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How to Use Social Media for Market Research

Don’t sleep on social media market research. It can help boost sales, engage followers, and contribute to a winning social media strategy.

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Ask any marketer what they wish their superpower was, and they would tell you: “To read minds.”

To know exactly what people want is a marketer’s dream. After all, understanding your audience’s preferences and needs is the key to business success. Having accurate, insightful information gives you the chance to deliver the best products, write the best messages, and build engagement and customer loyalty.

That’s why marketers regularly conduct market research, investigating industry trends, gathering feedback, and surveying focus groups to try and glean whatever information they can. But in 2023, this research process can be slow and incomplete. This is where social media market research comes in.

By practicing social listening and social media monitoring , marketers can get an accurate, up-to-the-minute understanding of audience attitudes and customer needs.

Basically, with social media market research, you’re as close to being a mind-reader as you’re gonna get. Read on to learn how this superpower can help you boost your business, engage your followers, and implement a winning social media strategy .

Bonus: Download a free guide to learn how to use social media listening to boost sales and conversions today . No tricks or boring tips—just simple, easy-to-follow instructions that really work.

What is social media market research?

Social media market research is collecting data and insights about your target audience via social media platforms. This information can help businesses understand their overall audience demographics and brand sentiment .

Social media market research can offer real-time insights with extreme speed and accuracy—pull an analytics report , and it’ll give you the scoop about what’s happening this very minute.

Social media market research is also far more affordable than traditional focus groups or surveys and offers the potential to study the behavior of a staggering number of users: imagine trying to fit all 4.76 billion social media users into a board room for a chat about your latest ad campaign.

8 ways to use social media for market research

You’re ready to use social media to learn more about your audience. But what exactly are you trying to learn? Here are eight helpful insights you can gather once you start listening in.

Find out what people like about your brand or product

If your fans hang out on social media, they’re probably talking about you there, too.

Stay alert for mentions of your brand or product and keep track of the positive feedback. Watch for users tagging you in posts and Stories, and don’t forget to check your DMS , too, for any fan mail that may be lurking there.

If you use Hootsuite, setting up social listening streams for specific keywords or phrases can be super helpful for catching those not-so-official mentions, too.

For instance, set up streams for misspellings of your brand name or specific product or model names to make sure you never miss a casual-yet-positive tweet like “i swear i run faster in my nikees!”

This genuine feedback from real-life users is extremely helpful for planning future marketing content.

One hot example is the old-school thermos brand Stanley, which started to see an organic uptick in young moms posting about their mugs on Instagram, excited about how it kept their coffee warm while they ran after their toddlers.

So the company started releasing its products in Millennial-cool colors, targeting this new, surprising market of consumers.

@perkinsonparkway Reply to @ajzini I could talk about this all day. #stanleycup #stanleytumbler #stanley40oz #utah #adventurequencher #stanleyadventure #stanley #emotionalsupportwaterbottle #stanley #unboxing #utahcheck ♬ original sound – Krystle Perkins | DIY & Home

Find out what people don’t like about your brand or product

While watching/listening to see what your fans love about your product, you may occasionally get some grumbling from people who aren’t quite as enthusiastic. And that can be helpful, too.

Shake off those hurt feelings and remember that hearing directly from your critics is an opportunity. Genuine complaints or criticism are a chance to do better or address something that you may have missed.

Netflix, for instance, might be interested to see this tweet, which mentions the name Netflix but doesn’t tag the company directly. This subscriber keeps canceling their subscription—and now, Netflix can see why.

I bailed on Netflix 6 months ago as I do every year. I keep a sub about 4 – 5 months then cancel when I've seen everything. — CE Newton (@cnewton_ky) March 21, 2023

If you want to get even more advanced with your social media listening, Hootsuite Insights  takes listening a step further by giving you data from 16 billion new social posts every month.

Boolean search logic can help you find meaningful trends and patterns you might miss by monitoring keywords and hashtags alone. You can then filter your searches by date, demographics, and location to find the conversations most relevant to you.

Insights also makes it easy to track brand sentiment with intuitive word clouds and meters that gauge your sentiment and brand awareness against the competition.

Listen to what people are saying about your competitors

Just like you can use social listening to monitor what people are saying about your brand on social media, you can also keep track of what people are saying about other companies … like, say, your competitors.

Understanding what’s going well (or not-so-well) for your greatest business enemies can offer you an advantage. Fill a gap in the market that they aren’t filling yet. Reach out to an unhappy customer to provide an alternative. Tweak your next marketing campaign to let audiences know you can treat them even better.

If you make yoga pants and you notice that everyone’s raving about the color of Lululemon’s new leggings, maybe it’s time to put your own similar style front and center in your upcoming Instagram grid redesign.

Watch your industry for insights

As you’re setting up all your other social listening streams, you may want to add a few that include industry keywords, too.

Keeping up with what’s happening in your industry is going to help you understand what consumer expectations are for your specific type of product or how healthy the industry is overall. Are you a luxury realtor noticing that others in the real estate industry are flocking to TikTok… and racking up the views?

What can this tell you about what your own followers might like to see?

@markonyc The perfect 1 bedroom! And this building has insane amenities🔝 What do you think? #fyp #foryourpage #nycrealestate #realestate ♬ awkward sped up sza – rem

Use analytics to understand what content resonates

You can guess what your audience will like… or you can just crunch the numbers and know the truth.

Social analytics tools allow you to see exactly what kind of content clicks with your audience. If your celebrity home tours are getting likes and shares, now you know your followers love their interior design content with a side of star power. If your Instagram carousel posts are popping off, maybe it’s time to stop wasting time with Reels.

With Hootsuite Insights, you can even schedule recurring reports that compile your fave key metrics into cool, easy-to-understand infographics.

Study how your audience communicates

Social media marketing research involves putting on your sociologist’s hat and studying the way your audience likes to express itself.

What platforms are they most active on? Do they prefer tagging you in their “get ready with me” TikToks, or are you more likely to receive a private message to gush about your new plus-sized line of pajamas?

By practicing social listening, you’ll also learn what language and tone your target audience is comfortable using. Certain communities embrace specific slang or emoji use. If you’re going to be hanging with this crew online, you’d better study up.

Keeping all your social media monitoring and management in one place makes it easy to spot cross-platform trends. (Features like Hootsuite Inbox make it easy to get a birds-eye view of private messages from all your different accounts at once.)

If you haven’t claimed your free 30-day Hootsuite trial yet , what are you waiting for?

Explore trends that might click with your customer base

Even beyond your own analytics, social media is a place to observe the world. Trends come and go at a rapid-fire pace but watch for long enough, and you’ll start to understand what kind of content really thrives on each platform.

Resources like Hootsuite’s annual Digital Trends Report and Social Trends Reports can give an interesting macro-view of how different demographics use social media and what they love to see and do.

Ask your audience directly

If you really want to know what your audience is thinking, social media allows you a chance to ask them point-blank.

Put up a poll on your Instagram Stories asking followers to pick their favorite new package design, ask your fans to share TikToks of how they style your fanny packs or prompt your Facebook audience to dish about their dream suitcase color.

Fashion Brand Company is the master of this. The avant-garde clothing brand regularly asks followers to vote on what products they’d like to see available for sale next.

View this post on Instagram A post shared by Fashion Brand Co Inc Global (@fashionbrandcompany)

Challenges of using social media for market research

Of course, for all of its benefits, social media marketing research can be challenging, too.

Without analytics, it’s meaningless

If you’re just watching the Tweets come in and not crunching the numbers, your data is going to be flawed. To get big-picture data that’s truly useful, you must go beyond anecdotal evidence and individual examples.

Embrace the power of social media analytics, using tools like Hootsuite to create regular reports that can identify growth, trends, and audience behavior with precision.

You need big reach to get an accurate analysis

If only 10 people are seeing your posts (and two of those are your employees), then the insights you get aren’t be that helpful. Make sure your social media content is actually getting in front of your target audience so you can accurately see what type of posts really engage their interest.

Using a scheduling tool like Hootsuite can help you plan your content for when the maximum number of your followers is online. More about scheduling your social posts here.

If you are just starting out on social and have a small audience, consider experimenting with paid ads or boosting your posts to reach more people.

The loudest voices might overwhelm the quieter ones

There’s a danger in social media listening of over-valuing the loudest super-fans (or critics). But just because someone is tagging you in every Facebook Live unboxing video doesn’t mean they represent a whole community.

That’s where streams and alerts (which you can set up in Hootsuite) can be helpful: they’ll grab mentions and references from even the smallest of accounts to make sure that every voice is heard.

Ready to get started with social media marketing research? Step one is setting up your social listening streams in Hootsuite. Start your 30-day free trial here.

Get Started

Do it better with Hootsuite , the all-in-one social media tool. Stay on top of things, grow, and beat the competition.

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Stacey McLachlan is an award-winning writer and editor from Vancouver with more than a decade of experience working for print and digital publications.

She is editor-at-large for Western Living and Vancouver Magazine, author of the National Magazine Award-nominated 'City Informer' column, and a regular contributor to Dwell. Her previous work covers a wide range of topics, from SEO-focused thought-leadership to profiles of mushroom foragers, but her specialties include design, people, social media strategy, and humor.

You can usually find her at the beach, or cleaning sand out of her bag.

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A Comprehensive Guide to Using Social Media for Market Research

Leveraging social media for market research offers businesses a direct window into the minds of consumers—who they are, what resonates with them, and how they perceive the brand. By examining data from social media, marketers can tailor their strategies for maximum impact, respond to changing consumer preferences, manage their brand’s reputation , and much more. 

In this article, we explore why social media should be a key component of your market research efforts. We also list actionable strategies to use during market research, guiding you toward making informed, data-driven decisions that fuel business growth. 

Why Use Social Media for Market Research ?

Using social media for market research is a great way to ensure your marketing efforts resonate with your target audience and drive the desired results. Here’s why integrating social media into your existing market research methods is a must: 

It Facilitates Data-Driven Decision-Making

According to The Harris Poll, nearly all executives agree that social insights are key to informed decision-making . By using social media for market research , you can better understand your target audience, including their buying patterns, behaviors, brand perceptions, and needs. This knowledge allows you to make informed decisions regarding marketing strategies, influencer partnerships, and other vital aspects of your operations. Ultimately, market research empowers you to make decisions based on data rather than guesswork, leading to better outcomes. 

It Offers Authentic Customer Sentiments

Social media is filled with unfiltered customer opinions, with 36% of consumers sharing their experiences with a brand or business online. By monitoring what people are saying, whether good or bad, you can understand how people genuinely feel about your brand, products, and services. This authentic feedback can be used to improve your products and services, mitigate risks, and identify new areas for growth. 

It Helps You Manage Your Reputation

Leveraging social media for market research helps you stay attuned to customer sentiments about your brand or business. By monitoring conversations, mentions, and interactions online, you can take control of your reputation, identify potential PR crises, and take proactive measures to maintain your image. 

Key Strategies for Leveraging Social Media for Market Research

Using social media for market research offers various opportunities for businesses seeking to understand their customers better. Here are some strategies to guide you:

Use Social Listening 

Conducting market research on social media provides an opportunity to listen in on conversations about your brand and the industry you’re in. Use social listening tools to keep tabs on what customers are talking about, what they like and don’t like, and what they expect from you. Actively monitoring discussions is crucial for crafting relevant content and adapting strategies to changing preferences. 

One of the most powerful social listening tactics involves tracking brand mentions. This social media market research strategy enables marketers to receive notifications whenever their brand—or any other relevant keywords—is mentioned across social channels. It’s a vital tool for monitoring customer opinions, identifying pain points, and managing brand perception. 

Monitor Company Mentions in Real Time

Clearview Social’s content discovery tool lets you scan the internet for industry updates or mentions of your brand in real time. Uncover useful or positive content your teams can share to enhance your advocacy campaigns.

Monitor Key Metrics to Ensure Content Resonates

Social media moves fast, so consistent tracking is key. In conducting market research, employ social media analytics tools to gain insights into the types of content that resonate most with your customers. Track key engagement metrics like view counts, clicks, impressions, shares, engagement, and other KPIs to determine which marketing messages get the most traction. This allows you to fine-tune your content creation efforts, making sure that each post captures and holds your audience’s attention.

Simplify Social Media Analysis with Clearview Social

Discover which posts have the highest (or lowest) levels of engagement with our AI-powered tool. We provide the data you need to refine your strategy and achieve success.

Keep an Eye on Your Competitors

It’s crucial to closely monitor your competitors’ moves. By keeping an eye on their activities, you can gain valuable insights to strengthen your own initiatives.

Competitor intelligence on social media entails “eavesdropping” on your rivals. Monitor your top competitors’ social profiles—scrutinize their content, study their ad strategies, and assess audience responses to their posts. 

Furthermore, conduct a thorough comparison of your metrics with theirs—if they outperform you in key metrics like views, likes, and follows, consider it as your cue to revisit your strategy. Take inspiration from their success and restructure your social media efforts to align more closely with theirs.

Conduct Social Surveys and Polls 

Want to know what your customers want? Social media offers a direct line to your audience, allowing you to gain insights into their evolving interests—so why not ask them outright? This tactic for market research on social media may be simple, but it's one of the most effective approaches. 

Leverage polls, social media surveys, and questionnaires to extract insights that can enhance your content strategy. These instruments not only provide near-immediate feedback collection, but they also make customers feel valued, further strengthening their loyalty to your brand. 

Extract Data From Employee Advocacy Campaigns 

Empowering your employees as brand advocates not only boosts your reach but also turns their shared posts into a source of valuable data. Each time employees share posts about the company, extract data and combine them with insights gathered from other sources. This provides you with a comprehensive view of customer sentiment, campaign effectiveness, and more.

With this extensive pool of data, you can fine-tune your social media strategies with precision.

Get to Know Your Audience Better with Clearview Social

Harnessing social media for market research offers the opportunity to understand your audiences, allowing for strategic decision-making.  

To streamline your market research efforts on social media , consider integrating Clearview Social into your toolkit. Our comprehensive suite of features empowers you to monitor company mentions in real time and track essential metrics such as clicks and shares. Plus, our employee advocacy software facilitates the convenient sharing and amplification of company posts. With an abundance of data at your disposal, you can gain a clearer, more accurate picture of your market. 

Level Up Your Market Research With Clearview Social

Request a demo to learn more about our solutions and begin leveraging audience data for success. 

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7 ways to use social media for market research

December 15, 2023   •   9 min read

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In this blog, you'll learn the importance of social media market research, and understand the impact it can have on your business and explore various methods for effective research and its overall limitations. 

• What is social media market research?  

Why should you conduct social media market research?  

Benefits of using social media for market research  , how to use social media for market research  , limitations of using social media for market research  , time to take action to improve marketing growth  , .css-1qemmfx{font-weight:700;} what is social media market research  .

Social media market research involves using social media platforms to gather and analyze data related to a brand, product or industry. It combines data analysis, consumer psychology and digital marketing strategy for a comprehensive approach. 

Social media market research is essential for the following reasons: 

Understanding your audience: Understanding your audience is crucial for effective marketing. By gaining insights into their preferences, behaviors and demographics, you can tailor your efforts to resonate with them, resulting in better outcomes and increased success. 

Industry trends: Staying up to date about industry trends and emerging market opportunities will help you to adapt and innovate effectively. 

Real-time insights: Using real-time social data will help you make more informed decisions and adapt to market changes in no time. 

  Learn More: Strategies for social media growth  

Social media has transformed the way we understand and connect with our target audiences , providing real-time analysis of user behavior. This allows businesses to adapt to the ever-changing consumer psychology. The subsequent points underscore the profound impact of leveraging social media for market research. 

Real-time feedback

Social media enables businesses to promptly gather and address customer feedback, allowing you to quickly adapt to changing preferences. This real-time capability gives your businesses an edge over time-consuming traditional market research methods, like surveys and focus groups.  

Competitor analysis   

It provides valuable insights about your competitors, revealing opportunities and threats. By monitoring their social media activity, you can discover their marketing strategies, customer engagement tactics and product launches. Stay one step ahead by leveraging this information.  

Audience segmentation  

You can segment your audience effectively through data analytics, ensuring successful targeted marketing efforts. Social media platforms offer demographic and psychographic data, allowing you to create highly personalized campaigns that resonate with specific audience segments. 

Content optimization  

Analyze your social media data to refine your content strategies so they better resonate with your audience. Understand which content works well and which topics generate the most engagement to create impactful content. 

Crisis management  

Detecting issues and crises early is crucial if you want to protect your brand's reputation. Social media is often the first place where problems arise, such as negative customer feedback or viral misinformation. By staying alert on these platforms, you can quickly and efficiently address any issues that arise.  

Deep Dive: Impact of social media marketing on businesses  

Now that we have a good understanding of the fundamentals of social media market research, let's explore seven valuable methods and techniques to extract actionable insights. These methods will enable you to make informed decisions and adapt your strategies in response to real-time data.  

Social listening    

Social listening involves monitoring social media channels for mentions, reviews and ratings of your brand, products or industry-related keywords. It can reveal valuable insights, such as emerging trends, customer pain points and sentiment data. By identifying common themes and sentiments in user-generated content (UGC) , you can adapt your marketing strategies and product offerings accordingly. 

Tools like Sprinklr Social help you act on the reviews and ratings submitted by users. With such a tool, you can quickly respond to negative reviews and further highlight positive customer reviews to increase brand loyalty. 

Surveys and polls  

To create surveys and pools, use Twitter and Instagram's built-in features. These are excellent tools for collecting quantitative data and gauging public opinion. Surveys and polls are a direct way to engage with your audience and gather specific feedback on products, services or marketing campaigns. 

When crafting surveys, focus on clear and concise questions to ensure accurate responses. Additionally, make use of the social data analysis tools provided by these platforms to extract meaningful insights from the responses. 

Customer engagement analysis  

Analyzing your customer's engagement with your social media content is crucial for understanding their preferences and behavior. By studying how your audience interacts with your posts, you can gain insights into what resonates with them and what doesn't. This data helps in tailoring your marketing strategies to align with your audience's interests. 

Additionally, monitoring customer engagement metrics can help you identify patterns and trends in their online behavior. These insights can be instrumental in creating content and campaigns that not only resonate with your audience but also drive meaningful interactions and conversions. 

Related Read: Influencer marketing strategies to improve engagement  

Sentiment analysis   

Sentiment analysis tools analyze social media mentions to determine how your brand is perceived. They categorize mentions as positive, negative or neutral, enabling you to track sentiment trends over time.  

This analysis can uncover hidden issues or opportunities. For instance, an increase in negative sentiment can be an early warning sign of a problem that needs immediate action. Using sentiment analysis helps you better understand and respond to customer perceptions in the digital landscape. 

On the other side, a surge in positive sentiment indicates the success of your marketing campaigns or product launches. Use this opportunity to strengthen your brand's reputation. These insights allow you to adapt and refine your strategies in real time, ensuring a positive trajectory for your brand. 

Hashtag analysis  

Track relevant hashtags to uncover trending topics and discussions in your industry. This can guide your content creation and marketing strategies. Hashtags are more than just trendy buzzwords — they serve as gateways to specific conversations and communities within social media platforms. 

To analyze hashtags effectively, focus on usage volume, content types and sentiment. This data will help you in aligning your content with trends and in engaging a wider audience. Create and promote branded hashtags to encourage user-generated content and foster a sense of community. Use relevant and trending hashtags strategically to establish your brand as a thought leader, boosting visibility and authority in your industry. 

Competitive analysis   

Conduct a thorough analysis of your competitors' social media activities, including their content, engagement rates and audience demographics. This will uncover opportunities for you to excel. Use this competitive analysis to set realistic goals and measure your progress against industry peers. 

When conducting social media competitor analysis , focus on identifying gaps in your competitors' strategies that you can fill. By recognizing areas where your competitors may be falling short, you can develop innovative approaches that resonate with your audience and set you apart in the market.  

In addition, stay alert to emerging competitors or trends in your industry to stay ahead. The business landscape is constantly changing, so monitoring new players or trends will help you adjust your strategies for long-term success. 

Content analysis  

Content analysis involves examining metrics such as likes, shares, comments, click-through rates and conversion rates to assess the effectiveness of your content. Analyze the performance of your content to identify the posts that generate the most engagement and replicate those successful strategies.  

By identifying patterns in the content that resonates most with your audience, you can optimize your social media content calendar and create more of what your followers love. A tool like Sprinklr Social can help you understand your audience by gathering data from social signals, audience profiles and engagement metrics. It also assists you in targeting the right audience at the right time. 

This iterative process of refinement ensures that your content remains fresh and engaging while aligning with your audience's evolving interests and preferences. Furthermore, remember to get direct feedback from your audience through surveys or polls, as their insights can provide invaluable guidance for your content strategy adjustments. 

Read More: 11 tips for a unified social media messaging strategy  

While social media market research offers numerous benefits, it's important to acknowledge its limitations: 

Limited demographic representation   

Social media users can provide biased insights and may not fully represent your entire target audience. For example, if you notice high engagement in outdoor activities content, such as The North Face's hiking posts, on Facebook Insight, it doesn't necessarily reflect the entire audience. It might indicate that a segment of the audience is interested in hiking and adventure. 

Solution: To get a complete understanding of your audience, combine social media data with surveys and focus groups. This will give you a more comprehensive view. 

Keep in mind that different demographics have different levels of activity on social media. For instance, if your target audience is mostly older adults, they may not be as active on platforms like Snapchat or TikTok. 

Data privacy concerns  

Collecting and analyzing user data must comply with privacy regulations, like the GDPR.   

Solution: Implement robust data protection measures and seek user consent when necessary.  

Tools: Many social media listening tools offer data anonymization features, allowing you to analyze trends without violating user privacy. 

It's crucial to strike a balance between data collection and privacy to maintain trust with your audience. Communicate your data usage policies to users and respect their preferences regarding data sharing. 

Noise and clutter   

Social media is filled with irrelevant and spammy content, which can make data analysis challenging.  

Solution: Employing advanced filtering and data cleansing techniques can help sift through the noise.   

