Any person that has worked in marketing or business has already recognized the potential of social media. Millions of users post content, comment on other content, and share their likes. Businesses and individuals can use the vast amount of information available when it has been dissected properly. This article will provide an overview of how to harness the information on social media, and use it to an advantage.
Lots of data can be found on social media. Think about it, you have years and years of documented interactions and thoughts on just your own profile. Think about all of the information the whole world provides on social media. It’s a lot. Likes, comments, and posts all generate a lot of data that remains unstructured.
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There are some ways in which we can start to analyze this data, which is something that is incredibly important for businesses and marketers, as information found on social media channels can help businesses to evaluate present and determine future strategies. For example, text mining is an important tool used to analyze unstructured data found on the Internet. Let’s look at various methods one can use to gain information from social media:
Analytics
The use of analytics on Twitter and Facebook can provide a business a lot of information and insight into what their consumers want and need. Analytics allows you to gage the amount of community engagement there is with your company or product. This is extremely helpful in understanding what kind of press you are getting, and how consumers feel about your brand. This helps you to make better and more intelligent business decisions. The disadvantage is that you have to have enough knowledge to understand how analytics work. It is definitely helpful to make sure you are as knowledgeable as possible.
API-
The world of application programming interface can be a very difficult one to navigate through. You must have some pretty advanced knowledge and an access key from the data provider. However, it does wonders in highlight customer needs, and what you need to do to reach them effectively. It can be very valuable for business.
Hashtags
Of course, we all know what hashtags are. They are the most prominent part of most people’s social media use. When used properly, they can say a lot about how people think and what they are talking about, especially pertaining to your particular business. It’s pretty much direct feedback into your audience and also into general trends. The downside to this is the necessity of having to wade through a sea of possible mistakes or randomness that runs rampant on these platforms.
In the next few years, consumers will have generated more content than the entire human race has before them. It is vital for businesses to understand how to harness this data, and to use it wisely.
