Social Media Analytics Research

Social media is invaluable in its ability to generate information about a large audience quickly, frequently, and in focused ways. Whether through formal research for organisations or through spontaneous questions from management and other departments, you may be asked to use social and digital media data to answer questions and discover actionable insights, such as:

• What are our key targets for growth or retention?

• Who are the advocates for our brand or product?

• What are the new or emerging topics in this field?

• What are the brand perceptions among our customers? How do they compare to our competitors?

Social media analytics uses theoretical insight into why and how people think and act to translate observables (like phrases, words, emotions, and images) into numbers, and then determine the relationship between them quantitatively. This week, we’ll continue to explore how social media data can be used, as well as discuss some of its constraints and limitations. We’ll also learn how to design a successful social media research plan and dive deeper into the field of social media analytics.

• Think of a successful business. Let us know, how and why do you think it might benefit from skillfully applied social media analytics?