Tools: Machine learning algorithms and natural language processing can help identify and prioritize relevant content. Use sentiment analysis to filter out irrelevant mentions that may skew your insights.  

By focusing on high-quality data, you can ensure the accuracy of your findings. 

Learn More: Social media reports: A basic-to-advanced level guide  

Social media market research is invaluable for modern businesses seeking to understand their audience, competitors and the industry landscape. By utilizing tools like Sprinklr Social, you can grasp the intricacies of social media platforms and employ analytics tools to decipher patterns and trends. This will enable you to conduct real-time market research and adapt to the evolving needs of the digital audience. 

With its comprehensive suite of services, Sprinklr provides the tools and analytics needed to gather valuable insights and make informed decisions. From tracking social media engagement to analyzing customer sentiment, Sprinklr allows businesses to harness the power of social media for effective market research. Book a personalized demo of Sprinklr today! 

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Kunal Arora

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Home Blog Qualitative Research 9 effective ways to use social media for market research

9 effective ways to use social media for market research

What is social media market research?

1: use social listening, 2: use social media sentiment analysis, 3: boost your share of voice, 4: win at social data storytelling, 5: run competitive analysis reports, 6: research rivals’ social ad strategy, 7: track key social media metrics, 8: use social surveys and polls, 9: cross-reference social data, transform your market research with social media, how forsta can help.

For many people, social media isn’t just an add on. It’s at the center of their lives and almost a non-negotiable for everyday existence.

Latest figures show that  nearly 60% of the global population  use social media – and it gives us a window into their worlds.

We know that to understand a target audience’s needs and preferences, we need to go to where they are.

People are communicating with each other about things they love – and  really  hate – and everything else in between. They’re interacting with each other and with brands, all day long. They’re sharing their thoughts on almost every subject imaginable.

Using social media for research seems like a no-brainer. So, let’s find out how you can use it to get even closer to your target audience and supercharge your insight gathering.

Social media market research means collecting data and insights about your target market via the  social media platforms  they use.

These sites can be gleaned for powerful insights into vital issues like how your brand lands and how your messages come across. Plus, when it comes to what your competitors are up to, and how your industry is doing, they can be unbeatable.

All these actions can give a helping hand to boosting sales and engaging your client base.

That means using tools and data extraction techniques to gather quantitative data including likes and shares, as well as qualitative data like comments and posts.

So, which platforms have the most market research potential? Popular programs include:

• Twitter (recently rebranded to ‘X’)

Don’t forget customer review sites, either. They’re often packed full of nuggets to help you understand customers better. Count on places like:

• Google My Business and Trustpilot for small businesses
• Trip Advisor for the travel sector
• Glassdoor for employers

One more type of social media to add to the list? Forums. They’re a treasure trove for helping businesses understand trends around specific topics. (In fact, Forsta has tools designed to help you  gauge and manage your reviews  and customer comments.)

How to use social media for your market research

Let’s dive into some ways you can tap into social media for even better market research results.

What are your customers talking about when it comes to your brand? How do they feel about it?

Social listening means tracking  some key things across social media . The most powerful are conversations about your brand and mentions of your products or services.

These might also be keywords related to what you do, as well as hashtags containing your name or product.

Then add in the same things but for your competitors, too.

When it comes to pinpointing customer needs and pain points – all in real time – social listening ticks a lot of boxes.

This one is social listening, but with extras.

Calculating how customers feel towards your brand, product, or service – and why – is key. But that’s not just about likes, comments, shares and hashtags. Add in layers of emotions and that’s what sentiment analysis is about.

By  tracking mentions, then analyzing the data that’s been collected , you can get an understanding of how your audience interacts with or talk about your brand – and how they feel when they’re doing this.

There are specific sentiment analysis tools on the market to make it a whole lot easier.

End result of harnessing this data? Being able to magic up customer experiences that hit the spot every time.

Do you know how visible your brand is compared to your competitors? Draw upon powerful insights from what’s known as social share of voice.

Let’s say you dream of boosting brand awareness or increasing sales. Pre-social media, researchers might have defined share of voice as how successful your paid advertising was.

But now in a digital age what also counts is your online visibility in general. And that includes where your brand lands in search results as well as the mentions it gets on social.

Those juicy nuggets of insight you get from social media? They’re practically worthless if they can’t be shared – and understood, then used – by your wider team.

So, it’s crucial to be able to weave all the findings into compelling, easy-to-grasp narratives. Enter social data storytelling.

This is a way to transform data into gorgeous visualization assets. Think charts, graphs and word clouds that make it a snap to see how they relate to company-wide goals.

Having the right competitor intelligence helps you make smarter decisions.

And being able to analyze your competitors to see what others are doing better across their own social channels is all part of that.

Competitive analysis reports will also help you pinpoint gaps in your own social media strategy. Because it figures that if you know what their strengths and weaknesses are, you can see how they compare to your own.

Want to spy on your competitors’ social ads and strategy? Your luck’s in. Some social media platforms have their own ad libraries and they’re groaning with data.

These are fantastic resources for competitor analysis as they let you see things like which brands are advertising and the targeting they’ve used in their campaigns.

You can check out the  Facebook (Meta) ad library here . Tiktok now has an  ad library  too.

Social media platforms have analytics features built in. Getting the good stuff on audience engagement, demographics and content reach is a winner.

But this often calls for specialist tools. These can break down the type of content your brand has put out, and highlight which ones got the most views or traction.

Because you need to discover the specific types of content that makes your audience sit up and take notice. And anything that makes that a cinch is worth looking at.

Need a lightning-fast gauge on client preferences and pain points? Ask your audience directly.

Come on, don’t be shy. It’s all about harnessing the power of one-question surveys and micro polls.

For the consumer, you can bet that this kind of engagement brings them closer to feeling heard and connected.

And the feedback is very nearly instant, direct and feels way more natural than formal surveying. Even better when your brand craves knowing how people feel about current events, or the trending topics that matter to them.

Social media isn’t always a representative sample of a business’ audience.

That might be the case especially for smaller brands or those whose client base spends their time off- and not online.

So, to get safe, accurate insight from social media data you must do something else, too. And that’s cross-referencing and analyzing it with other tried-and-tested sources and channels.

Sampling, triangulation, verification, and contextualization all come into their own here.

There are so many golden prizes up for grabs when you use social media for market research.

Business as a whole agrees. Recent industry research suggests 90% of leaders believe that being able to use social media data and insights properly to inform their business strategy is crucial. So important, in fact, that they feel their company’s success depends on it.

It’s all about the audience. Not only will you understand yours better, but you’ll find a smoother path to engage with hard-to-reach audiences.

Sure, great insights come from people who follow your brand on social media. But most people who will discuss your brand online don’t actually follow it.

In a fluid digital landscape, brand reputation can be hard to manage. That makes real-time data-driven insights from social media research more crucial than ever.

Knowing how your target consumers think of your brand – and having the data to back it up – will prove itself to be a life saver. 

Businesses need to keep evolving, moving, changing. That’s true for their products and services, too.

Real-time research on social could lead to new products – or new feature requests suggested by customers (and passed onto the product team to add to the to-do list). That could also mean something simple like a discount to match competitors.

Most market research can take a while to plan and execute. But by incorporating social media into the mix, it can be done in just minutes or hours. All that, but with potentially an even greater pool of respondents than ever before.

Listening to the conversations that are happening around your brand will give you clear direction over where your company ought to be focusing its attention. But while you can’t be in all places at once, our software can.

Forsta’s Voice of Customer  (VoC) capabilities uncover the insights that matter. Whether you choose self-service or fully managed, our end-to-end platform illustrates the entire customer journey – helping you to understand what actions are going to impact your bottom line and equipping you with the tools to make change possible.

Spanning every channel and every device, our software reaches your audience where they are – before breaking down siloed data sources, consolidating all your data in one place, and showing you where to save time and money. And with interactive dashboards that allow you to track performance by product, region, or any category you care to think of, you can make decisions based on the most accurate customer and operational data.

Read to see how our technology can help you to hit profit growth, meet KPIs, and even make cost efficiencies?  Book your free demo , and let’s make CX work for your ops goals.

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How to Use Social Media for Market Research

1. Track Trends with Social Media for Real-Time Insights

Most social media platforms, such as Twitter or Facebook, offer numerous ways to analyze trends and conduct market research. By simply searching the latest posts and popular terms, you can gain insight into emerging trends and see what customers are talking about in real-time. One example of this is conducting hashtag searches on Twitter. By setting up a few searches with hashtags related to your brand, industry or product, you can receive instant notifications when customers, clients or competitors use key terms.

2. Learn the Language of Your Audience for Improved Marketing Appeal

The words and factors that you use to track the success of your product or business might not always align with what customers find most important. By analyzing social media exchanges about your product or service, you can learn what factors customers use to determine value as well as the way that they speak about your product, service or brand. By utilizing these factors and terms within your own marketing, you can speak directly to consumers and improve the effectiveness of your marketing efforts. By creating customer-centric definitions of value, quality and other important terms, you can help to create a brand or product image that is unique amongst competitors and speaks directly to your target market.

3. Use the Real-Time Aspects of Social Media for Quick Research

Traditional market research methods, such as surveys or study groups, could take months to plan, form and execute. With social media, research can be conducted in a matter of minutes or hours. This makes it possible to use market research to follow increasingly specific aspects of your marketing efforts. From product launches to follow-up marketing, each part of your marketing plan can be analyzed independently for improved results across the entirety of your marketing plan. Instead of spending months developing a marketing research plan, and possibly only gaining outdated information as trends change, you can use social media for market research right now.

4. Use Social Media to Broaden the Scope of Your Market Research

Social media is increasing in popularity with both businesses and consumers across virtually every market demographic in existence. A 2011 report by Nielson on the state of social media claims that approximately 80-percent of people with Internet access utilize social media. This makes it possible to conduct market research with an audience that is many times larger than nearly any other marketing or media source can provide. The casual nature and easy access of social media also helps to promote user interaction, engagement and participation. This improves the chances of obtaining useful, accurate and honest data from your efforts.

5. Discover Unnoticed Trends and Insights by Engaging Instead of Leading

One of the biggest weaknesses to most marketing research methods is that they are driven by questions. To obtain the proper information, you must first know what to ask. At the same time, simply rewording a question can result in drastically different answers. This means that your market research is only as good as your questions. With the broad scope and interactive nature of social media, information is gained through interaction and observation. Instead of leading the discussions, you can simply observe or join in as an equal. This can result in a variety of answers and discoveries that might have remained hidden using other research methods.

6. Harness Social Media Research for Improved Cost Efficiency

In most cases, utilizing social media for market research is simply a matter of investing time. Free tools exist for nearly every social media platform to help gather information and use it to derive useful information. When compared to focus panels, discussion groups, studies and surveys, the cost difference is staggering. Through user engagement and discussion, your social media research also serves as advertising, brand building, network building, lead generation and offers numerous other improvements for your business or brand. When planned and implemented properly, few market research tools offer the cost efficiency and overall benefit of social media research.

From reduced costs and real-time access to information to the ability to uncover hidden trends and improve your marketing approach, social media offers powerful ways to optimize the market research efforts of any business. Best of all, social media research offers numerous ways to interact with your market and build your business. Conducting research is as simple as signing up for a social media service, such as LinkedIn or Twitter, and utilizing their built-in search features. Within minutes, your business can start analyzing trends, improving your marketing strategies and work towards achieving your desired results.

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How to do market research: The complete guide for your brand

Written by by Jacqueline Zote

Published on  April 13, 2023

Reading time  10 minutes

Blindly putting out content or products and hoping for the best is a thing of the past. Not only is it a waste of time and energy, but you’re wasting valuable marketing dollars in the process. Now you have a wealth of tools and data at your disposal, allowing you to develop data-driven marketing strategies . That’s where market research comes in, allowing you to uncover valuable insights to inform your business decisions.

Conducting market research not only helps you better understand how to sell to customers but also stand out from your competition. In this guide, we break down everything you need to know about market research and how doing your homework can help you grow your business.

Table of contents:

What is market research?

Why is market research important, types of market research, where to conduct market research.

• Steps for conducting market research
• Tools to use for market research

Market research is the process of gathering information surrounding your business opportunities. It identifies key information to better understand your audience. This includes insights related to customer personas and even trends shaping your industry.

Taking time out of your schedule to conduct research is crucial for your brand health. Here are some of the key benefits of market research:

Understand your customers’ motivations and pain points

Most marketers are out of touch with what their customers want. Moreover, these marketers are missing key information on what products their audience wants to buy.

Simply put, you can’t run a business if you don’t know what motivates your customers.

And spoiler alert: Your customers’ wants and needs change. Your customers’ behaviors today might be night and day from what they were a few years ago.

Market research holds the key to understanding your customers better. It helps you uncover their key pain points and motivations and understand how they shape their interests and behavior.

Figure out how to position your brand

Positioning is becoming increasingly important as more and more brands enter the marketplace. Market research enables you to spot opportunities to define yourself against your competitors.

Maybe you’re able to emphasize a lower price point. Perhaps your product has a feature that’s one of a kind. Finding those opportunities goes hand in hand with researching your market.

Maintain a strong pulse on your industry at large

Today’s marketing world evolves at a rate that’s difficult to keep up with.

Fresh products. Up-and-coming brands. New marketing tools. Consumers get bombarded with sales messages from all angles. This can be confusing and overwhelming.

By monitoring market trends, you can figure out the best tactics for reaching your target audience.

Not everyone conducts market research for the same reason. While some may want to understand their audience better, others may want to see how their competitors are doing. As such, there are different types of market research you can conduct depending on your goal.

Interview-based market research allows for one-on-one interactions. This helps the conversation to flow naturally, making it easier to add context. Whether this takes place in person or virtually, it enables you to gather more in-depth qualitative data.

Buyer persona research

Buyer persona research lets you take a closer look at the people who make up your target audience. You can discover the needs, challenges and pain points of each buyer persona to understand what they need from your business. This will then allow you to craft products or campaigns to resonate better with each persona.

Pricing research

In this type of research, brands compare similar products or services with a particular focus on pricing. They look at how much those products or services typically sell for so they can get more competitive with their pricing strategy.

Competitive analysis research

Competitor analysis gives you a realistic understanding of where you stand in the market and how your competitors are doing. You can use this analysis to find out what’s working in your industry and which competitors to watch out for. It even gives you an idea of how well those competitors are meeting consumer needs.

Depending on the competitor analysis tool you use, you can get as granular as you need with your research. For instance, Sprout Social lets you analyze your competitors’ social strategies. You can see what types of content they’re posting and even benchmark your growth against theirs.

Brand awareness research

Conducting brand awareness research allows you to assess your brand’s standing in the market. It tells you how well-known your brand is among your target audience and what they associate with it. This can help you gauge people’s sentiments toward your brand and whether you need to rebrand or reposition.

If you don’t know where to start with your research, you’re in the right place.

There’s no shortage of market research methods out there. In this section, we’ve highlighted research channels for small and big businesses alike.

Considering that Google sees a staggering 8.5 billion searches each day, there’s perhaps no better place to start.

A quick Google search is a potential goldmine for all sorts of questions to kick off your market research. Who’s ranking for keywords related to your industry? Which products and pieces of content are the hottest right now? Who’s running ads related to your business?

For example, Google Product Listing Ads can help highlight all of the above for B2C brands.

The same applies to B2B brands looking to keep tabs on who’s running industry-related ads and ranking for keyword terms too.

There’s no denying that email represents both an aggressive and effective marketing channel for marketers today. Case in point, 44% of online shoppers consider email as the most influential channel in their buying decisions.

Looking through industry and competitor emails is a brilliant way to learn more about your market. For example, what types of offers and deals are your competitors running? How often are they sending emails?

Email is also invaluable for gathering information directly from your customers. This survey message from Asana is a great example of how to pick your customers’ brains to figure out how you can improve your quality of service.

Industry journals, reports and blogs

Don’t neglect the importance of big-picture market research when it comes to tactics and marketing channels to explore. Look to marketing resources such as reports and blogs as well as industry journals

Keeping your ear to the ground on new trends and technologies is a smart move for any business. Sites such as Statista, Marketing Charts, AdWeek and Emarketer are treasure troves of up-to-date data and news for marketers.

And of course, there’s the  Sprout Insights blog . And invaluable resources like The Sprout Social Index™  can keep you updated on the latest social trends.

Social media

If you want to learn more about your target market, look no further than social media. Social offers a place to discover what your customers want to see in future products or which brands are killin’ it. In fact, social media is become more important for businesses than ever with the level of data available.

It represents a massive repository of real-time data and insights that are instantly accessible. Brand monitoring and social listening are effective ways to conduct social media research . You can even be more direct with your approach. Ask questions directly or even poll your audience to understand their needs and preferences.

The 5 steps for how to do market research

Now that we’ve covered the why and where, it’s time to get into the practical aspects of market research. Here are five essential steps on how to do market research effectively.

Step 1: Identify your research topic

First off, what are you researching about? What do you want to find out? Narrow down on a specific research topic so you can start with a clear idea of what to look for.

For example, you may want to learn more about how well your product features are satisfying the needs of existing users. This might potentially lead to feature updates and improvements. Or it might even result in new feature introductions.

Similarly, your research topic may be related to your product or service launch or customer experience. Or you may want to conduct research for an upcoming marketing campaign.

Step 2: Choose a buyer persona to engage

If you’re planning to focus your research on a specific type of audience, decide which buyer persona you want to engage. This persona group will serve as a representative sample of your target audience.

Engaging a specific group of audience lets you streamline your research efforts. As such, it can be a much more effective and organized approach than researching thousands (if not millions) of individuals.

You may be directing your research toward existing users of your product. To get even more granular, you may want to focus on users who have been familiar with the product for at least a year, for example.

Step 3: Start collecting data

The next step is one of the most critical as it involves collecting the data you need for your research. Before you begin, make sure you’ve chosen the right research methods that will uncover the type of data you need. This largely depends on your research topic and goals.

Remember that you don’t necessarily have to stick to one research method. You may use a combination of qualitative and quantitative approaches. So for example, you could use interviews to supplement the data from your surveys. Or you may stick to insights from your social listening efforts.

To keep things consistent, let’s look at this in the context of the example from earlier. Perhaps you can send out a survey to your existing users asking them a bunch of questions. This might include questions like which features they use the most and how often they use them. You can get them to choose an answer from one to five and collect quantitative data.

Plus, for qualitative insights, you could even include a few open-ended questions with the option to write their answers. For instance, you might ask them if there’s any improvement they wish to see in your product.

Step 4: Analyze results

Once you have all the data you need, it’s time to analyze it keeping your research topic in mind. This involves trying to interpret the data to look for a wider meaning, particularly in relation to your research goal.

So let’s say a large percentage of responses were four or five in the satisfaction rating. This means your existing users are mostly satisfied with your current product features. On the other hand, if the responses were mostly ones and twos, you may look for opportunities to improve. The responses to your open-ended questions can give you further context as to why people are disappointed.

Step 5: Make decisions for your business

Now it’s time to take your findings and turn them into actionable insights for your business. In this final step, you need to decide how you want to move forward with your new market insight.

What did you find in your research that would require action? How can you put those findings to good use?

The market research tools you should be using

To wrap things up, let’s talk about the various tools available to conduct speedy, in-depth market research. These tools are essential for conducting market research faster and more efficiently.

Social listening and analytics

Social analytics tools like Sprout can help you keep track of engagement across social media. This goes beyond your own engagement data but also includes that of your competitors. Considering how quickly social media moves, using a third-party analytics tool is ideal. It allows you to make sense of your social data at a glance and ensure that you’re never missing out on important trends.

Email marketing research tools

Keeping track of brand emails is a good idea for any brand looking to stand out in its audience’s inbox.

Tools such as MailCharts ,  Really Good Emails  and  Milled  can show you how different brands run their email campaigns.

Meanwhile, tools like  Owletter  allow you to monitor metrics such as frequency and send-timing. These metrics can help you understand email marketing strategies among competing brands.

Content marketing research

If you’re looking to conduct research on content marketing, tools such as  BuzzSumo  can be of great help. This tool shows you the top-performing industry content based on keywords. Here you can see relevant industry sites and influencers as well as which brands in your industry are scoring the most buzz. It shows you exactly which pieces of content are ranking well in terms of engagements and shares and on which social networks.

SEO and keyword tracking

Monitoring industry keywords is a great way to uncover competitors. It can also help you discover opportunities to advertise your products via organic search. Tools such as  Ahrefs  provide a comprehensive keyword report to help you see how your search efforts stack up against the competition.

Competitor comparison template

For the sake of organizing your market research, consider creating a competitive matrix. The idea is to highlight how you stack up side-by-side against others in your market. Use a  social media competitive analysis template  to track your competitors’ social presence. That way, you can easily compare tactics, messaging and performance. Once you understand your strengths and weaknesses next to your competitors, you’ll find opportunities as well.

Customer persona creator

Finally, customer personas represent a place where all of your market research comes together. You’d need to create a profile of your ideal customer that you can easily refer to. Tools like  Xtensio  can help in outlining your customer motivations and demographics as you zero in on your target market.

Build a solid market research strategy

Having a deeper understanding of the market gives you leverage in a sea of competitors. Use the steps and market research tools we shared above to build an effective market research strategy.

But keep in mind that the accuracy of your research findings depends on the quality of data collected. Turn to Sprout’s social media analytics tools to uncover heaps of high-quality data across social networks.

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Social Media Analytics in Market Research

• by Algoscale

Streams of data are being generated every second on social media, making it a goldmine of information for marketers. Social media analytics has grown to be a significant part of market research. Although the term is often misunderstood, it refers to both the collection and analysis of data from social media platforms. A large amount of data can be gathered through social media analytics, thanks to the widespread use of smartphones as well as the emergence of numerous online communities on sites like Facebook , Twitter , Instagram, and, more recently, Tik Tok.

It’s our job as marketers to understand the wants and needs of our target audience. Since we want to better understand our customers and discover new business opportunities, we conduct market research every year.

