Social Media Research: tools, techniques and outputs.

You can learn more on YouTube analytics by checking out YouTube Creators Academy. Using web data for social media research. Forums. Finding out what people say ... Whatissocialmediaresearch?Toptools&techniques Socialmediaresearchistheprocessofanalyzingsocialmediadatatoconductquantitative(andattimesqualitative)researchinordertounderstandhowaudiencesrelatetotopics,byusingtoolsanddataextractiontechniques.Thankstoadvancedsociallisteningandaudienceintelligencetoolsandplatforms,researcherstodayareabletoaggregatedatarelatingtospecificevents,topicsorwithinaspecificaudiencegroupfromsocialmedia,web,forums,newsandblogs. It’satopicthat’sconstantlyevolving,withresearchersdevelopingnewmethodologiesandtechniques tounderstandthewayaudiencesusesocialmediachannels,theirbehaviorsandconversationsonthosechannels.Associalmediagrowsinbothsizeandimportance,becominganintegralpartofdailylife,itisavitalnewareatoapplyresearchtoolstobegintounderstandthisnewforumfordiscussion. Socialmediaresearchcantaketheformofsociallisteningandaudienceintelligence,byobservingthecontentandinformationproducedonlineanduncoveringtrendsandinsightsthatemergefromthisdata. Tableofcontents:  Whatisthedifferencebetweensocialmediaresearchandotherresearch? Howcansocialmediaresearchhelpyourbusiness? Whydoweneedsocialmediaresearch? Socialmediaresearchtools   Whatisthedifferencebetweensocialmediaresearchandotherresearch? Inshort,socialmediaresearchisaformofresearchusingsocialmedia,asopposedtoanalternativeresearchmethodologytoqualitativeorquantitativeresearch.ResearchagenciessuchasPulsar’sin-houseresearchteamworkwiththescaleofquantitativeresearchwiththedepthofquantitativeresearch. AclusterfromaresearchreportoningredientsofVegandishesonsocialmediamappedoutbyourAIImagerecognitionmodule. Socialmediaresearchtopicsallowusaccesstotheunpromptedfeelingsandopinionsofusers,somethingthatquantitativeresearcherswouldgenerallyhavetocollectthroughsurveysorfocusgroups.Thisgivesahugescaleofdataavailable,inpeople’sownwords,forresearcherstoanalyze.Thisanalysisrequiresexpertknowledgeofhowpeoplebehaveonlinebutissimilarinformattotheresearchconductedbyqualitativeresearchersoftheresultsofasurveyorfocusgroup. OnedevelopingareaofsocialmediaresearchistryingtounderstandhowmachinelearningandAIcanspeedupthecollectionofdata.Currently,thedatasetsavailabletopullinincertainareaswouldtakesignificantresearchresourcestoanalyze,butbyleveragingthepowerofmachinelearningandAIitispossibletotrainalgorithmstoorganizedatatomakethisanalysiseasier.Thereissignificantworkbeingdonetohelpmachinesunderstandimages,suchasthiscollaborationbetweenPulsarandtheVisualSocialMediaLab. Howcansocialmediaresearchhelpyourbusiness? Socialmediaresearchcanhelpyourbusinessinanumberofways:fromunderstandingandimprovetheperceptionofyourbrandonline;understandingthemarketfornewproducts;comparingyourpresencetoacompetitor,orattractingnewaudiencesthroughunderstandingthetrendsanddiscussionswithinyourcategory. Afewareasinclude: Marketingeffectiveness Trulyunderstandingsocialmediaisacrucialpartofmarketingtoday,anditalsoakeyresourceforgaininginsightsforboththeplanningandexecutionofyourcampaigns,asmillionsofusers,shareinformationabouttheirthoughts,opinions,needs,behaviors,andexperienceseveryday.Independent,objectivemarketingSocialmediaresearchoffersanobjectiveviewofyourmarketing,showingwherethereareopportunitiestoincreasereachandengagement.ContinuousmeasurementthroughcanhelpyoutoquantifyyourcampaignperformanceandgainROI. Usingsocialdataforproductdevelopment