Instead of scrolling through your followers’ comments or searching Twitter for relevant tweets, you can utilize social media listening tools for efficient market research on what is being said about you or your competitors. The internet produces and contains a wealth of information, and it’s your responsibility to make use of it.
Consider this:
Twitter currently has about a billion registered users with over 302 million monthly active users. 46% of Twitter users use it every day. Facebook, meanwhile, has 1.44 billion monthly active users, with 936 million daily users. That's quite a lot of people talking, and it's a great chance to listen.
Social Media as the most important tool for marketers
The internet as a social medium has grown much since its innovation. With huge amounts of people posting a near infinite amount of data every day, it'd be a mistake to miss out on that gold mine. What you need are the proper tools. Social media listening tools grant you access to this information and provide it for you in an easily digestible format.
Monitor, Analyze, Act
Social listening tools have a lot to deal with, but without them you'd be lost. People mention brands and products constantly, and these tools are the only way to sift through the mud and find what you're looking for. What are people talking about? When did the conversation peak? Where in the world and on social media are they talking most? Who of these voices influences the most people? And how does the overall sentiment rank up?
Hear Your Consumers and Identify Trends
Work with your online community to generate interest. This can be as simple as monitoring consumer interests and setting up a poll to help guide your next campaign. By interacting with them, you can guide the discussion back towards your brand and what you can improve upon. Monitor your community's spending and consumption habits through their social media. People are likely to post, tweet, and blog about the items they purchase most and the ones they encourage everyone to avoid. This is very important, especially when it comes to the most influential and vocal minority. Encourage your community to share what they're thinking, and they'll tell you exactly what you want to know.
Segment Your Market
You likely already engage in market segmentation, but with listening tools at hand, you'll find the process much easier and much more efficient. Use social listening tools to learn the demographics discussing your brand, and change your market strategies accordingly. For example, geography and demography are two very important details for location-based products and fashion products, respectively. In addition, you will learn the internet communities and sub-communities such as niche forums, which will give you invaluable data.
Bench pressing the competition
Benchmark your brand's online presence against your competitors: What do people like about your brand versus another? Is there a product your competitor is offering that you aren't? What are your customers unsatisfied with in your industry, and how can you use that to your advantage?
Understand the global industry. Identify market gaps. Learn how your brand can win the market.
You can learn more using our whitepaper on Social Listening for Market Research.