Consumer preferences can shift rapidly, making traditional market research insufficient in some cases. Focus groups are useful for gathering information before launching a new product or campaign, but they are less so for gathering feedback from customers after the product or campaign has gone on sale. Furthermore, annual polls reveal little about what current events or trending topics are most important to the public. You need to incorporate social media market research into your strategy to stay on top of the latest trends and keep a more accurate pulse on your audience.

What is social media market research?

It is possible to better understand your brand’s intended audience by conducting market research on it through social media. Sprout Social allows you to collect and analyze data from all of your brand’s social media accounts in one place, even if you don’t use social media for market research.

The data collected and analyzed from social media can go a long way toward ensuring that insight professionals remain aware of the larger market and pointing in the right direction when measured against the business and individual departments’ SMART objectives. We can use it as a sort of road map to follow and change course as necessary.

Social media isn’t really about brands, but rather about people connecting over common interests, whether they be with family, friends, or total strangers. This is important to keep in mind as we try to use social media to advance our strategies. ‘Likes’, retweets, shares, and comments on both consumer and brand posts, as well as the keywords that appear in those posts, are all forms of social media data. To cut through all the noise, there are tools that can help us sort out the most valuable data from that posted daily by millions of users.

What value can social media have in market research?

Is this relevant to market research? To be sure, social media insights can be applied in many different ways to improve an organization, but the best way to ensure that a brand makes the right choice is to combine various research methods. With all research methods, there are flaws that can be easily remedied by other techniques: Consumer behavior on all platforms, not just on social media, can be better understood using behavioral research techniques; virtual and augmented reality techniques can be used to immerse participants in a situation and see what they will actually do rather than relying on what they say they will do.

There are a few mistakes that an insight professional might make while conducting social media analysis, but with the help of resources and guides, blending social media insights with other research methods will allow us to gain a deeper understanding of our audience.

Benefits of Social media market research

• Affordable :  The advantages of social media market research are within reach of the average consumer. Surveys and focus groups can cost thousands of dollars depending on the size and complexity of your research panel, but social media is much less expensive.
• Quick. Because social media is constantly updating in real-time, traditional market research methods can take a long time.
• Comprehensive : As of 2020, there will be 3.6 billion social media users in the world, and tools like social listening make it easy to analyze the conversations and trends surrounding your entire industry, not just your own business.

Methods for Using Social Media in Market Research by Businesses

Let’s take a look at three ways that brands can use social media to conduct market research:

• Analyzing Qualitative Content with Analytics

Brands can use social media analytics to see how their social media pages are doing in terms of engagement, likes, comments, and shares. Brands can gain a better understanding of the types of content and products that are most well-liked by their target market by evaluating these various metrics.

In addition, brands can use these metrics to compare their own social media pages with those of their competitors in order to conduct competitor analysis. There are many ways in which a brand can try to outperform its competition on social media by using the same strategies that its competitors are using to gain more likes, followers, and engagement.

A brand can get an idea of what kind of content they need to post on Instagram if they post a picture and notice that it is being shared more than their average post.

• Social Listening

Listening to what people are saying about your company, brand, product, and/or service on social media is known as social listening. It enables brands to learn what their customers are saying, how they feel, and what they need from them. In order to improve their marketing, operations, and financial metrics, companies can collect and analyze this type of customer data. You can even use social listening to find out what the public has to say about your competitors.

It is possible for a company to search through tweets that contain the hashtag of their brand or product name, for example. An assessment of the various conversations about their brand will help them better understand the positives and negatives that are associated with it.

• Conducting surveys or polls

In order to better understand the preferences and opinions of their customers, brands can use social media to conduct polls or questionnaires. Twitter and Instagram, two of the most popular social media platforms, both include polling capabilities.

As an example, Instagram’s ‘Instagram Stories’ feature allows its users to conduct polls. Most of the time, the people who follow the user will read and respond to these stories. In addition to the poll’s results, the user can see who voted for each option, as well as the total number of votes.

Brands can quickly and accurately learn more about their target audience thanks to social media marketing research. Using social data to identify new opportunities and improve customer relationships empowers brands to make better business decisions.

Social media insights have the power to transform organizations in a variety of ways, but the idea to ensure that a business is making the right choice is to combine various methods of research. With the use of KPIs like cart desertion rates, repeat order rates, and comparisons to a historical baseline, some data analytics companies like Algoscale have started with a campaign analysis to ascertain the success rate of the various price promotion campaigns. With this solution, they pinpointed KPIs that made it easier to select and carry out successful promotional activities.

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Social media market research: Navigating opportunities and challenges

Last updated

3 April 2024

Certainly, traditional forms of market research, such as surveys and focus groups, will continue to have a role. However, these can be backward-looking, and narrow in focus.

Social media listening and monitoring can provide a deeper understanding of in-the-moment trends and behaviors by analyzing a vast array of discussions on social media platforms. This approach can help businesses comprehensively understand their audience and make more informed decisions.

This article looks at the opportunities and challenges of social media for market research.

Market analysis template

Save time, highlight crucial insights, and drive strategic decision-making

• Unparalleled access to understanding today’s global consumer

It’s strange to think that social media has only existed since the start of the millennia. Now, billions of users worldwide share their thoughts, preferences, and experiences on social media platforms. According to Statista, there are 4.95 billion social media users worldwide, or just under 60% of the global population. 

While not everyone will post every day of the week, such a large population can’t help but generate massive amounts of data. Scraping social media data allows researchers to gain access to this unrivaled trove of information. It's like having a front-row seat to the global conversation regarding products, brands, and trends. (“Data scraping” is simply a technique whereby a computer extracts data from another program or platform).

• Real-time analysis for swift decision-making

Traditional market research can take significant time to yield results. Timelines are generally measured in weeks, if not months. Here’s where social media data and sentiment analysis come into play. This technique allows businesses to analyze what consumers think, feel, or do in real-time. 

Companies can swiftly make more agile decisions and adapt to an evolving market landscape rather than lagging behind what consumers want and expect or designing products for yesterday rather than today. 

Oreo demonstrated the power of real-time social media analytics and marketing by capitalizing on a blackout during the 2013 Super Bowl. Following the outage and social media commentary, Oreo’s brand team captured the online sentiment by quickly crafting and tweeting an ad saying, "Power out? No problem. You can still dunk in the dark." 

Source: Oreo Cookie, X

By leveraging social media trends, Oreo demonstrated its agility and creativity. The real-time response showcased the power of data capture linked directly to the brand and marketing teams.

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• Identifying trends and staying ahead of the curve

How did you find out about the Barbie movie? What about Oppenheimer? What about Barbenhiemer ?

Film execs could have relied on surveys or focus groups to gauge consumer sentiment about their films. However, analyzing pre-release organic social media data is more effective for understanding audience excitement and anticipation. This approach would have revealed that Barbie, in particular, would be a knockout success. 

Source: Far Out Magazine

Analysis of social media data like this allows businesses to identify emerging trends and capitalize on them before they reach their peak. 

For example, by gauging the levels of evident excitement about the movie’s release, film studios could argue for wider distribution or make plans around merchandising related to the film. 

By staying ahead of the curve, companies can position themselves as trendsetters rather than followers, gaining a competitive edge in the market.

• Understanding your consumer better and optimizing your product

Ever wished you could read your customers' minds?

Well, sentiment analysis comes pretty close.

By deciphering the emotions behind customer reviews and social media posts, businesses can understand what their audience loves or dislikes about their products. 

For example, the beloved ice cream brand Ben and Jerry’s used social media data analysis several years ago to optimize their iconic Cherry Garcia flavor. Customers were venting online about a lack of cherries. Digging deeper using sentiment analysis, they pinpointed the issue to the amount of cherries depicted on the label. 

Once they redesigned the label to show fewer cherries, the complaints decreased (presumably because expectations and reality now matched).

After considering all the feedback, Ben & Jerry's also revamped the recipe with

Reduced sugar content

Sweeter cherry variety

Bigger chocolate chunks

This product facelift yielded remarkable results: Sales grew, and positive social media sentiment followed the relaunch. 

More generally, social media feedback for any brand serves as a compass for product improvement, ensuring that companies meet customer expectations and boost brand loyalty.

• More targeted marketing and personalization

In the era of information overload, personalized marketing is the key to capturing consumers' attention. Leveraging social media data allows businesses to understand their target audience intimately. Armed with this knowledge, companies can create hyper-targeted marketing campaigns that resonate with specific demographics, increasing the likelihood of engagement and conversion. 

Brands like Amazon, Sephora, and Nike leverage social media data and other data and analytics streams to create unique, personalized customer experiences for their audiences, build closer relationships with them, and support loyalty. 

• Social media scraping is a powerful tool, but it comes with several issues and challenges

While providing valuable insights, scraping social media data can raise questions and challenges around user privacy. There is a fine line between extracting information for market research and violating individuals' privacy rights.

• Ensuring user privacy when accessing, aggregating, and sharing user social media data is crucial

Ethically and responsibly conducting the gathering and use of social media user data is vital.

Early in the history of the internet, America Online (AOL) showed how not to gather and share consumer data. In 2006, AOL released search query data for over 650,000 users . The released dataset, intended for research purposes, contained sensitive and personally identifiable information. 

Due to the common practice of individuals searching for their names (along with those of friends and family), many people, while technically anonymous, were easily identifiable. Coupled with explicit searches or queries related to illegal activities, this had the potential for significant embarrassment and even evidence of criminal intent for the users involved. 

In 2018, the Cambridge Analytica scandal revealed that the political consulting firm Cambridge Analytica had harvested the personal data of millions of Facebook users without their consent. They used this data to create psychological profiles for targeted political advertising during the 2016 United States presidential election.

The incident sparked widespread concern about user privacy, data protection, and the influence of social media on democratic processes. It led to increased scrutiny of tech companies and calls for greater regulation of data privacy and digital advertising practices. Social media platforms like Facebook and Twitter started severely limiting access to customer data from their platforms, leading to what is commonly called the ‘ APIcalypse .’

Given these events, businesses and brands must collect and use user or consumer data ethically, considering data providers' privacy rights. It is essential to avoid publicly collecting and republishing data that could identify individuals, as doing so could result in legal repercussions for those who collect and use such data.

• Considerations around accuracy and bias

Like any data source, there is the potential for inaccuracy and biases, which can skew the results of scraping social media data. For example, not everyone on social media expresses their true feelings, and specific demographics may be overrepresented. 

In 2021, data from the Pew Research Center revealed a notable generation gap in social media usage. Specifically, less than 50% of Americans aged 65 and up engage with social media, contrasting sharply with the over 80% of users under 50.

Moreover, the distribution of users varies by platform, with Snapchat and Instagram predominantly drawing in younger audiences, while Facebook boasts the highest percentage of older users.

There is also something known as participation bias, whereby, on social media, individuals don’t contribute and discuss all topics equally. Instead, they engage and generate content on a limited range of issues important to them. 

While not limited to social media market research (in survey research, respondents tend to complete surveys on topics that interest them), this type of bias can skew the data, making it less representative of populations as a whole. Therefore, researchers must be aware of these limitations and implement strategies to mitigate bias , ensuring the accuracy of their findings.

• Coping with the sheer amount of data

There is a vast amount of data available, with over 4 billion people active on social media globally. 

So, there’s a real risk of drowning in irrelevant data, hindering your ability to make informed decisions. Trying to sort through this tsunami to extract meaningful insights requires increasingly sophisticated filtration tools and algorithms. 

Several analytics platforms provide solutions, including Sprout Social , HubSpot, and Meltwater , which distill the vast amount of data available into something manageable.

• You can NOT be serious: navigating sarcasm and irony in social media analytics

Anyone who has spent five minutes on a platform like Reddit or X knows that social media is a breeding ground for sarcasm, irony, and nuanced idioms.

While analytics and algorithms are improving daily, sentiment analysis tools struggle to accurately interpret these subtleties, leading to misunderstandings and potentially misrepresenting consumers’ true feelings about various situations and things.

For example, in the aftermath of the Boston Marathon bombing in 2013, the food website Epicurious erroneously attempted to share sympathy for the victims via Twitter .

Unfortunately, the sentiment analysis algorithm they used utterly failed to discern the gravity of the situation. Their automated tweets included promotional messages and links to breakfast recipes—highly insensitive given the scope of the tragedy.

Source: Fast Company

Epicurious quickly pulled the tone-deaf tweets and spent the next 48 hours apologizing. While that’s just one example, their blunder is an important reminder not to over-rely on computer-driven sentiment analysis. Ideally, there is still a human checking such predictive suggestions. 

• Adapting to evolving social media platforms

Just like any other area of tech (perhaps even more so), brands will need to adjust to the evolving landscape of social media platforms. 

New platforms emerge (and decline), algorithms change, and user behaviors evolve. For example, TikTok has only been around since 2016 but has transformed the social media landscape. The platform boasts impressive statistics, including 3 billion downloads (a notable 672 million downloads in 2022 alone) and a staggering 50 million daily active users. It even has its own dedicated trends research reports center , which captures and shares some of the behavior and trends it picks up across its diverse user base.

To remain competitive, businesses and brands must consistently update their data collection and analysis methods and monitor consumer trends and behaviors.

• Navigating the future of market research with social media

It's clear that research using social media market research holds great potential. However, businesses must responsibly leverage social media data, addressing ethical concerns, mitigating biases, and continually refining analytical tools. 

Social media data and sentiment analysis aren't just tools; they provide valuable guidance for businesses navigating the ever-changing landscape of consumer preferences. 

By comprehending the opportunities and challenges associated with these tools, companies can chart a course toward more informed decision-making, improved products, and stronger connections with their audience.

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The future of social media in marketing

• Conceptual/Theoretical Paper
• Open access
• Published: 12 October 2019
• Volume 48 , pages 79–95, ( 2020 )

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• Gil Appel 1 ,
• Lauren Grewal 2 ,
• Rhonda Hadi 3 &
• Andrew T. Stephen 3 , 4  

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Social media allows people to freely interact with others and offers multiple ways for marketers to reach and engage with consumers. Considering the numerous ways social media affects individuals and businesses alike, in this article, the authors focus on where they believe the future of social media lies when considering marketing-related topics and issues. Drawing on academic research, discussions with industry leaders, and popular discourse, the authors identify nine themes, organized by predicted imminence (i.e., the immediate, near, and far futures), that they believe will meaningfully shape the future of social media through three lenses: consumer, industry, and public policy. Within each theme, the authors describe the digital landscape, present and discuss their predictions, and identify relevant future research directions for academics and practitioners.

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Introduction

Social media is used by billions of people around the world and has fast become one of the defining technologies of our time. Facebook, for example, reported having 2.38 billion monthly active users and 1.56 billion daily active users as of March 31, 2019 (Facebook 2019 ). Globally, the total number of social media users is estimated to grow to 3.29 billion users in 2022, which will be 42.3% of the world’s population (eMarketer 2018 ). Given the massive potential audience available who are spending many hours a day using social media across the various platforms, it is not surprising that marketers have embraced social media as a marketing channel. Academically, social media has also been embraced, and an extensive body of research on social media marketing and related topics, such as online word of mouth (WOM) and online networks, has been developed. Despite what academics and practitioners have studied and learned over the last 15–20 years on this topic, due to the fast-paced and ever-changing nature of social media—and how consumers use it—the future of social media in marketing might not be merely a continuation of what we have already seen. Therefore, we ask a pertinent question, what is the future of social media in marketing?

Addressing this question is the goal of this article. It is important to consider the future of social media in the context of consumer behavior and marketing, since social media has become a vital marketing and communications channel for businesses, organizations and institutions alike, including those in the political sphere. Moreover, social media is culturally significant since it has become, for many, the primary domain in which they receive vast amounts of information, share content and aspects of their lives with others, and receive information about the world around them (even though that information might be of questionable accuracy). Vitally, social media is always changing. Social media as we know it today is different than even a year ago (let alone a decade ago), and social media a year from now will likely be different than now. This is due to constant innovation taking place on both the technology side (e.g., by the major platforms constantly adding new features and services) and the user/consumer side (e.g., people finding new uses for social media) of social media.

What is social media?

Definitionally, social media can be thought of in a few different ways. In a practical sense, it is a collection of software-based digital technologies—usually presented as apps and websites—that provide users with digital environments in which they can send and receive digital content or information over some type of online social network. In this sense, we can think of social media as the major platforms and their features, such as Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter. We can also in practical terms of social media as another type of digital marketing channel that marketers can use to communicate with consumers through advertising. But we can also think of social media more broadly, seeing it less as digital media and specific technology services, and more as digital places where people conduct significant parts of their lives. From this perspective, it means that social media becomes less about the specific technologies or platforms, and more about what people do in these environments. To date, this has tended to be largely about information sharing, and, in marketing, often thought of as a form of (online) word of mouth (WOM).

Building on these definitional perspectives, and thinking about the future, we consider social media to be a technology-centric—but not entirely technological—ecosystem in which a diverse and complex set of behaviors, interactions, and exchanges involving various kinds of interconnected actors (individuals and firms, organizations, and institutions) can occur. Social media is pervasive, widely used, and culturally relevant. This definitional perspective is deliberately broad because we believe that social media has essentially become almost anything—content, information, behaviors, people, organizations, institutions—that can exist in an interconnected, networked digital environment where interactivity is possible. It has evolved from being simply an online instantiation of WOM behaviors and content/information creation and sharing. It is pervasive across societies (and geographic borders) and culturally prominent at both local and global levels.

Throughout the paper we consider many of the definitional and phenomenological aspects described above and explore their implications for consumers and marketing in order to address our question about the future of marketing-related social media. By drawing on academic research, discussions with industry leaders, popular discourse, and our own expertise, we present and discuss a framework featuring nine themes that we believe will meaningfully shape the future of social media in marketing. These themes by no means represent a comprehensive list of all emerging trends in the social media domain and include aspects that are both familiar in extant social media marketing literature (e.g., online WOM, engagement, and user-generated content) and emergent (e.g., sensory considerations in human-computer interaction and new types of unstructured data, including text, audio, images, and video). The themes we present were chosen because they capture important changes in the social media space through the lenses of important stakeholders, including consumers, industry/practice, and public policy.

In addition to describing the nature and consequences of each theme, we identify research directions that academics and practitioners may wish to explore. While it is infeasible to forecast precisely what the future has in store or to project these on a specific timeline, we have organized the emergent themes into three time-progressive waves, according to imminence of impact (i.e., the immediate, near, and far future). Before presenting our framework for the future of social media in marketing and its implications for research (and practice and policy), we provide a brief overview of where social media currently stands as a major media and marketing channel.

Social media at present

The current social media landscape has two key aspects to it. First are the platforms—major and minor, established and emerging—that provide the underlying technologies and business models making up the industry and ecosystem. Second are the use cases; i.e., how various kinds of people and organizations are using these technologies and for what purposes.

The rise of social media, and the manner in which it has impacted both consumer behavior and marketing practice, has largely been driven by the platforms themselves. Some readers might recall the “early days” of social media where social networking sites such as MySpace and Friendster were popular. These sites were precursors to Facebook and everything else that has developed over the last decade. Alongside these platforms, we continue to have other forms of social media such as messaging (which started with basic Internet Relay Chat services in the 1990s and the SMS text messaging built into early digital mobile telephone standards in the 2000s), and asynchronous online conversations arranged around specific topics of interest (e.g., threaded discussion forums, subreddits on Reddit). More recently, we have seen the rise of social media platforms where images and videos replace text, such as Instagram and Snapchat.

Across platforms, historically and to the present day, the dominant business model has involved monetization of users (audiences) by offering advertising services to anyone wishing to reach those audiences with digital content and marketing communications. Prior research has examined the usefulness of social media (in its various forms) for marketing purposes. For example, work by Trusov et al. ( 2009 ) and Stephen and Galak ( 2012 ) demonstrated that certain kinds of social interactions that now happen on social media (e.g., “refer a friend” features and discussions in online communities) can positively affect important marketing outcomes such as new customer acquisition and sales. More recently, the value of advertising on social media continues to be explored (e.g., Gordon et al. 2019 ), as well as how it interacts with other forms of media such as television (e.g., Fossen and Schweidel 2016 , 2019 ) and affects new product adoption through diffusion of information mechanisms (e.g., Hennig-Thurau et al. 2015 ).

Although the rise (and fall) of various kinds of social media platforms has been important for understanding the social media landscape, our contention is that understanding the current situation of social media, at least from a marketing perspective, lies more in what the users do on these platforms than the technologies or services offered by these platforms. Presently, people around the world use social media in its various forms (e.g., news feeds on Facebook and Twitter, private messaging on WhatsApp and WeChat, and discussion forums on Reddit) for a number of purposes. These can generally be categorized as (1) digitally communicating and socializing with known others, such as family and friends, (2) doing the same but with unknown others but who share common interests, and (3) accessing and contributing to digital content such as news, gossip, and user-generated product reviews.

All of these use cases are essentially WOM in one form or another. This, at least, is how marketing scholars have mainly characterized social media, as discussed by Lamberton and Stephen ( 2016 ). Indeed, online WOM has been—and, we contend, will continue to be—important in marketing (e.g., in the meta-analysis by Babić Rosario et al. 2016 the authors found, on average, a positive correlation between online WOM and sales). The present perspective on social media is that people use it for creating, accessing, and spreading information via WOM to various types of others, be it known “strong ties” or “weak ties” in their networks or unknown “strangers.” Some extant research has looked at social media from the WOM perspective of the consequences of the transmission of WOM (e.g., creating a Facebook post or tweeting) on others (e.g., Herhausen et al. 2019 ; Stephen and Lehmann 2016 ), the impact of the type of WOM content shared on others’ behavior (e.g., Villarroel Ordenes et al. 2017 ; Villarroel Ordenes et al. 2018 ), and on the motivations that drive consumer posting on social media, including considerations of status and self-presentation (e.g., Grewal et al. 2019 ; Hennig-Thurau et al. 2004 ; Hollenbeck and Kaikati 2012 ; Toubia and Stephen 2013 ; Wallace et al. 2014 ).