Greatcampaignsarebuiltondeephumantruths.Byconductingsocialmediaresearchyoucandiveintoyourcustomer’sworldwhiledevelopinganewproductorservice.Analyzebehavioralsignalsfromsocialmediaaudiencestounderstandwhereyourbrandorproductpropositionfitsin.Andonceyou’vedevelopedanewproduct,youcanusesocialmediaresearchtounderstandthemindsets,behaviorsandaffinitiesofyourtargetaudiencetocreatemarketingcommunications,visualsandexperiencesthatclick. Attractingnewcustomersandbreakingintonewdemographics Youcanalsousesocialmediaresearchforaudienceintelligence,tounderstandyourcustomersonadeeperlevelthanjusttheirdemographics.Findoutinformationaboutopinions,lifestyles,habits,andevenintereststotrulyknowwhatsortofpeopletheyareandbeabletocommunicatewiththemintheirownlanguage.Byunderstandingaudiences,youcanattractnewcustomerswhomightnothaveevenheardofyourbrand,orwhoyouhadneverconsidered.Identifynewopportunitieswithinyourmarketbykeepinganeyeontheconversation.Usingsocialmediaresearchmeansyoucancontinuallymonitortheconversationinyourindustryandfindnewwaystospeaktoyourtargetaudiences. Improvingcustomerservice Muchcustomerservicehasrecentlymovedintothepublicdomainsofsocialmediaandisaquickandeasygo-toforpeoplewithquestionsandcomplaintsaboutyourbrand.Understandinghowpeopletalktoandaboutyourbrandonlinemeanyoucananticipatethisinteraction,andevenreachcustomersonlinewhomayhavediscussedyourbrandbutwerenotspeakingdirectlytoyou,whichcangoalongwayinenhancingcustomerexperiencewhendoneright. Uncovermicro-influencersthatspeaktoyouraudience Influencermarketingisanew,butalreadyhighly-saturatedmethodology.Attractingexpensivemacro-influencersforcampaignsisapathwell-troddenbutusingsocialmediaresearchyoucanuncoveryourbrand’sbiggestfans,andcategory-specificmicro-influencers,whocanadvocateforyourproductorservice.Researchingandbuildingpanelsofinfluencersmeanyoucanbuildarelationshipwithrelevantmicro-influencerswhoarefarmoreimpactfulwithintheircommunitythanlargerinfluencerswithoutasmuchofaniche. Competitorintelligenceandbenchmarking Monitoringtheonlinepresenceofyourbrandisanever-expandingtask,letaloneexploringactivityaroundyourcompetitors.Socialmediaresearchcanhelpyougetatop-levelviewofhowcompetitorsinyourindustryorcategoryapproachcertaintopicsandthemesthatareeitherpainorpridepointsforyourbrand,andfindoutifthereisabetterwaytoreachtheaudienceyouaretryingtospeakto,orhowtoensureyoucontinuetobreakawayfromthepack. Brandreputationandcrisismanagement Whilebrandmonitoringisagreatwaytotrackyourbrand’ssocialmediapresence,in-depthsocialmediaresearchcanhelpyoutounderstandtheaudienceswhofollowandtalkaboutyourbrand,andhowthereputationyoucurrentlyhaveonlinecameabout.Thiscanbethestartingpointfordevelopinganewcommunicationstrategy,orforalteringyourcurrentonearoundtheaudienceyouhave.Byunderstandingyouraudiencesthroughsocialmediaresearchyoucanalsocreatestrategiesforcrisismanagement,bothforidentifyingacrisisbrewingtoactonasquicklyaspossible,andalsopreparingaresponseiftheworsthappens.Researchingtheimpactofsocialmediacriseswillhelpyoubeprepared.   