Social Media Marketing Study Notes

Chapter 10: Social Media Analytics

Learning Objectives

  • Understand how companies utilize social media data and research to inform marketing decisions.

  • Identify the primary approaches to social media research.

  • Learn about the research process for collecting, processing, and analyzing residual social media data used in social listening and monitoring.

  • Recognize common errors and biases associated with social media research.

  • Explore how brands develop social intelligence systems.

  • Understand the process for conducting netnographic research in social media communities.

What is Social Media Research?

  • Definition: Social media research is the application of scientific marketing research principles aimed at the collection and analysis of social media data, producing valid and reliable results.

Social Monitoring and Listening

  • Definitions:

    • Social Listening: The process of identifying and collecting social data for analysis to inform strategic marketing decisions.

    • Social Monitoring: Tracking mentions of specific keywords or phrases on social media platforms and triggering a company response as necessary.

  • Types of Response:

    • Proactive: Anticipatory engagement by brands.

    • Reactive: Responses to customer inquiries or issues as they arise.

Uses of Social Listening

  • Brand Monitoring: Analyzing brand presence and consumer sentiment online.

  • Measuring Campaign Effectiveness: Assessing how successful marketing campaigns are on social media.

  • Gathering Customer Insights: Understanding consumer behavior and preferences through social media interactions.

  • Gathering Ideas for Future Campaigns: Leveraging online conversations for innovative marketing strategies.

  • Competitive Intelligence: Identifying ideas for new products or services based on social trends.

  • Crisis Scanning: Monitoring for potential public relations crises requiring attention.

  • Customer Service: Utilizing social media as a platform for customer support.

Social Customer Care Data

  • Statistics:

    • 67% of social media users reach out to companies for support via social media channels.

    • 84% of users expect a response within the first 24 hours.

    • Customers may spend 20–40% more with companies that handle customer care requests via social media.

    • 71% of customers experienced quick and effective responses are likely to recommend that brand.

    • Only 10% of social media customer care requests receive any response.

Social Media Listening and Research Process

  • Process Overview:

    • Use software/tools to systematically search and scrape social media data.

    • Gather both qualitative data (e.g., comments) and quantitative data (e.g., source, volume).

    • Establish appropriate research design and protocols to ensure data relevance.

  • Common Applications:

    • Sentiment Analysis: Understanding overall sentiment towards a brand or topic.

    • Content Analysis: Evaluating specific content themes and topics in user-generated data.

Sentiment Analysis Steps

  1. Fetch, Crawl, Scrape and Cleanse: Collect relevant social media data.

  2. Extract Relevant Data Points: Identify key information from the data.

  3. Extract Sentiment Using Sentiment Indicators: Utilize tools to interpret feelings expressed in data.

  4. Aggregate the Data Into a Summary: Compile the processed data into a comprehensible format.

What is Content Analysis?

  • Definition: A technique used to identify the presence of specific concepts and themes within qualitative data sets.

  • Primary Unit of Analysis: The basic unit of analysis is the word.

  • Emerging Trends: With the increase in multimedia content, multimedia analysis is becoming essential.

Coding Categories for Content Analysis

  • Analysts assign codes to classify data; themes are examined and interpreted for deeper insights.

Sampling Concepts

  • Key Terms:

    • Population: The total group of subjects relevant to the research.

    • Sampling Frame: A list or other representation of the population from which a sample will be drawn.

    • Sample: A segment of the population selected for analysis.

Caution! Potential Research Errors

  • Errors Noted:

    • Coverage Error: Occurs when the sample fails to represent the population adequately, often due to privacy settings limiting access.

    • Sampling Error: Differences between the sample and the population can bias results.

    • Nonresponse Bias: Occurs when certain subjects do not respond leading to potential skewed outcomes.

Ethical Considerations in Social Media Research

  • Informed Consent: Traditional research requires participant consent, but scraping social media involves residual data that users may not explicitly consent to share.

  • Example of Ethical Dilemma:

    • Researchers scraped data from 70,000 users of OKCupid and published it with non-anonymized details such as usernames and personal behaviors. The lead researcher defended this based on the information being publicly available.

Model for Social Intelligence in Organizations

  • Components:

    Model for Social Intelligence in Organizations

    • Components:

      • Distribution of Intelligence: Sharing insights derived from social media data across various parts of the organization.

      • Data Analytics: The process of examining and interpreting social media data to identify patterns, draw conclusions, and inform strategic decisions.

      • Data Management: The organization, storage, and maintenance of collected social media data to ensure its quality and accessibility.

      • Social Listening and Data Capture: The systematic identification, collection, and tracking of social media data, including mentions, keywords, and phrases, as defined in social listening and monitoring.

    • Data Analytics

    • Data Management

    • Social Listening and Data Capture

Example: Social Listening Study for Uber

  • A study analyzing Uber's social media presence to enhance targeted campaigns based on user behavior insights.

Insights for Uber

  • Analysis of user engagement, optimal channels, and demographics for targeted marketing.

Social Listening Vendors

  • Notable Vendors:

    • Brandwatch

    • Netbase

    • Infegy

    • TalkWalker

    • Plus many other platforms.

Social Media and Netnography

  • Research Process:

    • Use member checks for data accuracy.

    • Maintain a journal reflecting on data collection.

    • Classify and select materials for analysis.

    • Understand the group’s culture and dynamics.

    • Target online communities with high traffic for effective analysis.

JOAH Beauty’s Social Listening for Market Research

  • Discussion Points:

    • Marketing recommendations based on social listening outcomes.

    • The value of sentiment analysis in the popularity of K-Beauty products.

    • Potential errors or biases in the analysis data.

Recap and Questions

  • Reflection on:

    • Utilization of social media data for marketing.

    • Primary approaches and research processes related to social media.

    • Common errors and bias in social media research.

    • The development of social intelligence systems by brands.

    • Conducting netnographic research in social media communities.