While this current characterization of WOM appears reasonable, it considers social media only from a communications perspective (and as a type of media channel). However, as social media matures, broader social implications emerge. To appropriately consider the future, we must expand our perspective beyond the narrow communicative aspects of social media and consider instead how consumers might use it. Hence, in our vision for the future of social media in marketing in the following sections, we attempt to present a more expansive perspective of what social media is (and will become) and explain why this perspective is relevant to marketing research and practice.

Overview of framework for the future of social media in marketing

In the following sections we present a framework for the immediate, near, and far future of social media in marketing when considering various relevant stakeholders. Themes in the immediate future represent those which already exist in the current marketplace, and that we believe will continue shaping the social media landscape. The near future section examines trends that have shown early signs of manifesting, and that we believe will meaningfully alter the social media landscape in the imminent future. Finally, themes designated as being in the far future represent more speculative projections that we deem capable of long-term influence on the future of social media. The next sections delve into each of the themes in Table 1 , organized around the predicted imminence of these theme’s importance to marketing (i.e., the immediate, near, and far futures).

The immediate future

To begin our discussion on the direction of social media, in this section, we highlight three themes that have surfaced in the current environment that we believe will continue to shape the social media landscape in the immediate future. These themes—omni-social presence, the rise of influencers, and trust and privacy concerns—reflect the ever-changing digital and social media landscape that we presently face. We believe that these different areas will influence a number of stakeholders such as individual social media users, firms and brands that utilize social media, and public policymakers (e.g., governments, regulators).

Omni-social presence

In its early days, social media activity was mostly confined to designated social media platforms such as Facebook and Twitter (or their now-defunct precursors). However, a proliferation of websites and applications that primarily serve separate purposes have capitalized on the opportunity to embed social media functionality into their interfaces. Similarly, all major mobile and desktop operating systems have in-built social media integration (e.g., sharing functions built into Apple’s iOS). This has made social media pervasive and ubiquitous—and perhaps even omnipotent—and has extended the ecosystem beyond dedicated platforms.

Accordingly, consumers live in a world in which social media intersects with most aspects of their lives through digitally enabled social interactivity in such domains as travel (e.g., TripAdvisor), work (e.g., LinkedIn), food (e.g., Yelp), music (e.g., Spotify), and more. At the same time, traditional social media companies have augmented their platforms to provide a broader array of functionalities and services (e.g., Facebook’s marketplace, Chowdry 2018 ; WeChat’s payment system, Cheng 2017 ). These bidirectional trends suggest that the modern-day consumer is living in an increasingly “omni-social” world.

From a marketing perspective, the “omni-social” nature of the present environment suggests that virtually every part of a consumer’s decision-making process is prone to social media influence. Need recognition might be activated when a consumer watches their favorite beauty influencer trying a new product on YouTube. A consumer shopping for a car might search for information by asking their Facebook friends what models they recommend. A hungry employee might sift through Yelp reviews to evaluate different lunch options. A traveler might use Airbnb to book future accommodation. Finally, a highly dissatisfied (or delighted) airline passenger might rant (rave) about their experience on Twitter. While the decision-making funnel is arguably growing flatter than the aforementioned examples would imply (Cortizo-Burgess 2014 ), these independent scenarios illustrate that social media has the propensity to influence the entire consumer-decision making process, from beginning to end.

Finally, perhaps the greatest indication of an “omni-social” phenomenon is the manner in which social media appears to be shaping culture itself. YouTube influencers are now cultural icons, with their own TV shows (Comm 2016 ) and product lines (McClure 2015 ). Creative content in television and movies is often deliberately designed to be “gifable” and meme-friendly (Bereznak 2018 ). “Made-for-Instagram museums” are encouraging artistic content and experiences that are optimized for selfie-taking and posting (Pardes 2017 ). These examples suggest that social media’s influence is hardly restricted to the “online” world (we discuss the potential obsolescence of this term later in this paper), but is rather consistently shaping cultural artifacts (television, film, the arts) that transcend its traditional boundaries. We believe this trend will continue to manifest, perhaps making the term “social media” itself out-of-date, as it’s omni-presence will be the default assumption for consumers, businesses, and artists in various domains.

This omni-social trend generates many questions to probe in future research. For example, how will social interactivity influence consumer behavior in areas that had traditionally been non-social? From a practitioner lens, it might also be interesting to explore how marketers can strategically address the flatter decision-making funnel that social media has enabled, and to examine how service providers can best alter experiential consumption when anticipating social media sharing behavior.

The rise of new forms of social influence (and influencers)

The idea of using celebrities (in consumer markets) or well-known opinion leaders (in business markets), who have a high social value, to influence others is a well-known marketing strategy (Knoll and Matthes 2017 ). However, the omnipresence of social media has tremendously increased the accessibility and appeal of this approach. For example, Selena Gomez has over 144 million followers on Instagram that she engages with each of her posts. In 2018, the exposure of a single photo shared by her was valued at $3.4 million (Maxim 2018 ). However, she comes at a high price: one post that Selena sponsors for a brand can cost upwards of $800,000 (Mejia 2018 ). However, putting high valuations on mere online exposures or collecting “likes” for specific posts can be somewhat speculative, as academic research shows that acquiring “likes” on social media might have no effect on consumers’ attitudes or behaviors (John et al. 2017 ; Mochon et al. 2017 ). Moreover, Hennig-Thurau et al. ( 2015 ), show that while garnering positive WOM has little to no effect on consumer preferences, negative WOM can have a negative effect on consumer preferences.

While celebrities like Selena Gomez are possible influencers for major brands, these traditional celebrities are so expensive that smaller brands have begun, and will continue to, capitalize on the popularity and success of what are referred to as “micro-influencers,” representing a new form of influencers. Micro-influencers are influencers who are not as well-known as celebrities, but who have strong and enthusiastic followings that are usually more targeted, amounting anywhere between a few thousand to hundreds of thousands of followers (Main 2017 ). In general, these types of influencers are considered to be more trustworthy and authentic than traditional celebrities, which is a major reason influencer marketing has grown increasingly appealing to brands (Enberg 2018 ). These individuals are often seen as credible “experts” in what they post about, encouraging others to want to view the content they create and engage with them. Furthermore, using these influencers allows the brand via first person narration (compared to ads), which is considered warmer and more personal, and was shown to be more effective in engaging consumers (Chang et al. 2019 ).

Considering the possible reach and engagement influencers command on social media, companies have either begun embracing influencers on social media, or plan to expand their efforts in this domain even more. For example, in recent conversations we had with social media executives, several of them stated the growing importance of influencers and mentioned how brands generally are looking to incorporate influencer marketing into their marketing strategies. Further, recent conversations with executives at some globally leading brands suggest that influencer marketing spending by big brands continues to rise.

While influencer marketing on social media is not new, we believe it has a lot of potential to develop further as an industry. In a recent working paper, Duani et al. ( 2018 ) show that consumers enjoy watching a live experience much more and for longer time periods than watching a prerecorded one. Hence, we think live streaming by influencers will continue to grow, in broad domains as well as niche ones. For example, streaming of video game playing on Twitch, a platform owned by Amazon, may still be niche but shows no signs of slowing down. However, live platforms are limited by the fact that the influencers, being human, need to sleep and do other activities offline. Virtual influencers (i.e., “CGI” influencers that look human but are not), on the other hand, have no such limitations. They never get tired or sick, they do not even eat (unless it is needed for a campaign). Some brands have started exploring the use of virtual influencers (Nolan 2018 ), and we believe that in coming years, along with stronger computing power and artificial intelligence algorithms, virtual influencers will become much more prominent on social media, being able to invariably represent and act on brand values and engage with followers anytime.

There are many interesting future research avenues to consider when thinking about the role of influencers on social media. First, determining what traits and qualities (e.g., authenticity, trust, credibility, and likability) make sponsored posts by a traditional celebrity influencer, versus a micro-influencer, or even compared to a CGI influencer, more or less successful is important to determine for marketers. Understanding whether success has to do with the actual influencer’s characteristics, the type of content being posted, whether content is sponsored or not, and so on, are all relevant concerns for companies and social media platforms when determining partnerships and where to invest effort in influencers. In addition, research can focus on understanding the appeal of live influencer content, and how to successfully blend influencer content with more traditional marketing mix approaches.

Privacy concerns on social media

Consumer concerns regarding data privacy, and their ability to trust brands and platforms are not new (for a review on data privacy see Martin and Murphy 2017 ). Research in marketing and related disciplines has examined privacy and trust concerns from multiple angles and using different definitions of privacy. For example, research has focused on the connections between personalization and privacy (e.g., Aguirre et al. 2015 ; White et al. 2008 ), the relationship of privacy as it relates to consumer trust and firm performance (e.g., Martin 2018 ; Martin et al. 2017 ), and the legal and ethical aspects of data and digital privacy (e.g., Culnan and Williams 2009 ; Nill and Aalberts 2014 ). Despite this topic not seeming novel, the way consumers, brands, policy makers, and social media platforms are all adjusting and adapting to these concerns are still in flux and without clear resolution.

Making our understanding of privacy concerns even less straightforward is the fact that, across extant literature, a clear definition of privacy is hard to come by. In one commentary on privacy, Stewart ( 2017 ), defined privacy as “being left alone,” as this allows an individual to determine invasions of privacy. We build from this definition of privacy to speculate on a major issue in privacy and trust moving forward. Specifically, how consumers are adapting and responding to the digital world, where “being left alone” isn’t possible. For example, while research has shown benefits to personalization tactics (e.g., Chung et al. 2016 ), with eroding trust in social platforms and brands that advertise through them, many consumers would rather not share data and privacy for a more personalized experiences, are uncomfortable with their purchases being tracked and think it should be illegal for brands to be able to buy their data (Edelman 2018 ). These recent findings seem to be in conflict with previously established work on consumer privacy expectations. Therefore, understanding if previously studied factors that mitigated the negative effects of personalization (e.g., perceived utility; White et al. 2008 ) are still valued by consumers in an ever-changing digital landscape is essential for future work.

In line with rising privacy concerns, the way consumers view brands and social media is becoming increasingly negative. Consumers are deleting their social media presence, where research has shown that nearly 40% of digitally connected individuals admitted to deleting at least one social media account due to fears of their personal data being mishandled (Edelman 2018 ). This is a negative trend not only for social media platforms, but for the brands and advertisers who have grown dependent on these avenues for reaching consumers. Edelman found that nearly half of the surveyed consumers believed brands to be complicit in negative aspects of content on social media such as hate speech, inappropriate content, or fake news (Edelman 2018 ). Considering that social media has become one of the best places for brands to engage with consumers, build relationships, and provide customer service, it’s not only in the best interest of social media platforms to “do better” in terms of policing content, but the onus of responsibility has been placed on brands to advocate for privacy, trust, and the removal of fake or hateful content.

Therefore, to combat these negative consumer beliefs, changes will need to be made by everyone who benefits from consumer engagement on social media. Social media platforms and brands need to consider three major concerns that are eroding consumer trust: personal information, intellectual property and information security (Information Technology Faculty 2018 ). Considering each of these concerns, specific actions and initiatives need to be taken for greater transparency and subsequent trust. We believe that brands and agencies need to hold social media accountable for their actions regarding consumer data (e.g., GDPR in the European Union) for consumers to feel “safe” and “in control,” two factors shown necessary in cases of privacy concerns (e.g., Tucker 2014 ; Xu et al. 2012 ). As well, brands need to establish transparent policies regarding consumer data in a way that recognizes the laws, advertising restrictions, and a consumer’s right to privacy (a view shared by others; e.g., Martin et al. 2017 ). All of this is managerially essential for brands to engender feelings of trust in the increasingly murky domain of social media.

Future research can be conducted to determine consumer reactions to different types of changes and policies regarding data and privacy. As well, another related and important direction for future research, will be to ascertain the spillover effects of distrust on social media. Specifically, is all content shared on social media seen as less trustworthy if the platform itself is distrusted? Does this extend to brand messages displayed online? Is there a negative spillover effect to other user-generated content shared through these platforms?

The near future

In the previous section, we discussed three areas where we believe social media is immediately in flux. In this section, we identify three trends that have shown early signs of manifesting, and which we believe will meaningfully alter the social media landscape in the near, or not-too-distant, future. Each of these topics impact the stakeholders we mentioned when discussing the immediate social media landscape.

Combatting loneliness and isolation

Social media has made it easier to reach people. When Facebook was founded in 2004, their mission was “to give people the power to build community and bring the world closer together... use Facebook to stay connected with friends and family, to discover what’s going on in the world, and to share and express what matters to them” (Facebook 2019 ). Despite this mission, and the reality that users are more “connected” to other people than ever before, loneliness and isolation are on the rise. Over the last fifty years in the U.S., loneliness and isolation rates have doubled, with Generation Z considered to be the loneliest generation (Cigna 2018 ). Considering these findings with the rise of social media, is the fear that Facebook is interfering with real friendships and ironically spreading the isolation it was designed to conquer something to be considered about (Marche 2012 )?

The role of social media in this “loneliness epidemic” is being hotly debated. Some research has shown that social media negatively impacts consumer well-being. Specifically, heavy social media use has been associated with higher perceived social isolation, loneliness, and depression (Kross et al. 2013 ; Primack et al. 2017 ; Steers et al. 2014 ). Additionally, Facebook use has been shown to be negatively correlated with consumer well-being (Shakya and Christakis 2017 ) and correlational research has shown that limiting social media use to 10 min can decrease feelings of loneliness and depression due to less FOMO (e.g., “fear of missing out;” Hunt et al. 2018 ).

On the other hand, research has shown that social media use alone is not a predictor of loneliness as other factors have to be considered (Cigna 2018 ; Kim et al. 2009 ). In fact, while some research has shown no effect of social media on well-being (Orben et al. 2019 ), other research has shown that social media can benefit individuals through a number of different avenues such as teaching and developing socialization skills, allowing greater communication and access to a greater wealth of resources, and helping with connection and belonging (American Psychological Association 2011 ; Baker and Algorta 2016 ; Marker et al. 2018 ). As well, a working paper by Crolic et al. ( 2019 ) argues that much of the evidence of social media use on consumer well-being is of questionable quality (e.g., small and non-representative samples, reliance on self-reported social media use), and show that some types of social media use are positively associated with psychological well-being over time.

Managerially speaking, companies are beginning to respond as a repercussion of studies highlighting a negative relationship between social media and negative wellbeing. For example, Facebook has created “time limit” tools (mobile operating systems, such as iOS, now also have these time-limiting features). Specifically, users can now check their daily times, set up reminder alerts that pop up when a self-imposed amount of time on the apps is hit, and there is the option to mute notifications for a set period of time (Priday 2018 ). These different features seem well-intentioned and are designed to try and give people a more positive social media experience. Whether these features will be used is unknown.

Future research can address whether or not consumers will use available “timing” tools on one of many devices in which their social media exists (i.e., fake self-policing) or on all of their devices to actually curb behavior. It could also be the case that users will actually spend less time on Facebook and Instagram, but possibly spend that extra time on other competing social media platforms, or attached to devices, which theoretically will not help combat loneliness. Understanding how (and which) consumers use these self-control tools and how impactful they are is a potentially valuable avenue for future research.

One aspect of social media that has yet to be considered in the loneliness discussion through empirical measures, is the quality of use (versus quantity). Facebook ads have begun saying, “The best part of Facebook isn’t on Facebook. It’s when it helps us get together” (Facebook 2019 ). There have been discussions around the authenticity of this type of message, but at its core, in addition to promoting quantity differences, it’s speaking to how consumers use the platform. Possibly, to facilitate this message, social media platforms will find new ways to create friend suggestions between individuals who not only share similar interests and mutual friends to facilitate in-person friendships (e.g., locational data from the mobile app service). Currently there are apps that allow people to search for friends that are physically close (e.g., Bumble Friends), and perhaps social media will go in this same direction to address the loneliness epidemic and stay current.

Future research can examine whether the quantity of use, types of social media platforms, or the way social media is used causally impacts perceived loneliness. Specifically, understanding if the negative correlations found between social media use and well-being are due to the demographics of individuals who use a lot of social media, the way social media works, or the way users choose to engage with the platform will be important for understanding social media’s role (or lack of role) in the loneliness epidemic.

Integrated customer care

Customer care via digital channels as we know it is going to change substantially in the near future. To date, many brands have used social media platforms as a place for providing customer care, addressing customers’ specific questions, and fixing problems. In the future, social media-based customer care is expected to become even more customized, personalized, and ubiquitous. Customers will be able to engage with firms anywhere and anytime, and solutions to customers’ problems will be more accessible and immediate, perhaps even pre-emptive using predictive approaches (i.e., before a customer even notices an issue or has a question pop into their mind).

Even today, we observe the benefits that companies gain from connecting with customers on social media for service- or care-related purposes. Customer care is implemented in dedicated smartphone apps and via direct messaging on social media platforms. However, it appears that firms want to make it even easier for customers to connect with them whenever and wherever they might need. Requiring a customer to download a brand specific app or to search through various social media platforms to connect with firms through the right branded account on a platform can be a cumbersome process. In those cases, customers might instead churn or engage in negative WOM, instead of connecting with the firm to bring up any troubles they might have.

The near future of customer care on social media appears to be more efficient and far-reaching. In a recent review on the future of customer relationship management, Haenlein ( 2017 ) describes “invisible CRM” as future systems that will make customer engagement simple and accessible for customers. New platforms have emerged to make the connection between customer and firm effortless. Much of this is via instant messaging applications for businesses, which several leading technology companies have recently launched as business-related features in existing platforms (e.g., contact business features in Facebook Messenger and WhatsApp or Apple’s Business Chat).

These technologies allow businesses to directly communicate via social media messaging services with their customers. Amazon, Apple, Facebook, and Google are in the process, or have already released early versions of such platforms (Dequier 2018 ). Customers can message a company, ask them questions, or even order products and services through the messaging system, which is often built around chatbots and virtual assistants. This practice is expected to become more widespread, especially because it puts brands and companies into the social media messaging platforms their customers already use to communicate with others, it provides quicker—even instantaneous—responses, is economically scalable through the use of AI-driven chatbots, and, despite the use of chatbots, can provide a more personalized level of customer service.

Another area that companies will greatly improve upon is data collection and analysis. While it is true that data collection on social media is already pervasive today, it is also heavily scrutinized. However, we believe that companies will adapt to the latest regulation changes (e.g., GDPR in Europe, CCPA in California) and improve on collecting and analyzing anonymized data (Kakatkar and Spann 2018 ). Furthermore, even under these new regulations, personalized data collection is still allowed, but severely limits firm’s abilities to exploit consumers’ data, and requires their consent for data collection.

We believe that in the future, companies will be able recognize early indications of problems within customer chatter, behavior, or even physiological data (e.g., monitoring the sensors in our smart watches) before customers themselves even realize they are experiencing a problem. For example, WeWork, the shared workspace company, collects data on how workers move and act in a workspace, building highly personalized workspaces based on trends in the data. Taking this type of approach to customer care will enable “seamless service,” where companies would be able to identify and address consumer problems when they are still small and scattered, and while only a small number of customers are experiencing problems. Customer healthcare is a pioneer in this area, where using twitter and review sites were shown to predict poor healthcare quality (Greaves et al. 2013 ), listen to patients to analyze trending terms (Baktha et al. 2017 ; Padrez et al. 2016 ), or even predict disease outbreaks (Schmidt 2012 ).

Companies, wanting to better understand and mimic human interactions, will invest a lot of R&D efforts into developing better Natural Language Processing, voice and image recognition, emotional analysis, and speech synthesis tools (Sheth 2017 ). For example, Duplex, Google’s latest AI assistant, can already call services on its own and seamlessly book reservations for their users (Welch 2018 ). In the future, AI systems will act as human ability augmenters, allowing us to accomplish more, in less time, and better results (Guszcza 2018 ).

For marketers, this will reduce the need for call centers and agents, reducing points of friction in service and increasing the convenience for customers (Kaplan and Haenlein 2019 ). However, some raise the question that the increased dependence on automation may result in a loss of compassion and empathy. In a recent study, Force (2018) shows that interacting with brands on social media lowered people’s empathy. In response to such concerns, and to educate and incentivize people to interact with machines in a similar way they do with people, Google programmed their AI assistant to respond in a nicer way if you use a polite, rather than a commanding approach (Kumparak 2018 ). While this might help, more research is needed to understand the effect of an AI rich world on human behavior. As well, future research can examine how consumer generated data can help companies preemptively predict consumer distress. Another interesting path for research would be to better understand the difference in consumer engagement between the various platforms, and the long-term effects of service communications with non-human AI and IoT.

Social media as a political tool

Social media is a platform to share thoughts and opinions. This is especially true in the case of disseminating political sentiments. Famously, President Barack Obama’s victory in the 2008 election was partially attributed to his ability to drive and engage voters on social media (Carr 2008 ). Indeed, Bond et al. ( 2012 ) have shown that with simple interventions, social media platforms can increase targeted audiences’ likelihood of voting. Social media is considered one of the major drivers of the 2010 wave of revolutions in Arab countries, also known as the Arab Spring (Brown et al. 2012 ).

While social media is not new to politics, we believe that social media is transitioning to take a much larger role as a political tool in the intermediate future. First evidence for this could be seen in the 2016 U.S. presidential election, as social media took on a different shape, with many purported attempts to influence voter’s opinions, thoughts, and actions. This is especially true for then-candidate and now-President Donald Trump. His use of Twitter attracted a lot of attention during the campaign and has continued to do so during his term in office. Yet, he is not alone, and many politicians changed the way they work and interact with constituents, with a recent example of Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez that even ran a workshop for fellow congress members on social media (Dwyer 2019 ).

