Wrapping it all up

In these three weeks, we have seen how social media analytics is like alchemy, turning something of lesser value (social media data) into something of greater value (business intelligence and actionable insights) that can help organisations make better decisions.

The opening example of Superstorm Sandy demonstrated that human activity on social media generated large volumes of data that became very valuable when interpreted (like keeping people away from danger). Analysts used spreadsheets to categorise and interpret the data and were able to extract actionable insights from the thousands of tweets to develop timely intelligence.

Now, you have successfully learned that there are both opportunities and limitations of using data from the social media that your business owns. You are also now able to meaningfully reflect and strategise on how to design and use social media analytics to interpret data and draw out actionable insights.

Congratulations on completing this course! You now know how social and digital media information can be turned into business intelligence!

This is the first course in the program, Social and Digital Media Analytics for Business Communication. Within the program, you will further explore how to identify and use social media as a source of business intelligence and behavioral analytics, how to quantify human behavior, how to engage in simple social media data mining, and how to interpret the findings into data-driven recommendations for an organization. The program will launch in 2019. Course topics include:

• Building a Research Plan to Analyze Social Media
• Leveraging Data through Owned Media
• Increasing Online Presence through Earned Media
• Promoting the Message through Paid Media
• Advanced Analytics – Extracting and Leveraging “Listening Data”
• Assessment – Putting It All Together

We hope that you will continue to reflect on what you have learned and continue to develop the skills you have gained. Feel free to leave any comments.

Students who upgrade and complete the first 6 courses in the program will be eligible to take the final assessment course. Upon completion of the assessment course, students that apply and are admitted to Purdue’s online Master of Science in Communication program can submit to have their completed FutureLearn program count as 3 credits towards the degree.