real-time information such as:

• What features are being commonly demanded by and discussed by the customers

• Customer attitudes towards specific products or features
• Compare new products and features with previous or competitive offerings

2. Competitive analysis 

Competitive social media analysis requires you to put in your best effort as your methods and results are compared to competitors’ methods and results. By listening to social media, you can find out what conversations your audience is having about you, your industry, and your competitors, even if your usernames are not tagged. Competitive social media analysis is the continuous monitoring, tracking, and analysis of competitors’ social media activities to formulate successful marketing strategies. 

You can also identify gaps that can be exploited for brand growth and threats that need to be addressed. Of course, you will have to do market research to better target your audience.

 By actively listening, you can determine the audience size of your competitors; it will also lead you to them. For instance, on Twitter, you need to monitor your competitor’s audience metrics such as audience behavior, demographics, likes and likes using intelligent social media competitor analytics tools.

Bottom line

Today all business leaders believe that data and insights from social media have a profound impact on key business priorities. From building brand reputation to understanding customers and improving competitiveness, social data is the missing piece you need to address your leadership team’s most pressing challenges. So you can easily get started with making the most out of analytics with the three steps given above, and add on new things as you progress.