While such platforms allow for a rapid dissemination of ideas and concepts (Bonilla and Rosa 2015 ; Bode 2016 ), there are some, both in academia and industry that have raised ethical concerns about using social media for political purposes. Given that people choose who to follow, this selective behavior is said to potentially create echo chambers, wherein, users are exposed only to ideas by like-minded people, exhibiting increased political homophily (Bakshy et al. 2015 ). People’s preference to group with like-minded people is not new. Social in-groups have been shown to promote social identification and promote in-group members to conform to similar ideas (Castano et al. 2002 ; Harton and Bourgeois 2004 ). Furthermore, it was also shown that group members strongly disassociate and distance themselves from outgroup members (Berger and Heath 2008 ; White and Dahl 2007 ). Thus, it is not surprising to find that customized newsfeeds within social media exacerbate this problem by generating news coverage that is unique to specific users, locking them in their purported echo chambers (Oremus 2016 ).

While social media platforms admit that echo chambers could pose a problem, a solution is not clear (Fiegerman 2018 ). One reason that echo chambers present such a problem, is their proneness to fake news. Fake news are fabricated stories that try to disguise themselves as authentic content, in order to affect other social media users. Fake news was widely used in the 2016 U.S. elections, with accusations that foreign governments, such as Iran and Russia, were using bots (i.e., online automatic algorithms), to spread falsified content attacking Hillary Clinton and supporting President Trump (Kelly et al. 2018 ). Recent research has furthermore shown how the Chinese government strategically uses millions of online comments to distract the Chinese public from discussing sensitive issues and promote nationalism (King et al. 2017 ). In their latest incarnation, fake news uses an advanced AI technique called “Deep Fake” to generate ultra-realistic forged images and videos of political leaders while manipulating what those leaders say (Schwartz 2018 ). Such methods can easily fool even the sharpest viewer. In response, research has begun to explore ways that social media platforms can combat fake news through algorithms that determine the quality of shared content (e.g., Pennycook and Rand 2019 ).

One factor that has helped the rise of fake news is echo chambers. This occurs as the repeated sharing of fake news by group members enhance familiarity and support (Schwarz and Newman 2017 ). Repetition of such articles by bots can only increase that effect. Recent research has shown that in a perceived social setting, such as social media, participants were less likely to fact-check information (Jun et al. 2017 ), and avoided information that didn’t fit well with their intuition (Woolley and Risen 2018 ). Schwarz and Newman ( 2017 ) state that misinformation might be difficult to correct, especially if the correction is not issued immediately and the fake news has already settled into the minds of users. It was also shown that even a single exposure to fake news can create long term effect on users, making their effect larger than previously thought (Pennycook et al. 2019 ).

Notably, some research has found that exposure to opposing views (i.e., removing online echo chambers) may in fact increase (versus decrease) polarization (Bail et al. 2018 ). Accordingly, more work from policy makers, businesses, and academics is needed to understand and potentially combat political extremism. For example, policy makers and social media platforms will continually be challenged to fight “fake news” without censoring free speech. Accordingly, research that weighs the risk of limited freedom of expression versus the harms of spreading fake news would yield both theoretical and practically meaningful insights.

The far future

In this section, we highlight three emerging trends we believe will have a have long-term influence on the future of social media. Note that although we label these trends as being in the “far” future, many of the issues described here are already present or emerging. However, they represent more complex issues that we believe will take longer to address and be of mainstream importance for marketing than the six issues discussed previously under the immediate and near futures.

Increased sensory richness

In its early days, the majority of social media posts (e.g., on Facebook, Twitter) were text. Soon, these platforms allowed for the posting of pictures and then videos, and separate platforms dedicated themselves to focus on these specific forms of media (e.g., Instagram and Pinterest for pictures, Instagram and SnapChat for short videos). These shifts have had demonstrable consequences on social media usage and its consequences as some scholars suggest that image-based posts convey greater social presence than text alone (e.g., Pittman and Reich 2016 ). Importantly however, a plethora of new technologies in the market suggest that the future of social media will be more sensory-rich.

One notable technology that has already started infiltrating social media is augmented reality (AR). Perhaps the most recognizable examples of this are Snapchat’s filters, which use a device’s camera to superimpose real-time visual and/or video overlays on people’s faces (including features such as makeup, dog ears, etc.). The company has even launched filters to specifically be used on users’ cats (Ritschel 2018 ). Other social media players quickly joined the AR bandwagon, including Instagram’s recent adoption of AR filters (Rao 2017 ) and Apple’s Memoji messaging (Tillman 2018 ). This likely represents only the tip of the iceberg, particularly given that Facebook, one of the industry’s largest investors in AR technology, has confirmed it is working on AR glasses (Constine 2018 ). Notably, the company plans to launch a developer platform, so that people can build augmented-reality features that live inside Facebook, Instagram, Messenger and Whatsapp (Wagner 2017 ). These developments are supported by academic research suggesting that AR often provides more authentic (and hence positive) situated experiences (Hilken et al. 2017 ). Accordingly, whether viewed through glasses or through traditional mobile and tablet devices, the future of social media is likely to look much more visually augmented.

While AR allows users to interact within their current environments, virtual reality (VR) immerses the user in other places, and this technology is also likely to increasingly permeate social media interactions. While the Facebook-owned company Oculus VR has mostly been focusing on the areas of immersive gaming and film, the company recently announced the launch of Oculus Rooms where users can spend time with other users in a virtual world (playing games together, watching media together, or just chatting; Wagner 2018 ). Concurrently, Facebook Spaces allows friends to meet online in virtual reality and similarly engage with one another, with the added ability to share content (e.g., photos) from their Facebook profiles (Whigham 2018 ). In both cases, avatars are customized to represent users within the VR-created space. As VR technology is becoming more affordable and mainstream (Colville 2018 ) we believe social media will inevitably play a role in the technology’s increasing usage.

While AR and VR technologies bring visual richness, other developments suggest that the future of social media might also be more audible. A new player to the social media space, HearMeOut, recently introduced a platform that enables users to share and listen to 42-s audio posts (Perry 2018 ). Allowing users to use social media in a hands-free and eyes-free manner not only allows them to safely interact with social media when multitasking (particularly when driving), but voice is also said to add a certain richness and authenticity that is often missing from mere text-based posts (Katai 2018 ). Given that podcasts are more popular than ever before (Bhaskar 2018 ) and voice-based search queries are the fastest-growing mobile search type (Robbio 2018 ), it seems likely that this communication modality will accordingly show up more on social media use going forward.

Finally, there are early indications that social media might literally feel different in the future. As mobile phones are held in one’s hands and wearable technology is strapped onto one’s skin, companies and brands are exploring opportunities to communicate to users through touch. Indeed, haptic feedback (technology that recreates the sense of touch by applying forces, vibrations, or motions to the user; Brave et al. 2001 ) is increasingly being integrated into interfaces and applications, with purposes that go beyond mere call or message notifications. For example, some companies are experimenting with integrating haptics into media content (e.g., in mobile ads for Stoli vodka, users feel their phone shake as a woman shakes a cocktail; Johnson 2015 ), mobile games, and interpersonal chat (e.g., an app called Mumble! translates text messages into haptic outputs; Ozcivelek 2015 ). Given the high levels of investment into haptic technology (it is predicted to be a $20 billion industry by 2022; Magnarelli 2018 ) and the communicative benefits that stem from haptic engagement (Haans and IJsselsteijn 2006 ), we believe it is only a matter of time before this modality is integrated into social media platforms.

Future research might explore how any of the new sensory formats mentioned above might alter the nature of content creation and consumption. Substantively-focused researchers might also investigate how practitioners can use these tools to enhance their offerings and augment their interactions with customers. It is also interesting to consider how such sensory-rich formats can be used to bridge the gap between the online and offline spaces, which is the next theme we explore.

Online/offline integration and complete convergence

A discussion occurring across industry and academia is on how marketers can appropriately integrate online and offline efforts (i.e., an omnichannel approach). Reports from industry sources have shown that consumers respond better to integrated marketing campaigns (e.g., a 73% boost over standard email campaigns; Safko 2010 ). In academia meanwhile, the majority of research considering online promotions and advertisements has typically focused on how consumers respond to these strategies through online only measures (e.g., Manchanda et al. 2006 ), though this has begun to change in recent years with more research examining offline consequences to omnichannel strategies (Lobschat et al. 2017 ; Kumar et al. 2017 ).

Considering the interest in integrated marketing strategies over the last few years, numerous strategies have been utilized to follow online and offline promotions and their impacts on behavior such as the usage of hashtags to bring conversations online, call-to-actions, utilizing matching strategies on “traditional” avenues like television with social media. While there is currently online/offline integration strategies in marketing, we believe the future will go even further in blurring the lines between what is offline and online to not just increase the effectiveness of marketing promotions, but to completely change the way customers and companies interact with one another, and the way social media influences consumer behavior not only online, but offline.

For brands, there are a number of possible trends in omnichannel marketing that are pertinent. As mentioned earlier, a notable technology that has begun infiltrating social media is augmented reality (AR). In addition to what already exists (e.g., Snapchat’s filters, Pokémon Go), the future holds even more possibilities. For example, Ikea has been working to create an AR app that allows users to take photos of a space at home to exactly , down to the millimeter size and lighting in the room, showcase what a piece of furniture would look like in a consumer’s home (Lovejoy 2017 ). Another set of examples of AR comes from beauty company L’Oréal. In 2014 for the flagship L’Oréal Paris brand they released a mobile app called Makeup Genius that allowed consumers to virtually try on makeup on their phones (Stephen and Brooks 2018 ). Since then, they have developed AR apps for hair color and nail polish, as well as integrating AR into mobile ecommerce webpages for their luxury beauty brand Lancôme. AR-based digital services such as these are likely to be at the heart of the next stage of offline/online integration.

AR, and similar technology, will likely move above and beyond being a tool to help consumers make better decisions about their purchases. Conceivably, similar to promotions that currently exist to excitse consumers and create communities, AR will be incorporated into promotions that integrate offline and online actions. For example, contests on social media will advance to the stage where users get to vote on the best use of AR technology in conjunction with a brand’s products (e.g., instead of users submitting pictures of their apartments to show why they should win free furniture, they could use AR to show how they would lay out the furniture if they were to win it from IKEA).

Another way that the future of online/offline integration on social media needs to be discussed is in the sense of a digital self. Drawing on the extended self in the digital age (Belk 2013 ), the way consumers consider online actions as relevant to their offline selves may be changing. For example, Belk ( 2013 ) spoke of how consumers may be re-embodied through avatars they create to represent themselves online, influencing their offline selves and creating a multiplicity of selves (i.e., consumers have more choice when it comes to their self-representation). As research has shown how digital and social media can be used for self-presentation, affiliation, and expression (Back et al. 2010 ; Gosling et al. 2007 ; Toubia and Stephen 2013 ; Wilcox and Stephen 2012 ), what does it mean for the future if consumers can create who they want to be?

In addition, when considering digital selves, what does this mean for how consumers engage with brands and products? Currently, social media practice is one where brands encourage consumer engagement online (Chae et al. 2017 ; Godes and Mayzlin 2009 ), yet the implications for how these types of actions on the part of the brand to integrate online social media actions and real-life behavior play out are unclear. Research has begun to delve into the individual-level consequences of a consumer’s social media actions on marketing relevant outcomes (Grewal et al. 2019 ; John et al. 2017 ; Mochon et al. 2017 ; Zhang et al. 2017 ), however much is still unknown. As well, while there is recent work examining how the device used to create and view content online impacts consumer perceptions and behaviors (e.g., Grewal and Stephen 2019 ), to date research has not examined these questions in the context of social media. Therefore, future research could address how digital selves (both those held offline and those that only exist online), social media actions, and if the way consumers reach and use various platforms (i.e., device type, app vs. webpage, etc.) impact consumer behavior, interpersonal relationships, and brand-related measures (e.g., well-being, loyalty, purchase behaviors).

Social media by non-humans

The buzz surrounding AI has not escaped social media. Indeed, social bots (computer algorithms that automatically produce content and interact with social media users; Ferrara et al. 2016 ) have inhabited social media platforms for the last decade (Lee et al. 2011 ), and have become increasingly pervasive. For example, experts estimate that up to 15% of active Twitter accounts are bots (Varol et al. 2017 ), and that percentage appears to be on the rise (Romano 2018 ). While academics and practitioners are highly concerned with bot detection (Knight 2018 ), in the vast majority of current cases, users do not appear to recognize when they are interacting with bots (as opposed to other human users) on social media (Stocking and Sumida 2018 ). While some of these bots are said to be benign, and even useful (e.g., acting as information aggregators), they have also been shown to disrupt political discourse (as mentioned earlier), steal personal information, and spread misinformation (Ferrara et al. 2016 ).

Of course, social bots are not only a problem for social media users but are also a nagging concern plaguing marketers. Given that companies often assess marketing success on social media through metrics like Likes, Shares, and Clicks, the existence of bots poses a growing threat to accurate marketing metrics and methods for ROI estimation, such as attribution modelling (Bilton 2014 ). Similarly, when these bots act as “fake followers,” it can inflate the worth of influencers’ audiences (Bogost 2018 ). This can also be used nefariously by individuals and firms, as shown in a New York Times Magazine expose that documented the market used by some influencers to purchase such “fake” followers to inflate their social media reach (Confessore et al. 2018 ). As discussed above in relation to influencer marketing, where it has been commonplace for influencers to be paid for posts at rates proportionate to their follower counts, there have been perverse incentives to game the system by having non-human “fake” bot followers. This, however, erodes consumer trust in the social media ecosystem, which is a growing issue and a near-term problem for many firms using social media channels for marketing purposes.

However, there are instances when consumers do know they are interacting with bots, and do not seem to mind. For example, a number of virtual influencers (created with CGI, as mentioned earlier) seem to be garnering sizeable audiences, despite the fact they are clearly non-human (Walker 2018 ). One of the most popular of these virtual influencers, Lil Miquela, has over 1.5 million followers on Instagram despite openly confessing, “I am not a human being... I’m a robot” (Yurieff 2018 ). Future research might try to understand the underlying appeal of these virtual influencers, and the potential boundary conditions of their success.

Another category of social bots gaining increasing attention are therapy bots. These applications (e.g., “Woebot;” Molteni 2017 ) aim to support the mental health of users by proactively checking in on them, “listening” and chatting to users at any time and recommending activities to improve users’ wellbeing (de Jesus 2018 ). Similar bots are being used to “coach” users, and help them quit maladaptive behaviors, like smoking (e.g., QuitGenius; Crook 2018 ). Interestingly, by being explicitly non-human, these agents are perceived to be less judgmental, and might accordingly be easier for users to confide in.

Finally, the Internet of Things revolution has ushered in with it the opportunity for a number of tangible products and interfaces to “communicate” via social media. For example, in what started as a design experiment, “Brad,” a connected toaster, was given the ability to “communicate” with other connected toasters, and to tweet his “feelings” when neglected or under-used (Vanhemert 2014 ). While this experiment was deliberately designed to raise questions about the future of consumer-product relationships (and product-product “relationships”), the proliferation of autonomous tangible devices does suggest a future in which they have a “voice,” even in the absence of humans (Hoffman and Novak 2018 ).

Going forward, we believe the presence of bots on social media will be more normalized, but also more regulated (e.g., a recent law passed in California prevents bots from masquerading as humans; Smith 2018 ). Further, consumers and companies alike will be become increasingly interested in how bots communicate and interact with each other outside of human involvement. This brings up interesting potential research questions for academics and practitioners alike. How will the presence of non-humans change the nature of content creation and conversation in social media? And how should companies best account for the presence of non-humans in their attribution models?

Future research directions and conclusion

This article has presented nine themes pertinent to the future of social media as it relates to (and is perhaps influenced by) marketing. The themes have implications for individuals/consumers, businesses and organizations, and also public policymakers and governments. These themes, which represent our own thinking and a synthesis of views from extant research, industry experts, and popular public discourse, are of course not the full story of what the future of social media will entail. They are, however, a set of important issues that we believe will be worth considering in both academic research and marketing practice.

To stimulate future research on these themes and related topics, we present a summary of suggested research directions in Table 2 . These are organized around our nine themes and capture many of the suggested research directions mentioned earlier. As a sub-field within the field of marketing, social media is already substantial and the potential for future research—based on identified needs for new knowledge and answers to perplexing questions—suggests that this sub-field will become even more important over time. We encourage researchers to consider the kinds of research directions in Table 2 as examples of issues they could explore further. We also encourage researchers in marketing to treat social media as a place where interesting (and often very new) consumer behaviors exist and can be studied. As we discussed earlier in the paper, social media as a set of platform businesses and technologies is interesting, but it is how people use social media and the associated technologies that is ultimately of interest to marketing academics and practitioners. Thus, we urge scholars to not be overly enticed by the technological “shiny new toys” at the expense of considering the behaviors associated with those technologies and platforms.

Finally, while we relied heavily (though not exclusively) on North American examples to illustrate the emergent themes, there are likely interesting insights to be drawn by explicitly exploring cross-cultural differences in social media usage. For example, variations in regulatory policies (e.g., GDPR in the European Union) may lead to meaningful differences in how trust and privacy concerns manifest. Further, social media as a political tool might be more influential in regions where the mainstream media is notoriously government controlled and censored (e.g., as was the case in many of the Arab Spring countries). While such cross-cultural variation is outside the scope of this particular paper, we believe it represents an area of future research with great theoretical and practical value.

In reviewing the social media ecosystem and considering where it is heading in the context of consumers and marketing practice, we have concluded that this is an area that is very much still in a state of flux. The future of social media in marketing is exciting, but also uncertain. If nothing else, it is vitally important that we better understand social media since it has become highly culturally relevant, a dominant form of communication and expression, a major media type used by companies for advertising and other forms of communication, and even has geopolitical ramifications. We hope that the ideas discussed here stimulate many new ideas and research, which we ultimately hope to see being mentioned and shared across every type of social media platform.

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The authors thank the special issue editors and reviewers for their comments, and the Oxford Future of Marketing Initiative for supporting this research. The authors contributed equally and are listed in alphabetical order or, if preferred, order of Marvel superhero fandom from highest to lowest and order of Bon Jovi fandom from lowest to highest.

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Appel, G., Grewal, L., Hadi, R. et al. The future of social media in marketing. J. of the Acad. Mark. Sci. 48 , 79–95 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11747-019-00695-1

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Get to Know Your Followers: A Beginner’s Guide to Social Media Audience Analysis

Home > Blog > Get to Know Your Followers: A Beginner’s Guide to Social Media Audience Analysis

✍ Caroline Brisset

What is Social Media Audience Analysis?

A social media audience analysis helps brands learn more about their target audience. Analyzing key demographic information like audience behaviors, interests, and preferences enables brands to gain a deeper understanding of their target audience. This helps businesses make informed decisions around strategy and create targeted content and campaigns for increased engagement.

Why You Should Perform a Social Media Audience Analysis 

Audience analysis can help your business understand more about your target audience, which can be baked right into your strategy and campaigns. The analysis also enables your brand to make sure your marketing efforts and resources are aligned with your audience’s needs and your brand objectives.

Benefits of audience analysis

When your organization takes the time to understand its audience through audience analysis, it can reap numerous benefits that will help tailor its message and marketing strategies. The benefits of an effective audience analysis include:

• Understanding your audience’s needs and preferences
• Creating effective and targeted social media content
• Identifying new opportunities for growth and innovation
• Improve your social media ROI 
• Enhancing your overall brand reputation and credibility 

Key Components in an Audience Analysis

Eight key components must be considered to conduct an effective social media audience analysis. These components include information ranging from demographics and psychographics to habits and influencers.

• Demographic information : age, gender, location, education, and income
• Psychographic information : personality traits, values, interests, and lifestyles
• Social media behavior : platform usage, posting habits, and engagement patterns
• Content preferences : topics, formats, tone, and style
• Pain points and challenges : what problems your audience is facing
• Buying habits and decision-making factors
• Feedback and reviews : what your audience is saying about your brand and competitors
• Influencers and brand advocates : who your audience is following and engaging with

How to Perform a Social Media Audience Analysis

A social media audience analysis is an essential tool to develop an effective social strategy and reach your overall social media goals. Follow the next few steps to learn how to perform an audience analysis that will resonate with your target audience.

1. Define your target audience 

A target audience is a group of individuals defined by specific behaviors, interests, and demographics. Your target audience usually gathers people who resonate the most with your brand values and products: they are your ideal customers. To ensure your marketing efforts flourish and work with your target audience, learning about their needs, preferences, and behaviors is essential.

2. Select social media platforms that matter 

Your organizations should take the time to choose the social media platforms that matter to your target audience. Depending on your brand goals and audience demographics, you may consider platforms like X, Instagram, LinkedIn, Facebook, or Reddit, to name a few. Your business must understand where its audience spends their time online and what type of content they engage with to select the best platforms to focus efforts on.

3. Choose your social media analytics tool

Social media analytics tools can help your brand conduct its social media audience analysis while streamlining the whole process. Some of the popular platforms for social analytics include Sprinklr, Social Rank, Facebook Audience Insights, Page Insights, Instagram Insights, Twitter Analytics, LinkedIn Analytics, and Pinterest Analytics. These tools will enable your organization to use social listening to gather data on your target audience, such as their interests, behavior, and engagement patterns. 

4. Select your metrics 

Metrics are a key part of successfully analyzing content on social media and spotting specific patterns in audiences. Some of the essential metrics to consider include reach, engagement, sentiment, impressions, click-through rate, and conversation rates. Your organization’s chosen metrics will depend on your specific goals and audience. The right metric for your brand will help you understand your audience better and improve the overall effectiveness of your social media strategy. 

5. Collect and analyze data

Once your brand has determined the metrics you wish to track, you can start gathering data from various sources and tools, such as social media analytics tools, website analytics, customer feedback, surveys, and social media audits . From this point, your brand can analyze the data to identify patterns, trends, and insights. This analysis will help you gain a better understanding of your audience, so you can create more targeted and effective content and campaigns.

Applying the Gathered Data to your Social Media Strategy

As a brand, gathering data into your strategy helps you have a clear understanding of your audience, so you can turn those insights into custom-tailored strategies for each platform. The following are tips to best apply the data to your strategy. 