Whydoweneedsocialmediaresearch? Socialmediahasdevelopedatarapidpace,andit’simportanttobeanalysingandunderstandingthewayshumansareusingittocommunicate,notonlyforbrandstobeabletospeaktotheircustomersbutforunderstandingcommunicationandtrendsofbehaviourasawhole.Academicresearchisstartingtoaddressandusesocialmedia,butthisisafieldthatisstilldeveloping. Specificbusinessusecasesforsocialmediaresearcharedevelopingtoo.Brandsandagenciesarerecognizingthatgenericanalysiswon’tsolvedistinctivebusinessproblemsspecifictotheindustry.AtPulsarwe’vedevelopedcustomanalyticsmodelswithinthesocialmediaresearchteamusingouraudienceintelligenceplatformthatspansindustriesincludingfilmandTV,media,education,gaming,sports,non-profit,health,fashionandmore.Ourindustry-specificframeworkscreatedfromresearchforsocialmediacandelivercontextualized,action-orientedinsightstostrategyteams. AnextracttakenfromasocialdataresearchonriseofCBD Socialmediaresearchtools Waystoconductsocialmediaresearchandwebdataresearch Thereareseveraltoolsyoucanusetoconductyourownsocialmediaresearch,includingontheplatformsthemselves,oryoucancommissionasurveyfromanexpertresearchteam.Thesebreakdownintothewaysyoucancollectsocialmediadataandotherpublicallyavailablewebdatathatisimportanttocomparetoyoursocialmediaresearchtogetafullpictureofallthedigitalsignalsaroundyourbrand.PlatformslikePulsarhelpyoucollectthisdatainoneplacetogetafullpictureofyourtopic.   Collectingsocialmediadata Twitter TwitterAnalyticsisincrediblyhelpfulforresearchontheimpactyourownorbrand’sTwitterchannels,whereyoucanseethebestandworstpostsfromanymonth,anddownloaddataonlikes,replies,retweetsandsoon,aswellasunderstandingthereachandimpactofyouradsonTwitter.Twitteralsoallowsyoutosearchonadetailedlevelforkeywordsoverspecifictimeperiodsandinspecificlocationswhichallowsyoutogetafeelforthesentimentaroundatopic. Facebook FacebookAnalyticsalsooffersdetaileddownloadablestatisticsonyourownedPagesonitsanalyticstab.YoucanseedetailsofreachandengagementsonpostsandvideosonFacebookPages,aswellasdemographicsaboutthepeoplewholikeyourpage.YoucanalsoresearchhowpeopleengagewithpublicFacebookPages,butitisdifficulttoaggregatethisbecauseofFacebook’sprivacyrestrictions. Instagram Currently,youcangainaccesstosometoolsprovidedbyFacebookforInstagramanalyticsthroughInstagramBusinessTools.TheanalyticsofferavarietyofinsightsonbothpostsonyourInstagramtimeline,andInstagramStories,fromviewership,reachandengagementtothedaysoftheweekyouraudienceismostengagedandbreakdownoflocationsbycity,andagegroups.ItispossibletoresearchtheusageofhashtagswhichcanbeimportantbutitisdifficulttogetmoregranulardataontheimagesthemselveswithouttheuseofaspecialisttoollikePulsar,whichoffersverticalAIimageanalysis. YouTube YouTubehasavarietyofmetricstostudyintheanalyticsareaforcreatorsincludingwatchtimesforyourvideos,trafficsourcestoseewheretheviewersarefindingyourvideosfrom,andDemographicsreports.OthersocialmediaresearchavailableonYouTubeincludeslookingattheYouTubeTrendingpageandstudyingtheviewcountsandcommentsonvideos,butagainthisishardtoaggregatewithoutaspecialisttool.YoucanlearnmoreonYouTubeanalyticsbycheckingoutYouTubeCreatorsAcademy.  Usingwebdataforsocialmediaresearch Forums Findingoutwhatpeoplesayonforumsisagreatwaytounderstandsocialtrendsaroundspecifictopics.Peoplewilleitherdiscussaspecifictopicindetail,oraskforadvice,soifyoucanunderstandpubliclypostedforumtopics,youwillgetaninsightintotheconcernsaroundvarioustopicsandthemes,whichcouldsupportsocialmediaresearch.Thisinvolvesmanualdeskresearchintoyourtopicofchoice,ortheuseofatoollikePulsar,butcanbeverybeneficial. Reviews Understandingreviewsdatacanbeincrediblyhelpfulfornewproductdevelopment.Findingouthowwellpeoplerateasimilarproductwillgiveyouindicationsofwhatpeoplearelookingfor.Similarly,becausereviewsofteninvolvestarratings,youcancorrelatethisdatatogetnumericalaveragesovertime.Usingthisdataalongsidecommentsfromsocialmediaresearchandwebdatameansyoucangetafullpictureoftheviewofaproductorservice. Blogsandnews