Identify trends 

Trends are an important element when seeking to create a successful social media strategy, as they foster engagement in your audience.  Your brand can identify popular trends among your target audience using social listening tools. Once you identify a set of trends, look for ways to integrate them into your strategy in an organic way that will appeal to your audience, attract more followers, and improve your overall social media presence.

Identify key insights from your audience 

Social media offers valuable insights that can help your business gain a deeper understanding of your audience’s needs, motivations, and characteristics. Every time a user engages with your brand they are giving you key information about their behaviors, their preferences, and their opinions. 

• Your audience’s behaviors can inform you about their social media use, such as platform usage, posting habits, and engagement patterns. This information translates into understanding the perfect posting time for your brand to reach maximum engagement. 
• Their preferences give you data on their content interests like the topics, formats, and tone that would catch your audience’s interest. Engagement metrics, such as likes, comments, and shares can give you further insights into your audience preferences.
• The opinions your audience shares on social media offer great insight into what they think about your brand and your competitors, as well as issues they are facing that your business could resolve through your services and product offerings.

Your brand can access this key information using your chosen social media analytics tool. These insights will help your brand create content, products, services, and strategies that resonate with your audience and keep them engaged.

Develop a content strategy

With valuable insights from your audience and popular trends in mind, your business is ready to create a content strategy. This strategy should include a plan with the type of content you will post, the frequency of your posts, and the platforms you will use. A well-planned social media strategy will help you stay organized and consistent in your social media efforts, as well as ensure that your content performs to its best potential and caters to your target audience’s interests.

Tailor your approach to each platform

Social media platforms each have different requirements and appeal to different customers. This means that your brand should choose platforms that your target audience spends the most time on, as well as create content specific to that platform and its audience. For example, Instagram content should focus more on eye-catching visuals, while TikTok is all about short and efficient videos. Your brand should adopt a tailored approach for each platform to help maximize engagement and reach across all platforms.

Leverage influencers

Influencers can help you reach a wider audience and increase engagement on your social media platforms. You can identify influencers in your niche industry that connect with your audience, and collaborate with them to create content that promotes your brand in an engaging way. Collaborations will help your brand reach new audiences and build your brand’s credibility.

Discover Insights From Your Audience with ICUC

Audience insights and analytics tools can ultimately help your brand create more targeted and effective marketing campaigns. ICUC’s audience insights solutions help measure, analyze, and track audience activity to gain a deeper understanding of their needs and help anticipate trends in their behaviors. Learn more about how your brand can get to know your audience better by scheduling a meeting with us today.

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How to Do Market Research: The Complete Guide

Learn how to do market research with this step-by-step guide, complete with templates, tools and real-world examples.

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Market research is the systematic process of gathering, analyzing and interpreting information about a specific market or industry.

What are your customers’ needs? How does your product compare to the competition? What are the emerging trends and opportunities in your industry? If these questions keep you up at night, it’s time to conduct market research.

Market research plays a pivotal role in your ability to stay competitive and relevant, helping you anticipate shifts in consumer behavior and industry dynamics. It involves gathering these insights using a wide range of techniques, from surveys and interviews to data analysis and observational studies.

In this guide, we’ll explore why market research is crucial, the various types of market research, the methods used in data collection, and how to effectively conduct market research to drive informed decision-making and success.

What is market research?

The purpose of market research is to offer valuable insight into the preferences and behaviors of your target audience, and anticipate shifts in market trends and the competitive landscape. This information helps you make data-driven decisions, develop effective strategies for your business, and maximize your chances of long-term growth.

Why is market research important? 

By understanding the significance of market research, you can make sure you’re asking the right questions and using the process to your advantage. Some of the benefits of market research include:

• Informed decision-making: Market research provides you with the data and insights you need to make smart decisions for your business. It helps you identify opportunities, assess risks and tailor your strategies to meet the demands of the market. Without market research, decisions are often based on assumptions or guesswork, leading to costly mistakes.
• Customer-centric approach: A cornerstone of market research involves developing a deep understanding of customer needs and preferences. This gives you valuable insights into your target audience, helping you develop products, services and marketing campaigns that resonate with your customers.
• Competitive advantage: By conducting market research, you’ll gain a competitive edge. You’ll be able to identify gaps in the market, analyze competitor strengths and weaknesses, and position your business strategically. This enables you to create unique value propositions, differentiate yourself from competitors, and seize opportunities that others may overlook.
• Risk mitigation: Market research helps you anticipate market shifts and potential challenges. By identifying threats early, you can proactively adjust their strategies to mitigate risks and respond effectively to changing circumstances. This proactive approach is particularly valuable in volatile industries.
• Resource optimization: Conducting market research allows organizations to allocate their time, money and resources more efficiently. It ensures that investments are made in areas with the highest potential return on investment, reducing wasted resources and improving overall business performance.
• Adaptation to market trends: Markets evolve rapidly, driven by technological advancements, cultural shifts and changing consumer attitudes. Market research ensures that you stay ahead of these trends and adapt your offerings accordingly so you can avoid becoming obsolete. 

As you can see, market research empowers businesses to make data-driven decisions, cater to customer needs, outperform competitors, mitigate risks, optimize resources and stay agile in a dynamic marketplace. These benefits make it a huge industry; the global market research services market is expected to grow from $76.37 billion in 2021 to $108.57 billion in 2026 . Now, let’s dig into the different types of market research that can help you achieve these benefits.

Types of market research 

• Qualitative research
• Quantitative research
• Exploratory research
• Descriptive research
• Causal research
• Cross-sectional research
• Longitudinal research

Despite its advantages, 23% of organizations don’t have a clear market research strategy. Part of developing a strategy involves choosing the right type of market research for your business goals. The most commonly used approaches include:

1. Qualitative research

Qualitative research focuses on understanding the underlying motivations, attitudes and perceptions of individuals or groups. It is typically conducted through techniques like in-depth interviews, focus groups and content analysis — methods we’ll discuss further in the sections below. Qualitative research provides rich, nuanced insights that can inform product development, marketing strategies and brand positioning.

2. Quantitative research

Quantitative research, in contrast to qualitative research, involves the collection and analysis of numerical data, often through surveys, experiments and structured questionnaires. This approach allows for statistical analysis and the measurement of trends, making it suitable for large-scale market studies and hypothesis testing. While it’s worthwhile using a mix of qualitative and quantitative research, most businesses prioritize the latter because it is scientific, measurable and easily replicated across different experiments.

3. Exploratory research

Whether you’re conducting qualitative or quantitative research or a mix of both, exploratory research is often the first step. Its primary goal is to help you understand a market or problem so you can gain insights and identify potential issues or opportunities. This type of market research is less structured and is typically conducted through open-ended interviews, focus groups or secondary data analysis. Exploratory research is valuable when entering new markets or exploring new product ideas.

4. Descriptive research

As its name implies, descriptive research seeks to describe a market, population or phenomenon in detail. It involves collecting and summarizing data to answer questions about audience demographics and behaviors, market size, and current trends. Surveys, observational studies and content analysis are common methods used in descriptive research. 

5. Causal research

Causal research aims to establish cause-and-effect relationships between variables. It investigates whether changes in one variable result in changes in another. Experimental designs, A/B testing and regression analysis are common causal research methods. This sheds light on how specific marketing strategies or product changes impact consumer behavior.

6. Cross-sectional research

Cross-sectional market research involves collecting data from a sample of the population at a single point in time. It is used to analyze differences, relationships or trends among various groups within a population. Cross-sectional studies are helpful for market segmentation, identifying target audiences and assessing market trends at a specific moment.

7. Longitudinal research

Longitudinal research, in contrast to cross-sectional research, collects data from the same subjects over an extended period. This allows for the analysis of trends, changes and developments over time. Longitudinal studies are useful for tracking long-term developments in consumer preferences, brand loyalty and market dynamics.

Each type of market research has its strengths and weaknesses, and the method you choose depends on your specific research goals and the depth of understanding you’re aiming to achieve. In the following sections, we’ll delve into primary and secondary research approaches and specific research methods.

Primary vs. secondary market research

Market research of all types can be broadly categorized into two main approaches: primary research and secondary research. By understanding the differences between these approaches, you can better determine the most appropriate research method for your specific goals.

Primary market research 

Primary research involves the collection of original data straight from the source. Typically, this involves communicating directly with your target audience — through surveys, interviews, focus groups and more — to gather information. Here are some key attributes of primary market research:

• Customized data: Primary research provides data that is tailored to your research needs. You design a custom research study and gather information specific to your goals.
• Up-to-date insights: Because primary research involves communicating with customers, the data you collect reflects the most current market conditions and consumer behaviors.
• Time-consuming and resource-intensive: Despite its advantages, primary research can be labor-intensive and costly, especially when dealing with large sample sizes or complex study designs. Whether you hire a market research consultant, agency or use an in-house team, primary research studies consume a large amount of resources and time.

Secondary market research 

Secondary research, on the other hand, involves analyzing data that has already been compiled by third-party sources, such as online research tools, databases, news sites, industry reports and academic studies.

Here are the main characteristics of secondary market research:

• Cost-effective: Secondary research is generally more cost-effective than primary research since it doesn’t require building a research plan from scratch. You and your team can look at databases, websites and publications on an ongoing basis, without needing to design a custom experiment or hire a consultant. 
• Leverages multiple sources: Data tools and software extract data from multiple places across the web, and then consolidate that information within a single platform. This means you’ll get a greater amount of data and a wider scope from secondary research.
• Quick to access: You can access a wide range of information rapidly — often in seconds — if you’re using online research tools and databases. Because of this, you can act on insights sooner, rather than taking the time to develop an experiment. 

So, when should you use primary vs. secondary research? In practice, many market research projects incorporate both primary and secondary research to take advantage of the strengths of each approach.

One rule of thumb is to focus on secondary research to obtain background information, market trends or industry benchmarks. It is especially valuable for conducting preliminary research, competitor analysis, or when time and budget constraints are tight. Then, if you still have knowledge gaps or need to answer specific questions unique to your business model, use primary research to create a custom experiment. 

Market research methods

• Surveys and questionnaires
• Focus groups
• Observational research
• Online research tools
• Experiments
• Content analysis
• Ethnographic research

How do primary and secondary research approaches translate into specific research methods? Let’s take a look at the different ways you can gather data: 

1. Surveys and questionnaires

Surveys and questionnaires are popular methods for collecting structured data from a large number of respondents. They involve a set of predetermined questions that participants answer. Surveys can be conducted through various channels, including online tools, telephone interviews and in-person or online questionnaires. They are useful for gathering quantitative data and assessing customer demographics, opinions, preferences and needs. On average, customer surveys have a 33% response rate , so keep that in mind as you consider your sample size.

2. Interviews

Interviews are in-depth conversations with individuals or groups to gather qualitative insights. They can be structured (with predefined questions) or unstructured (with open-ended discussions). Interviews are valuable for exploring complex topics, uncovering motivations and obtaining detailed feedback. 

3. Focus groups

The most common primary research methods are in-depth webcam interviews and focus groups. Focus groups are a small gathering of participants who discuss a specific topic or product under the guidance of a moderator. These discussions are valuable for primary market research because they reveal insights into consumer attitudes, perceptions and emotions. Focus groups are especially useful for idea generation, concept testing and understanding group dynamics within your target audience.

4. Observational research

Observational research involves observing and recording participant behavior in a natural setting. This method is particularly valuable when studying consumer behavior in physical spaces, such as retail stores or public places. In some types of observational research, participants are aware you’re watching them; in other cases, you discreetly watch consumers without their knowledge, as they use your product. Either way, observational research provides firsthand insights into how people interact with products or environments.

5. Online research tools

You and your team can do your own secondary market research using online tools. These tools include data prospecting platforms and databases, as well as online surveys, social media listening, web analytics and sentiment analysis platforms. They help you gather data from online sources, monitor industry trends, track competitors, understand consumer preferences and keep tabs on online behavior. We’ll talk more about choosing the right market research tools in the sections that follow.

6. Experiments

Market research experiments are controlled tests of variables to determine causal relationships. While experiments are often associated with scientific research, they are also used in market research to assess the impact of specific marketing strategies, product features, or pricing and packaging changes.

7. Content analysis

Content analysis involves the systematic examination of textual, visual or audio content to identify patterns, themes and trends. It’s commonly applied to customer reviews, social media posts and other forms of online content to analyze consumer opinions and sentiments.

8. Ethnographic research

Ethnographic research immerses researchers into the daily lives of consumers to understand their behavior and culture. This method is particularly valuable when studying niche markets or exploring the cultural context of consumer choices.

How to do market research

• Set clear objectives
• Identify your target audience
• Choose your research methods
• Use the right market research tools
• Collect data
• Analyze data 
• Interpret your findings
• Identify opportunities and challenges
• Make informed business decisions
• Monitor and adapt

Now that you have gained insights into the various market research methods at your disposal, let’s delve into the practical aspects of how to conduct market research effectively. Here’s a quick step-by-step overview, from defining objectives to monitoring market shifts.

1. Set clear objectives

When you set clear and specific goals, you’re essentially creating a compass to guide your research questions and methodology. Start by precisely defining what you want to achieve. Are you launching a new product and want to understand its viability in the market? Are you evaluating customer satisfaction with a product redesign? 

Start by creating SMART goals — objectives that are specific, measurable, achievable, relevant and time-bound. Not only will this clarify your research focus from the outset, but it will also help you track progress and benchmark your success throughout the process. 

You should also consult with key stakeholders and team members to ensure alignment on your research objectives before diving into data collecting. This will help you gain diverse perspectives and insights that will shape your research approach.

2. Identify your target audience

Next, you’ll need to pinpoint your target audience to determine who should be included in your research. Begin by creating detailed buyer personas or stakeholder profiles. Consider demographic factors like age, gender, income and location, but also delve into psychographics, such as interests, values and pain points.

The more specific your target audience, the more accurate and actionable your research will be. Additionally, segment your audience if your research objectives involve studying different groups, such as current customers and potential leads.

If you already have existing customers, you can also hold conversations with them to better understand your target market. From there, you can refine your buyer personas and tailor your research methods accordingly.

3. Choose your research methods

Selecting the right research methods is crucial for gathering high-quality data. Start by considering the nature of your research objectives. If you’re exploring consumer preferences, surveys and interviews can provide valuable insights. For in-depth understanding, focus groups or observational research might be suitable. Consider using a mix of quantitative and qualitative methods to gain a well-rounded perspective. 

You’ll also need to consider your budget. Think about what you can realistically achieve using the time and resources available to you. If you have a fairly generous budget, you may want to try a mix of primary and secondary research approaches. If you’re doing market research for a startup , on the other hand, chances are your budget is somewhat limited. If that’s the case, try addressing your goals with secondary research tools before investing time and effort in a primary research study. 

4. Use the right market research tools

Whether you’re conducting primary or secondary research, you’ll need to choose the right tools. These can help you do anything from sending surveys to customers to monitoring trends and analyzing data. Here are some examples of popular market research tools:

• Market research software: Crunchbase is a platform that provides best-in-class company data, making it valuable for market research on growing companies and industries. You can use Crunchbase to access trusted, first-party funding data, revenue data, news and firmographics, enabling you to monitor industry trends and understand customer needs.

• Survey and questionnaire tools: SurveyMonkey is a widely used online survey platform that allows you to create, distribute and analyze surveys. Google Forms is a free tool that lets you create surveys and collect responses through Google Drive.
• Data analysis software: Microsoft Excel and Google Sheets are useful for conducting statistical analyses. SPSS is a powerful statistical analysis software used for data processing, analysis and reporting.
• Social listening tools: Brandwatch is a social listening and analytics platform that helps you monitor social media conversations, track sentiment and analyze trends. Mention is a media monitoring tool that allows you to track mentions of your brand, competitors and keywords across various online sources.
• Data visualization platforms: Tableau is a data visualization tool that helps you create interactive and shareable dashboards and reports. Power BI by Microsoft is a business analytics tool for creating interactive visualizations and reports.

5. Collect data

There’s an infinite amount of data you could be collecting using these tools, so you’ll need to be intentional about going after the data that aligns with your research goals. Implement your chosen research methods, whether it’s distributing surveys, conducting interviews or pulling from secondary research platforms. Pay close attention to data quality and accuracy, and stick to a standardized process to streamline data capture and reduce errors. 

6. Analyze data

Once data is collected, you’ll need to analyze it systematically. Use statistical software or analysis tools to identify patterns, trends and correlations. For qualitative data, employ thematic analysis to extract common themes and insights. Visualize your findings with charts, graphs and tables to make complex data more understandable.

If you’re not proficient in data analysis, consider outsourcing or collaborating with a data analyst who can assist in processing and interpreting your data accurately.

7. Interpret your findings

Interpreting your market research findings involves understanding what the data means in the context of your objectives. Are there significant trends that uncover the answers to your initial research questions? Consider the implications of your findings on your business strategy. It’s essential to move beyond raw data and extract actionable insights that inform decision-making.

Hold a cross-functional meeting or workshop with relevant team members to collectively interpret the findings. Different perspectives can lead to more comprehensive insights and innovative solutions.

8. Identify opportunities and challenges

Use your research findings to identify potential growth opportunities and challenges within your market. What segments of your audience are underserved or overlooked? Are there emerging trends you can capitalize on? Conversely, what obstacles or competitors could hinder your progress?

Lay out this information in a clear and organized way by conducting a SWOT analysis, which stands for strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats. Jot down notes for each of these areas to provide a structured overview of gaps and hurdles in the market.

9. Make informed business decisions

Market research is only valuable if it leads to informed decisions for your company. Based on your insights, devise actionable strategies and initiatives that align with your research objectives. Whether it’s refining your product, targeting new customer segments or adjusting pricing, ensure your decisions are rooted in the data.

At this point, it’s also crucial to keep your team aligned and accountable. Create an action plan that outlines specific steps, responsibilities and timelines for implementing the recommendations derived from your research. 

10. Monitor and adapt

Market research isn’t a one-time activity; it’s an ongoing process. Continuously monitor market conditions, customer behaviors and industry trends. Set up mechanisms to collect real-time data and feedback. As you gather new information, be prepared to adapt your strategies and tactics accordingly. Regularly revisiting your research ensures your business remains agile and reflects changing market dynamics and consumer preferences.

Online market research sources

As you go through the steps above, you’ll want to turn to trusted, reputable sources to gather your data. Here’s a list to get you started:

• Crunchbase: As mentioned above, Crunchbase is an online platform with an extensive dataset, allowing you to access in-depth insights on market trends, consumer behavior and competitive analysis. You can also customize your search options to tailor your research to specific industries, geographic regions or customer personas.

• Academic databases: Academic databases, such as ProQuest and JSTOR , are treasure troves of scholarly research papers, studies and academic journals. They offer in-depth analyses of various subjects, including market trends, consumer preferences and industry-specific insights. Researchers can access a wealth of peer-reviewed publications to gain a deeper understanding of their research topics.
• Government and NGO databases: Government agencies, nongovernmental organizations and other institutions frequently maintain databases containing valuable economic, demographic and industry-related data. These sources offer credible statistics and reports on a wide range of topics, making them essential for market researchers. Examples include the U.S. Census Bureau , the Bureau of Labor Statistics and the Pew Research Center .
• Industry reports: Industry reports and market studies are comprehensive documents prepared by research firms, industry associations and consulting companies. They provide in-depth insights into specific markets, including market size, trends, competitive analysis and consumer behavior. You can find this information by looking at relevant industry association databases; examples include the American Marketing Association and the National Retail Federation .
• Social media and online communities: Social media platforms like LinkedIn or Twitter (X) , forums such as Reddit and Quora , and review platforms such as G2 can provide real-time insights into consumer sentiment, opinions and trends. 

Market research examples

At this point, you have market research tools and data sources — but how do you act on the data you gather? Let’s go over some real-world examples that illustrate the practical application of market research across various industries. These examples showcase how market research can lead to smart decision-making and successful business decisions.

Example 1: Apple’s iPhone launch

Apple ’s iconic iPhone launch in 2007 serves as a prime example of market research driving product innovation in tech. Before the iPhone’s release, Apple conducted extensive market research to understand consumer preferences, pain points and unmet needs in the mobile phone industry. This research led to the development of a touchscreen smartphone with a user-friendly interface, addressing consumer demands for a more intuitive and versatile device. The result was a revolutionary product that disrupted the market and redefined the smartphone industry.

Example 2: McDonald’s global expansion

McDonald’s successful global expansion strategy demonstrates the importance of market research when expanding into new territories. Before entering a new market, McDonald’s conducts thorough research to understand local tastes, preferences and cultural nuances. This research informs menu customization, marketing strategies and store design. For instance, in India, McDonald’s offers a menu tailored to local preferences, including vegetarian options. This market-specific approach has enabled McDonald’s to adapt and thrive in diverse global markets.

Example 3: Organic and sustainable farming

The shift toward organic and sustainable farming practices in the food industry is driven by market research that indicates increased consumer demand for healthier and environmentally friendly food options. As a result, food producers and retailers invest in sustainable sourcing and organic product lines — such as with these sustainable seafood startups — to align with this shift in consumer values. 

The bottom line? Market research has multiple use cases and is a critical practice for any industry. Whether it’s launching groundbreaking products, entering new markets or responding to changing consumer preferences, you can use market research to shape successful strategies and outcomes.

Market research templates

You finally have a strong understanding of how to do market research and apply it in the real world. Before we wrap up, here are some market research templates that you can use as a starting point for your projects:

• Smartsheet competitive analysis templates : These spreadsheets can serve as a framework for gathering information about the competitive landscape and obtaining valuable lessons to apply to your business strategy.
• SurveyMonkey product survey template : Customize the questions on this survey based on what you want to learn from your target customers.
• HubSpot templates : HubSpot offers a wide range of free templates you can use for market research, business planning and more.
• SCORE templates : SCORE is a nonprofit organization that provides templates for business plans, market analysis and financial projections.
• SBA.gov : The U.S. Small Business Administration offers templates for every aspect of your business, including market research, and is particularly valuable for new startups. 

Strengthen your business with market research

When conducted effectively, market research is like a guiding star. Equipped with the right tools and techniques, you can uncover valuable insights, stay competitive, foster innovation and navigate the complexities of your industry.

Throughout this guide, we’ve discussed the definition of market research, different research methods, and how to conduct it effectively. We’ve also explored various types of market research and shared practical insights and templates for getting started. 

Now, it’s time to start the research process. Trust in data, listen to the market and make informed decisions that guide your company toward lasting success.

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9 Best Marketing Research Methods to Know Your Buyer Better [+ Examples]

Published: August 08, 2024

One of the most underrated skills you can have as a marketer is marketing research — which is great news for this unapologetic cyber sleuth.

From brand design and product development to buyer personas and competitive analysis, I’ve researched a number of initiatives in my decade-long marketing career.

And let me tell you: having the right marketing research methods in your toolbox is a must.

Market research is the secret to crafting a strategy that will truly help you accomplish your goals. The good news is there is no shortage of options.

How to Choose a Marketing Research Method

Thanks to the Internet, we have more marketing research (or market research) methods at our fingertips than ever, but they’re not all created equal. Let’s quickly go over how to choose the right one.

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1. Identify your objective.

What are you researching? Do you need to understand your audience better? How about your competition? Or maybe you want to know more about your customer’s feelings about a specific product.

Before starting your research, take some time to identify precisely what you’re looking for. This could be a goal you want to reach, a problem you need to solve, or a question you need to answer.

For example, an objective may be as foundational as understanding your ideal customer better to create new buyer personas for your marketing agency (pause for flashbacks to my former life).

Or if you’re an organic sode company, it could be trying to learn what flavors people are craving.

2. Determine what type of data and research you need.

Next, determine what data type will best answer the problems or questions you identified. There are primarily two types: qualitative and quantitative. (Sound familiar, right?)

• Qualitative Data is non-numerical information, like subjective characteristics, opinions, and feelings. It’s pretty open to interpretation and descriptive, but it’s also harder to measure. This type of data can be collected through interviews, observations, and open-ended questions.
• Quantitative Data , on the other hand, is numerical information, such as quantities, sizes, amounts, or percentages. It’s measurable and usually pretty hard to argue with, coming from a reputable source. It can be derived through surveys, experiments, or statistical analysis.

Understanding the differences between qualitative and quantitative data will help you pinpoint which research methods will yield the desired results.

For instance, thinking of our earlier examples, qualitative data would usually be best suited for buyer personas, while quantitative data is more useful for the soda flavors.

However, truth be told, the two really work together.

Qualitative conclusions are usually drawn from quantitative, numerical data. So, you’ll likely need both to get the complete picture of your subject.

For example, if your quantitative data says 70% of people are Team Black and only 30% are Team Green — Shout out to my fellow House of the Dragon fans — your qualitative data will say people support Black more than Green.

(As they should.)

Primary Research vs Secondary Research

You’ll also want to understand the difference between primary and secondary research.

Primary research involves collecting new, original data directly from the source (say, your target market). In other words, it’s information gathered first-hand that wasn’t found elsewhere.

Some examples include conducting experiments, surveys, interviews, observations, or focus groups.

Meanwhile, secondary research is the analysis and interpretation of existing data collected from others. Think of this like what we used to do for school projects: We would read a book, scour the internet, or pull insights from others to work from.

So, which is better?

Personally, I say any research is good research, but if you have the time and resources, primary research is hard to top. With it, you don’t have to worry about your source's credibility or how relevant it is to your specific objective.

You are in full control and best equipped to get the reliable information you need.

3. Put it all together.

Once you know your objective and what kind of data you want, you’re ready to select your marketing research method.

For instance, let’s say you’re a restaurant trying to see how attendees felt about the Speed Dating event you hosted last week.

You shouldn’t run a field experiment or download a third-party report on speed dating events; those would be useless to you. You need to conduct a survey that allows you to ask pointed questions about the event.

This would yield both qualitative and quantitative data you can use to improve and bring together more love birds next time around.

Best Market Research Methods for 2024

Now that you know what you’re looking for in a marketing research method, let’s dive into the best options.

Note: According to HubSpot’s 2024 State of Marketing report, understanding customers and their needs is one of the biggest challenges facing marketers today. The options we discuss are great consumer research methodologies , but they can also be used for other areas.

Primary Research

1. interviews.

Interviews are a form of primary research where you ask people specific questions about a topic or theme. They typically deliver qualitative information.

I’ve conducted many interviews for marketing purposes, but I’ve also done many for journalistic purposes, like this profile on comedian Zarna Garg . There’s no better way to gather candid, open-ended insights in my book, but that doesn’t mean they’re a cure-all.

What I like: Real-time conversations allow you to ask different questions if you’re not getting the information you need. They also push interviewees to respond quickly, which can result in more authentic answers.

What I dislike: They can be time-consuming and harder to measure (read: get quantitative data) unless you ask pointed yes or no questions.

Best for: Creating buyer personas or getting feedback on customer experience, a product, or content.

2. Focus Groups

Focus groups are similar to conducting interviews but on a larger scale.

In marketing and business, this typically means getting a small group together in a room (or Zoom), asking them questions about various topics you are researching. You record and/or observe their responses to then take action.

They are ideal for collecting long-form, open-ended feedback, and subjective opinions.

One well-known focus group you may remember was run by Domino’s Pizza in 2009 .

After poor ratings and dropping over $100 million in revenue, the brand conducted focus groups with real customers to learn where they could have done better.

It was met with comments like “worst excuse for pizza I’ve ever had” and “the crust tastes like cardboard.” But rather than running from the tough love, it took the hit and completely overhauled its recipes.

The team admitted their missteps and returned to the market with better food and a campaign detailing their “Pizza Turn Around.”

The result? The brand won a ton of praise for its willingness to take feedback, efforts to do right by its consumers, and clever campaign. But, most importantly, revenue for Domino’s rose by 14.3% over the previous year.

The brand continues to conduct focus groups and share real footage from them in its promotion:

What I like: Similar to interviewing, you can dig deeper and pivot as needed due to the real-time nature. They’re personal and detailed.

What I dislike: Once again, they can be time-consuming and make it difficult to get quantitative data. There is also a chance some participants may overshadow others.

Best for: Product research or development

Pro tip: Need help planning your focus group? Our free Market Research Kit includes a handy template to start organizing your thoughts in addition to a SWOT Analysis Template, Survey Template, Focus Group Template, Presentation Template, Five Forces Industry Analysis Template, and an instructional guide for all of them. Download yours here now.

3. Surveys or Polls

Surveys are a form of primary research where individuals are asked a collection of questions. It can take many different forms.

They could be in person, over the phone or video call, by email, via an online form, or even on social media. Questions can be also open-ended or closed to deliver qualitative or quantitative information.

A great example of a close-ended survey is HubSpot’s annual State of Marketing .

In the State of Marketing, HubSpot asks marketing professionals from around the world a series of multiple-choice questions to gather data on the state of the marketing industry and to identify trends.

The survey covers various topics related to marketing strategies, tactics, tools, and challenges that marketers face. It aims to provide benchmarks to help you make informed decisions about your marketing.

It also helps us understand where our customers’ heads are so we can better evolve our products to meet their needs.

Apple is no stranger to surveys, either.

In 2011, the tech giant launched Apple Customer Pulse , which it described as “an online community of Apple product users who provide input on a variety of subjects and issues concerning Apple.”

"For example, we did a large voluntary survey of email subscribers and top readers a few years back."

While these readers gave us a long list of topics, formats, or content types they wanted to see, they sometimes engaged more with content types they didn’t select or favor as much on the surveys when we ran follow-up ‘in the wild’ tests, like A/B testing.”  

Pepsi saw similar results when it ran its iconic field experiment, “The Pepsi Challenge” for the first time in 1975.

The beverage brand set up tables at malls, beaches, and other public locations and ran a blindfolded taste test. Shoppers were given two cups of soda, one containing Pepsi, the other Coca-Cola (Pepsi’s biggest competitor). They were then asked to taste both and report which they preferred.

People overwhelmingly preferred Pepsi, and the brand has repeated the experiment multiple times over the years to the same results.

What I like: It yields qualitative and quantitative data and can make for engaging marketing content, especially in the digital age.

What I dislike: It can be very time-consuming. And, if you’re not careful, there is a high risk for scientific error.

Best for: Product testing and competitive analysis

Pro tip:  " Don’t make critical business decisions off of just one data set," advises Pamela Bump. "Use the survey, competitive intelligence, external data, or even a focus group to give you one layer of ideas or a short-list for improvements or solutions to test. Then gather your own fresh data to test in an experiment or trial and better refine your data-backed strategy."

Secondary Research

8. public domain or third-party research.

While original data is always a plus, there are plenty of external resources you can access online and even at a library when you’re limited on time or resources.

Some reputable resources you can use include:

• Pew Research Center
• McKinley Global Institute
• Relevant Global or Government Organizations (i.e United Nations or NASA)

It’s also smart to turn to reputable organizations that are specific to your industry or field. For instance, if you’re a gardening or landscaping company, you may want to pull statistics from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

If you’re a digital marketing agency, you could look to Google Research or HubSpot Research . (Hey, I know them!)

What I like: You can save time on gathering data and spend more time on analyzing. You can also rest assured the data is from a source you trust.

What I dislike: You may not find data specific to your needs.

Best for: Companies under a time or resource crunch, adding factual support to content

Pro tip: Fellow HubSpotter Iskiev suggests using third-party data to inspire your original research. “Sometimes, I use public third-party data for ideas and inspiration. Once I have written my survey and gotten all my ideas out, I read similar reports from other sources and usually end up with useful additions for my own research.”

9. Buy Research

If the data you need isn’t available publicly and you can’t do your own market research, you can also buy some. There are many reputable analytics companies that offer subscriptions to access their data. Statista is one of my favorites, but there’s also Euromonitor , Mintel , and BCC Research .

What I like: Same as public domain research

What I dislike: You may not find data specific to your needs. It also adds to your expenses.

Best for: Companies under a time or resource crunch or adding factual support to content

Which marketing research method should you use?

You’re not going to like my answer, but “it depends.” The best marketing research method for you will depend on your objective and data needs, but also your budget and timeline.

My advice? Aim for a mix of quantitative and qualitative data. If you can do your own original research, awesome. But if not, don’t beat yourself up. Lean into free or low-cost tools . You could do primary research for qualitative data, then tap public sources for quantitative data. Or perhaps the reverse is best for you.

Whatever your marketing research method mix, take the time to think it through and ensure you’re left with information that will truly help you achieve your goals.

Don't forget to share this post!

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What is a Marketing Strategy: A Guide for Social Media Marketers

• August 7, 2024

Table of Contents

Understanding marketing strategy, what is a marketing strategy.

A marketing strategy is a plan of action designed to promote and sell a product or service. It’s like a roadmap that guides all your marketing efforts and helps you reach your business goals. A marketing strategy includes identifying your target audience, understanding what they need, and figuring out how to meet those needs better than your competitors.

Key Components of a Marketing Strategy

• Target Market : The specific group of people you want to reach with your marketing efforts. This could be based on factors like age, location, interests, and buying behavior.
• Value Proposition : What makes your product or service unique and why customers should choose you over your competitors.
• Product : What you are selling.
• Price : How much your product costs.
• Place : Where your product is sold.
• Promotion : How you tell people about your product.

Importance of a Marketing Strategy

Why do you need a marketing strategy.

A well-thought-out marketing strategy is essential for several reasons:

• Alignment with Business Goals : Ensures that all your marketing efforts are aimed at achieving your business objectives. Without a strategy, you might waste time and resources on activities that don’t contribute to your goals.
• Consistent Messaging : Helps you maintain a consistent message across all marketing channels, which strengthens your brand and builds trust with your audience.
• Efficient Resource Use : Allows you to allocate your resources (time, money, and effort) more effectively by focusing on the most impactful marketing activities.

Creating a Marketing Strategy

Steps to develop a marketing strategy.

Creating a marketing strategy involves several steps. Here’s a detailed guide to help you get started:

• Research and Analysis
• Market Research : Understand the market you are operating in. This includes knowing the size of your market, its growth potential, and the key trends affecting it.
• Competitor Analysis : Identify who your competitors are and analyze their strengths and weaknesses. This helps you understand what you’re up against and find ways to differentiate yourself.
• Customer Analysis : Get to know your target audience. What are their needs, preferences, and pain points? Use surveys, interviews, and data analysis to gather this information.

2. Setting Objectives

• SMART Goals : Set Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, and Time-bound goals. For example, instead of saying “increase sales,” a SMART goal would be “increase sales by 20% in the next six months.”

3. Developing Tactics

• Content Strategy : Plan the types of content you will create and how you will distribute it. This could include blog posts, social media updates, videos, and more.
• Social Media Campaigns : Outline your social media activities. Decide which platforms to use, what types of content to post , and how often to post .
• Email Marketing : Develop email campaigns to nurture leads and keep your audience engaged.

4. Budgeting

• Determine how much money you will allocate to each part of your marketing strategy. This includes costs for advertising, content creation, tools, and any other expenses.

5. Implementation

• Put your plan into action. This involves creating content, running campaigns, and engaging with your audience.

6. Monitoring and Evaluation

• Track the performance of your marketing activities. Use tools like Google Analytics, social media insights, and email marketing reports to measure your success.
• Adjust your strategy based on the data. If something isn’t working, don’t be afraid to change it.

Integrating Social Media into Your Marketing Strategy

The role of social media in marketing.

Social media is a powerful tool for marketing. It allows you to connect with your audience, build brand awareness, and drive traffic to your website. Here’s how to integrate social media into your marketing strategy:

Aligning Social Media Goals with Marketing Goals

Your social media goals should support your overall marketing objectives. For example, if your goal is to increase brand awareness, focus on growing your social media following and engagement.

Choosing the Right Platforms

Not all social media platforms are created equal. Choose platforms that your target audience uses. For example, if you’re targeting young adults, Instagram and TikTok might be more effective than LinkedIn.

Examples of Successful Marketing Strategies

Case studies of effective social media integration.

Nike’s “Just Do It” Campaign

Nike uses social media to share inspirational content that aligns with its brand message, driving engagement and loyalty. They leverage athlete endorsements and user-generated content to create a strong community around their brand.

Starbucks’ User-Generated Content

Starbucks encourages customers to share their experiences on social media, creating a community and generating free content. They often repost customer photos and stories, which helps build a sense of connection and loyalty.

Analysis of What Worked and Why

• Nike : Consistent messaging and emotional appeal. By consistently promoting a message of determination and success, Nike has created a strong brand identity.
• Starbucks : Leveraging customer experiences to build community. By highlighting their customers’ stories, Starbucks creates a sense of belonging and engagement.

Tools and Metrics for Social Media Marketing Strategy

Tools for planning and execution.

An excellent tool for scheduling and managing posts across multiple social media platforms. RecurPost helps you plan your content in advance and ensures a consistent posting schedule. It also provides analytics to measure the performance of your social media activities and helps you optimize your strategy .

Key Metrics to Track

• Engagement : Likes, comments, shares, and interactions. High engagement indicates that your audience finds your content interesting and valuable.
• Reach : The number of people who see your content. This helps you understand the size of your audience .
• Conversion Rates : How many social media interactions turn into sales or leads. This shows the effectiveness of your social media efforts in driving business results.

Adjusting Your Strategy Based on Social Media Metrics

Using data to refine and improve strategy.

Regularly review your social media metrics to see what’s working and what’s not. Use this data to adjust your strategy accordingly. For example:

• Low Engagement Rates : If your posts aren’t getting much interaction, try different types of content or posting at different times. Experiment with videos, infographics, and stories to see what resonates with your audience.
• Poor Conversion Rates : Reevaluate your call-to-actions and landing pages to improve conversion rates. Make sure your social media posts lead to a seamless user experience on your website.

Examples of Strategic Adjustments

• Content Variety : If your audience isn’t engaging with your content, mix it up. Try different formats, such as live videos, polls, and user-generated content.
• Posting Schedule : Test different posting times and frequencies. Use analytics to identify when your audience is most active and adjust your schedule accordingly.

A solid marketing strategy is essential for any business, and integrating social media effectively can amplify your efforts. Keep learning, adapting, and using data to refine your approach. By doing so, you’ll stay ahead of the competition and continuously engage your audience.

Frequently Asked Questions

Regularly review your strategy at least once a year, but be ready to make adjustments based on real-time data and market changes.

Identifying your target audience, staying consistent with your messaging, and effectively measuring your efforts can be challenging.

Absolutely. A well-defined strategy helps small businesses focus their limited resources on the most effective marketing tactics.

Social media metrics provide insights into what’s working and what’s not. Use this data to refine your content, posting schedule, and overall approach.

RecurPost is an excellent tool for scheduling posts, analyzing performance, and managing multiple accounts.

Make sure your social media activities support your overall marketing objectives. For example, if your goal is to increase brand awareness, focus on growing your social media following and engagement.

Vrinda Jagga is a dedicated content writer with over 2 years of experience in the field. She excels in creating engaging and informative content that resonates with diverse audiences. Vrinda’s expertise spans various industries, and she has a knack for crafting narratives that captivate readers.

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Social Media Marketing Strategy Tips For 2024

Published: Aug 15, 2024, 8:25am

Table of Contents

What is social media marketing, why social media marketing is important, 11 tips to build your social media marketing strategy, bottom line, frequently asked questions (faqs).

Social media marketing was born in the mid-2000s with the rise of platforms such as MySpace, Facebook and Twitter, but did not start hitting its stride until Facebook introduced “Facebook Flyers Pro” in 2007. Since then, it has revolutionized the marketing landscape by allowing companies to reach an unprecedented amount of potential customers worldwide.

But how exactly do businesses harness the power of the 5 billion-plus people using social media? In this article, we will dive into what exactly social media marketing is, why it is important and provide tips for you to up your social media marketing strategy in 2024.

Social media marketing is all about using social media platforms such as Facebook, Instagram, X and TikTok to chat with your audience, get your brand recognized and increase sales. It involves creating posts, images and videos that your audience will love, interact with and share. This method capitalizes on the interactive nature of social media to foster engagement, allow businesses to showcase their products and build a community around their brand. Creating an effective social media marketing campaign requires setting clear objectives, choosing the right social media platform or platforms, using analytics tools to track performance and adjusting strategies accordingly.

Traditional marketing methods such as print ads, television commercials and billboards often hoped to grab interested customers from a broad reach. The digital age of social media marketing has ushered in an era of personalization and precision targeting. Social media allows businesses to gather insights into user behavior, preferences, disinterests and online activities. Marketers can then create social media campaigns that target the direct audience that they want to attract. This new level of personalization has transformed the way businesses interact with their audiences.

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Social media marketing is a game-changer for businesses because it allows you to reach so many people around the world in real time. It is no wonder why so many businesses have ditched old-school marketing strategies such as billboards or radio spots in exchange for comprehensive social media campaigns. Some of the biggest advantages of social media marketing include:

• Increase brand awareness: You can expand your brand’s awareness by consistently posting on social media sites. This is especially useful for small or new businesses to be able to introduce themselves and their business personality to a new audience.
• Drive traffic: Creating intriguing content with compelling calls to action can drive followers to visit your website. You can funnel users directly from your social media platform to your website by including tailored links in your posts, stories or reels. For example, promoting a new blog post on X with a “Read Now” button can bring followers onto your site.
• Generate leads: Social media platforms provide tools for lead generation such as Instagram’s “Swipe Up” feature or LinkedIn’s lead-generation forms. Let’s say you’ve launched a new e-book. You can gather new leads to expand your email list by advertising the e-book on Facebook and attaching a direct download link in exchange for an email address.
• Real-time discovery of industry trends: Social media serves as a live feed for market patterns and trends. You can capitalize on viral topics by watching trending hashtags or popular discussion points within your industry.
• Cost-effective: In comparison to traditional marketing channels such as print or TV ads, social media marketing offers ways to publicize your product without spending a fortune. Social media marketing can be completely free if you do not have a marketing budget. You can, however, leverage your reach through sponsored content or ads on platforms such as Facebook, Instagram and LinkedIn.
• Humanize your brand: Consumers appreciate brands with authentic personalities. You can create a relatable brand by sharing “behind-the-scenes” content or telling your company’s story through posts or stories. For example, Patagonia regularly shares posts highlighting its commitment to environmental conservation, which strongly resonates with its customer base.

At first glance, social media marketing might appear straightforward, but to truly make an impact it requires more than just a few posts online every now and again. Along with any successful marketing strategy, it involves meticulous planning, consistent content creation, thorough analysis and strategic adjustments. Here are 12 tips on building a comprehensive social media marketing strategy to help you harness the full potential of social media for your business.