It’salsoimportanttokeeptrackofwhatisbeingdiscussedinthenewsandblogs,asthismayimpactsocialmediaresearch–forinstanceifadramaticheadlineinthenewschangesthetrackofaconversationonsocialmedia,orifablogpostisgeneratingmoresharesofaspecificlinkorpartofyourwebsite.ThisresearchgenerallyhastobecompiledbytheuserbutitispossibletolookatnewsandblogsthroughtoolslikeGoogleNews,orPulsar. Googletrends Google’sfreetrendsserviceallowsyoutotrackvolumesofsearchesforvarioustrendsgoingbackto2002andcompareseveraltrendsatonceasavolumeovertimegraph.Youcanalsoseethatday’strendingtopics,andfindassociatedsearchqueriesthatareoftensearchedalongsideyourterm.Thisisveryhelpfultocomparewithsocialmediaresearcharoundtrends,assearchandsocialdatacomplementeachotherbygivinganindicationoftheactiontaken–forinstancedidasocialspikecorrelatetoanincreaseinsearchesforabrand,ordidanewproductreleasegetdiscussedonsocialaswellasincreasingtraffictoyourwebsite? Googlesurveys Googlesurveysareacheapwaytogetdatabackonaspecifiedsetofquestionsfromrealpeople.Whilethedataitselfdoesnotcomefromsocialmedia,youarefreetoaskwhateveryouchoose,includingaboutusers’socialmediahabits,andcorrelatingthisdatawithsocialdatacanbeessentialforsocialmediaresearchtounderstandthesignalsfrommultiplechannelsincontext. Pulsarandothersociallisteningandaudienceintelligencetools TheeasiestwaytoseetheanalyticsfromyoursocialchannelsistoaggregatethemintoatoollikePulsarCOREwhichallowsyoutocompareallyourchannelsinoneplacewithouthavingtoswitchbetweenthevariousanalyticsplatforms.Youcanalsoconductsocialmediaresearchbycomparingthedatafromcompetitoraccounts,andunderstandingmetricslikethedemographicsandpsychographicsofyourfollowers.PulsarTRACisanadvancedaudienceintelligencetoolwhichgoesbeyondsociallisteningtoaidsocialmediaresearchandunderstanditincontextofhumanbehavior.Youcanresearchkeywords,audiencesorcontentandunderstandhowpeopletalkaboutthetopicsyou’relookingtounderstandonsocialmedia,news,forums,blogs,andwebsearch,aswellasthemostadvancedimageanalysis,poweredbyverticalAIandmachinelearningtosegmentdataaroundtopics,imagecontentsandaudiences,andpresentitwithbeautifulsimpletounderstanddatavisualisation.   Howtogetinsightsfromsocialmediaresearch Onceyouhaveallyourdata,whethercollectedfromsocialmediaanalytics,ormanualdeskresearch,youcancomparetrendsofmentionsofakeywordovertime,andunderstandthisinmoredetailbycorrelatingagainstforums,reviewsandnews,oranalysehowcertainaudiencestalkaboutyourbrandorproductbylookingatthepoststhemselves. Researchagencies Manyresearchagenciesarenowofferingsocialmediaresearchalongsidetraditionalqualitativeandquantitativeresearch.Whetherit’susedformarketingeffectiveness,newproductdevelopment,audiencediscoveryorbrandandproductstrategy,socialmediaresearchcandeliverindustry-specificinsightsthatwillhelpyourbusiness.Pulsar’sresearchteamofferbothcontinuousorone-offresearchprogramswhichintegratequantitativeandqualitativemethodologies,toturnaudiencedataandsocialmediatrendsintostrategicinsights. Theimportanceofsocialmediainmarketingresearchhasneverbeenmorepronounced,andthemeansofarrivingatinsightnevermoresophisticated.   SeePulsarinaction REQUESTADEMO AudienceIntelligence,inyourinbox Receiveourmonthlytips,tricksandtechniquesnewsletter.Weusethesedetailstoensureyougettheinformationyouwant.PleaseseeourPrivacyPolicy tolearnmore. 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