• Set S.M.A.R.T., relevant goals: Before starting your social media marketing strategy, make sure to set S.M.A.R.T. goals. S.M.A.R.T. stands for specific, measurable, achievable, relevant and time-bound. Begin by outlining clear, actionable goals using this criterion. For instance, instead of vaguely aiming to “increase sales,” strive to “increase sales by 15% over the next quarter through social media referral traffic.” This will provide a precise path for your strategy.In addition, set goals that are relevant to your business. Do you want to increase brand awareness? Do you want to increase your social media footprint? Do you want to drive traffic to your website? Reach, impressions and engagement rate are among the 13 essential social media metrics to measure in 2024 . Make sure the goals you set are relevant to your business’s objectives.
• Identify target audience: Before you begin, it is important to know who you are talking to. Create a sketch of your ideal customer. Describe their demographic traits including age, location and gender as well as psychographic traits such as interests, problems and values. If you deal in luxury watches, your audience likely consists of older, affluent individuals with an interest in style and status. Or if you have a boutique yoga studio, your ideal audience is probably a woman between 25 and 50 who prioritizes health and wellness.
• Choose the right platforms: The big seven social media platforms are Facebook, X, Instagram, TikTok, YouTube, Pinterest and LinkedIn. Each platform attracts a different type of audience. Analyze where your core audience spends the most time online and target those platforms. For example, if your brand caters to professionals or B2B clients, LinkedIn may prove more beneficial than TikTok.
• Create valuable content: Never publish content just to post something. Always create content that your audience will find beneficial. Aim to inform, engage or inspire. For a fitness brand, this might include workout tips, healthy recipes or motivational posts. In addition, it is a good idea to occasionally incorporate interactive elements such as Q&As, polls or challenges to engage your audience actively and foster a sense of community.
• Consistent branding: Maintain uniform design elements such as logo and brand colors and voice, whether it is formal or casual across platforms. This consistency will help with brand recognition.
• Use visual content: As the old saying goes, a picture is with a thousand words. Make use of visuals—photos, infographics or videos—to increase engagement. Leverage visual storytelling in order to convey your brand’s personality. For example, a bakery might post mouthwatering photos of its cupcakes or a step-by-step video tutorial on dough kneading. Additionally, incorporating user-generated content such as customer photos or reviews can add authenticity to your feed.
• Automate scheduling: Use social media management tools to schedule posts in advance. Not only will this help you save time, it will also ensure your content is delivered on a consistent basis. A regular posting schedule helps keep your brand’s presence fresh in the minds of your audience. Buffer, Hootsuite and Zoho Social are three of the best social media management software platforms on the market.
• Engage actively: Join conversations and reply promptly to comments. Don’t be afraid to show a human side to your interactions. Chipotle, for instance, has more than 30 million followers on social media. The company is renowned for its witty, engaging responses in its social media interactions.
• Collaborate with influencers: Partner with relevant influencers to get your brand in front of new eyes. Collaborating with these partners can help you tap into specific communities and boost your credibility by leveraging the trust they’ve established with their followers. A children’s clothing brand might collaborate with parenting bloggers while a new restaurant might collaborate with a local food blogger.
• Analyze and adapt: Use analytics tools to track your performance. If Instagram Stories drive more engagement than regular posts, for instance, shift your focus accordingly. This data-driven approach allows you to understand your audience better so you can tailor your strategy for maximum impact.
• Monitor trends: Social media trends evolve rapidly. Keeping up to date can unlock new avenues—be it new features such as Instagram Reels or trends such as the sustainability movement—to align your strategy with broader user behavior. Adapting to the latest trend helps keep you relevant and can even open doors to innovative methods of customer engagement and user-generated content.

Since its inception in the early 2000s, social media has revolutionized the marketing landscape by offering businesses an unprecedented ability to reach audiences, prioritize personalization and build real-time connections between brands and consumers. It helps businesses ramp up brand visibility, drives traffic, pulls in potential leads and catches the wave of trending topics—all while being budget-friendly. If your business wants to ride the social media wave, you should focus on creating clear and achievable goals, targeting your ideal audience and creating valuable content. Mix in some smart scheduling tools, actively engage with your followers and use analytics to continually fine-tune your strategies and you can significantly amplify your brand’s online impact.

What are the five Ps of social media marketing?

The five Ps of marketing—Product, Price, Promotion, Place and People—form the cornerstone of marketing strategies. “Product” refers to what a company sells, whether it is tangible goods or intangible services. “Price” is the cost consumers are willing to pay. “Promotion” is all communicative tactics used including advertising, PR or social media engagement. “Place” is the channels or physical locations where the product or service is sold. “People” refers to everyone involved in the business including customers, employees, vendors and partners.

What are the seven Cs of social media marketing?

The seven Cs of social media marketing are the guiding principles for building a robust social media marketing plan. They include “Community,” referring to the group of people your brand brings together, while “Collaboration” and “Communication” refer to the value of working alongside users and other brands to collaborate and share valuable insights. “Constraints” acknowledge the limitations that social media platforms can present to marketers. “Connectivity” and “Channels” focus on establishing a seamless link between social media platforms and choosing the right mediums to reach your target audience. “Content” is central to attracting an audience through relevant, engaging and high-quality content.

What is the golden rule of social media marketing?

The golden rule of social media marketing is to foster genuine interactions that build trust and community. Crafting content that initiates conversations enables brands to spark conversations and build a community. This strategy emphasizes authentic connection with the audience to help brands achieve enduring marketing success through active participation.

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Jennifer Simonson draws on two decades as a journalist covering everything from local economic developement to small business marketing. Beyond writing, she tested entrepreneurial waters by launching a mobile massage service, a content marketing firm and an e-commerce venture. These experiences enriched her understanding of small business management and marketing strategies. Today, she channels this first-hand knowledge into her articles for Forbes Advisor.

Symposium on Science, Technology and Health

Making the world smarter, safer and healthier.

2024 Symposium on Science, Tech and Health 

New York City  I  May 9, 2024  

Showcasing graduate research from across STEM and Health Sciences.

READ THE PROCEEDINGS VIDEO HIGHLIGHTS  I   ALL PROJECTS

Video Highlights

Cloud-Powered Agricultural and Weather Forecasts in Tanzania

Karina Thapa and Gagan Preet Singh — M.S. in Data Analytics and Visualization

Opportunity Assessment of Novel Peptide Antagonist cJun

Christine Chery — M.S. in Biotechnology Management and Entrepreneurship

Non-Pharmaceutical Treatments of Unilateral Bell’s Palsy

Cindy Salinas — M.S. in Speech-Language Pathology

Reducing Recidivism: An OT-Supported Transition Employment Program

Amanda Brenner — Occupational Therapy Doctorate

Efficacy of Immediate Delivery vs. Expectant Management in Pregnant Women with Preeclampsia

Simone Northman — M.S. in Physician Assistant Studies

All Projects

Artificial intelligence & data analytics, biotechnology management & entrepreneurship, cybersecurity, math & physics, digital marketing & media, occupational therapy, physician assistant studies, speech-language pathology.

Diffusion Data Augmentation for Enhancing Norberg Hip Angle Estimation

Author: Sheng-Han Yueh, Artificial Intelligence Faculty Mentor: Youshan Zhang, Ph.D. 

Using advanced computer vision and generative AI to create high-quality medical images, specifically X-rays of dog hips, to improve diagnosis of Canine Hip Dysplasia, a common genetic disorder in dogs.

SparrowVQE: Enhanced Visual Question Explanation in Education 

Authors: Ruslan Gokhman, Radek Holik and Manish Kumar Thota, Artificial Intelligence Faculty Mentor: Youshan Zhang, Ph.D. 

A novel Visual Question Explanation (VQE) system developed using a specialized dataset from machine learning lectures that offers detailed, context-aware explanations for educational content.

VetMedGPT: Generative Pre-trained Transformer for Veterinary Medicine

Authors: Sayed Raheel Hussain, Thirupathi Kadari and Pinxue Lin, Artificial Intelligence Faculty Mentor: Youshan Zhang, Ph.D. 

A specialized language model to improve AI performance in the veterinary field, developed using over 500 GB of veterinary data to address knowledge gaps in animal diseases, treatments and clinical procedures.

AI-Tutor: Interactive Machine Learning Chatbot for Enhanced Educational Engagement

Authors: Saratsuhas Vijayababu, Yujie Wu and Shengjie Zhao, Artificial Intelligence Faculty Mentor: Youshan Zhang, Ph.D.

A smart chatbot that combines advanced language models and natural language processing techniques to help people understand complex machine-learning ideas through an easy-to-use AI platform.

KatzBot: An Intelligent Chatbot Powered by Large Language Models

Authors: Haider Ali, Sahil Kumar, Deepa Paikar and Kiran Vutukuri, Artificial Intelligence Faculty Mentor: Youshan Zhang, Ph.D.

Introducing KatzBot, a new and improved chatbot for Yeshiva University that uses advanced Large Language Models (LLMs) to provide fast access to information about academic programs, admissions, student life, and more.

An Analysis of Solar Curtailment in California’s Energy Market

Authors: Jordan Armstrong and Volkan Uzundag, Data Analytics Faculty Mentor: Andrew Catlin 

This research examined how curtailment, the intentional reduction of renewable energy output, affects California’s energy production and grid reliability, using statistical analysis and machine learning.

Detecting Antisemitic Hate Speech Using Transformer-based Large Language Models

Authors: Dengyi Liu and Minghao Wang, Data Analytics  Faculty Mentor: Andrew Catlin 

The team evaluated the effectiveness of transformer-based natural language processing models in accurately identifying antisemitic speech online, to enhance content moderation strategies in social media and other digital spaces.

Authors: Karina Thapa and Gagan Preet Singh, Data Analytics Faculty Advisor: Andrew Catlin Industry Mentor: Brian Rowe, Zeomancer

The team developed a microservice-based architecture for Zeomancer, an IoT device that collects and analyzes data directly from the soil and provides hyper-local weather forecasts to Tanzanian farmers’ mobile devices.

A Comprehensive Study of Duckweed for NASA/Hudson Alpha Proposal 

Author: Natania Birnbaum, Biotechnology Entrepreneurship Faculty Mentor: Robert Friedman, MBA Industry Mentor: John McShane, Katz School M.S. ’22, Growmics 

A analysis of the biology, genetics, cultivation methods and market potential of duckweed, a small water plant that is nutrient-dense, resilient, easily modified genetically and can grow in microgravity, making it ideal for space farming.

Author: Christine Chery, Biotechnology Entrepreneurship Faculty Mentors: Rana Khan, Ph.D., and Robert Friedman, MBA  

An analysis performed for Sapience Therapeutics, Inc., on treating bladder and endometrial cancers with a new peptide called JunAP, which is important in cancer development and immune suppression.

 Simulation of Heat Transfer in Multilayered Biological Systems Using COMSOL Multiphysics 

Author: Shriya Jitendra Kalburge, Biotechnology Entrepreneurship Faculty Mentor: Ran Drori, Ph.D.

Researchers demonstrated that COMSOL modeling can effectively study heat flow in biological samples, such as heart tissue, and improve our understanding of freezing processes in food and biological heat transfer.

Adsorption Rate of Antifreeze Proteins Determines Their Ice Growth Inhibition Activity

Author: Yining Zhang, Biotechnology Entrepreneurship Faculty Mentor: Ran Drori, Ph.D.    

This study examined the special properties of antifreeze proteins, peptides and glycopeptides, which help various organisms survive freezing temperatures by binding to small ice crystals and preventing further growth.

Characterization of a Novel Coelenterazine-Dependent Luciferase and Photoprotein 

Authors: Chia-Yu Hsu, Zaruhi Karapetyan and Vivek Pachava, Biotechnology Entrepreneurship Faculty Mentor: Anderson Oliveira, Ph.D.

The research, using bioluminescence imaging, found that light emission increases when certain chemicals, such as coelenterazine or calcium, are added to luciferases and photoproteins, warranting further studies to improve these proteins for better use in medical research.

Beyond Geospatial Frontiers: Charting the Landscape of GEOINT, OSINT, and Innovative Intelligence Solutions 

Author: Ron Harush, Cybersecurity Faculty Mentor: Elad Hod, M.S., CISSP 

This study demonstrated the value of integrating different intelligence disciplines—specifically Open-Source Intelligence and Geospatial Intelligence—to improve intelligence gathering and address security issues for government agencies.

Comparison of Total Body Water Measured by Bioimpedance Spectroscopy to Urea Kinetic Modeling and Anthropometric Estimates in Hemodialysis Patients

Author: Ariella Mermelstein, Mathematics  Faculty Mentor: Jochen Raimann, Ph.D., Renal Research Institute

The study compared methods used in clinical nephrology for monitoring fluid, body composition, and nutritional changes in patients undergoing hemodialysis or needing close monitoring of fluid status in clinical settings.

Infant and Maternal Outcomes During the COVID-19 Pandemic

Author: Moshe Gordon, Physics Faculty Mentor: Fredy Zypman, Ph.D.

This study found a higher rate of pre-term births among infants born to COVID-19-positive mothers compared to those born to mothers without COVID-19 and that, overall, infants born during the COVID-19 pandemic were shorter in length up to nine months after birth.

Empowering Dance Project of Washington Heights: A Strategic Marketing Approach 

Authors: Nathaly Camargo, Bharath Prabhu and Saahas Ramaul, Digital Marketing and Media Faculty Mentor: Joseph Panzarella, Program Director

The team proposed a marketing plan for the nonprofit Dance Project of Washington Heights, aiming to strengthen the organization’s relationship with the community and to encourage more people to get involved in dance education.

Marketing Research Methods: Heights Meditation & Yoga

Authors: Jesse Sattler, Tanvi Shah and Koren Jacob, Digital Marketing and Media  Faculty Mentor: Thomas Kennon, Industry Professor and Director of Consulting, YU Innovation Lab 

This market research project revealed strategies for Heights Meditation & Yoga to increase its impact and better meet customer expectations by identifying different types of customers, improving their online presence, forming partnerships and building a stronger sense of community. 

Wasteful Pride: How a Bespoke Urban Waste Management Policy Improves the Lives of Residents 

Author: Mansi Kamboj, Digital Marketing and Media  Faculty Mentor: Joseph Panzarella, Program Director

This study examined the potential of the Basura model — a new way to handle garbage in cities —t o foster a sustainable urban landscape and proposed targeted strategies to further empower communities with the knowledge and infrastructure to tackle waste management challenges more effectively.

Reducing Recidivism: An OT-Supported Transition Employment Program 

Author: Amanda Brenner, Occupational Therapy Faculty Mentor: Alexandra Laghezza, Ph.D., OTR/L, CDP Community Partner: Afya Foundation 

This12-week educational program uses occupational therapy principles to help former inmates find jobs and learn skills for life outside of prison, with the goal of reducing recidivism, the likelihood that former inmates will commit new crimes and return to prison.

Enhancing Academic Performance: Positive Factors Impacting Graduate Health Professions Students 

Authors: Piermiline Datilus and Suzan Khavkin, Occupational Therapy Faculty Mentor: Amiya Waldman-Levi, Ph.D., OTR/L, FAOTA Collaborator: Anita Bundy, Sc.D., OT/L, FAOTA, FOTARA, Colorado State University 

The researchers found significant positive correlations between student GPA and anxiety levels and between their playfulness and leisure; they found a negative correlation between playfulness and anxiety levels and playfulness and coping skills.

Overcoming Social Isolation: Effectiveness of the Healthy Aging Wellness Program

Authors: Rachel Hirsch and Jessica Kwok, Occupational Therapy Faculty Mentor: Amiya Waldman-Levi, Ph.D., OTR/L, FAOTA Collaborators: Alexandra Laghezza, Ph.D., OTR/L, CDP and Jeanine Stancanelli, MPH, OTD, OTR/L, Mercy University

This study compared the effectiveness of online vs. in-person delivery of an eight-week Healthy Aging Wellness program, which includes yoga, mindfulness and social activities. 

Impact of Migraine Disability on Occupational Roles  

Author: Ashley Mathew,   Occupational Therapy Faculty Mentors: Alexandra Laghezza, Ph.D., OTR/L, CDP, and Elizabeth Seng, Ph.D., Ferkauf Graduate School of Psychology 

This study, using surveys like the Role Checklist and the Migraine-Specific Quality-of-Life Questionnaire, demonstrated that severe migraine headaches are linked to lower job satisfaction and performance.

Author: Simone Northman, Physician Assistant Studies Faculty Mentor: Margaret Ewen, M.S., PA-C

Research confirmed that managing preeclampsia, a complication in pregnancy where the mother’s blood pressure gets dangerously high, was was slightly safer for the baby compared with delivering the baby right away.

Effects of Endovascular Thrombectomy vs. Intra-arterial Alteplase Plus Thrombectomy on Improved Neurological Functioning in Adult Patients Experiencing an Acute Ischemic Stroke

Author: Lukas Cooper, Physician Assistant Studies Faculty Mentor: Margaret Ewen, M.S., PA-C

The study confirmed that adding alteplase, a medication to dissolved blockages in blood vessels, did not further improve brain function after an ischemic stroke and avoiding alteplase could reduce bleeding-related risks.

Best Course of Treatment in Patients with Iron Deficiency Anemia with Active H.pylori Infections  

Author: Alaa Etouni, Physician Assistant Studies Faculty Mentor: Margaret Ewen, M.S., PA-C

A systematic literature review found that treating H.pylori infection was strongly linked to reducing iron deficiency anemia, which happens when the body lacks enough iron to make red blood cells.

Macrosomia Occurrence During Pregnancies of Patients with Diabetes: Continuous Glucose Monitoring vs. Self-Blood Checks

Author: Kayla Tanen, Physician Assistant Studies Faculty Mentor: Margaret Ewen, M.S., PA-C

A systematic literature review found that babies born to mothers using continuous glucose monitoring systems tend to have lower birth weights compared to those whose mothers used regular blood sugar checks.

Enhancing Communication Skills in Children with ASD: The Role of Active Parental Participation

Author:  Rachel Eliav, Speech-Language Pathology  Faculty Mentor: Andrew Christler, M.A, MBA, CCC-SLP

This study aimed to provide parents of children with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) with information and resources to enhance parental training in behavior management strategies, ultimately improving outcomes in speech therapy.

Impact of Professional Development for Paraprofessionals in Supporting Children with High-Tech Touch Screen Devices

Author: Rachel Horwitz, Speech-Language Pathology  Faculty Mentor: Elisabeth Mlawski, Ph.D., CCC-SLP

This study highlights promising interventions and challenges in training paraprofessionals, or teaching assistants, to support children in using high-tech Augmentative and Alternative Communication (AAC) devices, which are essential for individuals with speech and language impairments.

Author: Cindy Salinas,   Speech-Language Pathology Faculty Advisor: Andrew Christler, M.A., MBA, CCC-SLP 

This project aimed to identify and emphasize the specific roles that speech-language pathologists can play in treating Bell’s Palsy, which affects facial muscles and can lead to speech and swallowing difficulties.

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Revenue management solutions named "best use of research and surveys" in pr daily's 2024 social media, digital & content marketing awards.

TAMPA, FL / ACCESSWIRE / August 12, 2024 / Revenue Management Solutions (RMS) , a global leader in data-driven analytics and tech-enabled solutions for the restaurant industry, proudly announces its win at the 2024 Social Media, Digital & Content Marketing Awards , presented by PR Daily. For its impactful Restaurant Trend Reports , RMS took home the award in the "Use of Research/Surveys" category.

The awards ceremony, held on August 1 at the prestigious Yale Club in New York City, celebrated the hidden stars and talents behind impressive social and content marketing campaigns. Attendees gathered to honor professionals across various categories, from Best Social Media Campaign to Digital Community Engagement.

"Winning this award is a testament to our team's dedication and expertise in delivering insightful content that drives restaurant industry success," said Jana Zschieschang, RMS Chief Brand Officer. "Thousands of restaurant industry influencers access our Quick-Service Trend Report every month to gain clear and concise insights to navigate the ever-changing landscape of the restaurant business."

RMS launched its QSR Trend Reports during the pandemic, a time of rapid change for the restaurant industry. What began as a tool to condense and simplify fast-food trends has evolved into a respected source for restaurant pricing, sales and traffic referenced by clients and leading news outlets, including Reuters, The Wall Street Journal, Bloomberg and trusted restaurant trade publications.

PR Daily's Content Marketing Awards spotlight the most impactful and innovative work in the field. Brendan Gannon, Senior Marketing Manager for the Ragan/PR Daily Awards programs, praised RMS for their creative approach, noting "The winners set a new standard in content creation with exceptional storytelling and strategic insights. Their work exemplifies the power of data-driven content in capturing audience attention and driving meaningful results."

As RMS celebrates this significant achievement, it continues to lead the industry in data-driven tech solutions that empower restaurant brands to confidently navigate challenges such as inflation and labor costs.

For 30 years, Revenue Management Solutions has partnered with restaurant brands to deliver actionable insights and data-driven recommendations that boost sales, streamline costs, and maximize profitability. Their AI-powered solutions support over 100,000 locations worldwide, enabling brands to unlock the power of their data and thrive in a competitive market.

About Revenue Management Solutions

Revenue Management Solutions (RMS) partners with restaurant brands to provide data-driven solutions that drive sales, streamline costs, and enhance profitability. With AI-powered analytics, RMS supports over 100,000 locations globally, empowering brands to navigate industry challenges confidently. For more information, visit www.revenuemanage.com .

About Ragan Communications and PR Daily

Ragan Communications has been a trusted source of news, training, and intelligence for more than 50 years, serving internal and external communicators and business executives. PRDaily.com and Ragan.com are read by over 600,000 communicators monthly, providing insights and resources across various communication fields.

Contact Details

Tracy Henderson +1 720-989-3530 [email protected]

Company Website

https://www.revenuemanage.com

SOURCE: Revenue Management Solutions

View the original press release on accesswire.com

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Understanding KPIs and Marketing Metrics

By embracing data-driven strategies, real estate pros can make informed decisions to drive business forward.

NEW YORK  – Key performance indicators (KPIs) are essential to determining if your marketing strategy is successful. Look at the following metrics to uncover trends:

Website data

• Determine the number of visitors to your site to know what works and what doesn't.
• Know that quick-loading websites can reduce bounce rates (the time it takes users to leave a website without taking action).
• Identify keywords that help your website rank higher in search engines.

Newsletter data

• Subscriber numbers can demonstrate how well subject lines and content, as well as calls to action, are resonating with members.
• Open rates (the percentage of participants opening an email) and click rates can tell you how interested subscribers are in your content.
• Hard bounces mean those emails don't exist, while soft bounces mean there were temporary issues in delivering the email.

Social media data

• Measure the level of engagement with posts through likes, comments and shares, how many unique accounts are reached, the number of times content was seen in aggregate and whether there was an increase in follows or unfollows over time.
• Engagement in social media is the biggest metric for social media content and growth.

Google and Meta ad data

• Real estate professionals should review the cost per click and lead and conversion rates (the percentage of website visitors that take a specific action).
• Examine your return on investment (ROI) to ensure you're getting positive results. This can provide a longer-term perspective on marketing expenses and goals, as well as a measurement of the strategy's success.

Source: Inman (07/25/24) Meier, Tara

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