The benefits of social media market research

Published on March 6, 2017March 7, 2017 by adminLeave a comment

Analyzing and applying social media statistics

Market research can be time-consuming, expensive and difficult to gather. Classic research practices such as surveys and focus groups can provide great insight. However, marketers often need feedback fast and traditional research methods do not always make the cut.

This is where social media comes in. The communications world has begun to utilize social media as a key source of research information.

Comments, likes and conversations that take place on social platforms provides marketers with real-time measurements.

Here are some of the top benefits of using social media as a research tool.

Customer sentiment

When forming a campaign, it is vital to have a strong understanding of customers feelings about the company and product.

According to SocialStrategy1, “Social media monitoring gives real-time access to opinions, data that dates back, and analysis of conversations that lie outside the typical survey participant, larger groups for sampling, agility in experimental proceedings.”

Due to comments and likes on social media, marketers can combine this qualitative and quantitative data into full reports.

For example, Facebook’s newly added “Facebook Reactions” allow users to express opinions beyond just liking a post. Now, users can have reactions including love, ‘haha’, ‘wow’, sadness and anger.

This data, when accumulated together, gives marketers constantly updated statistics on how people are reacting on social media to their company.

The amount of awareness

Social media also allows companies to see how many people are talking about their business or particular campaign.

According to Brandwatch, many marketers attribute brand awareness to a higher return on investment.

According to the same article, “One of the strongest drivers in making consumers buy is simply the ability to recall that product. ”

Tools such as Hootsuite and Google Analytics can measure the number of comments, mentions, retweets and traffic to certain social sites. These statistics are a strong representation of a customer’s brand awareness.

Evaluate, plan and communicate

Once this research is gathered, researchers can take what they found, apply it to their campaigns and grow their messaging.

An example of this is learning the audience’s language.

According to Social Media Today, “The words and factors that you use to track the success of your product 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.”

Social media research helps form a digital plan by giving marketers information when trying to improve communication with key publics.

Know your brand’s voice

Published on February 28, 2017February 28, 2017 by adminLeave a comment

The importance of personality in brands’ social media

Establishing a brand voice on social media is a vital component of strong and effective digital marketing.

As PR practitioners begin to formulate their social messaging, they must agree upon a distinctive and recognizable brand voice. This is often conveyed through the company’s written messages, language, images and videos.

According to Target Marketing, “Brands are strong and memorable when they have a distinctive, consistent, relevant brand voice. The cultivation, management and protection of that voice requires a deep understanding of what the brand stands for and what it does not.”

When executed correctly, brand voices increase engagement with followers and open new discussions between other brands.

An unmistakable voice

Since December, Wendy’s Twitter account has been gaining serious media attention for their quick-witted comebacks.

Roasting not only individual twitter accounts that make sassy tweets, Wendy’s also takes direct jabs at other fast food restaurants including their biggest competitors McDonald’s and Burger King.

Since the start of these messages, “Wendy’s has seen an approximate a 35% increase in followers to date, which equates to about 350,000 net new followers,” according to Toast Resturant Management Blog.

This is a major jump in followers in just a little over two months. This increase was not due to a marketing or messaging campaign. Instead, Wendy’s established their brand voice as sassy and relentless.

Followers flock to companies like Wendy’s because they make them laugh and they engage with people who tweet at them. They may not be the top competitor in the fast food industry but they have the strongest social presence.

What this means for PR

Social media managers and PR practitioners must take examples like Wendy’s seriously and focus on establishing a brand voice. To do this, they must have a strong grasp on their company’s mission. A brand whose messages clash with their purpose will only lose their audience.

Once it is established it must be utilized. However, it is more than just sending a voice through messaging. This is the time for PR practitioners to lean into the two-way communication model and increase engagement.

Most, if not every company sends messages out through social media. Yet, many miss the chance to distinguish themselves as a brand with a voice rather than a business trying to increase sales.

Allowing personality to shine through on social media humanizes the brand, starts discussions and improves relationships with followers.

For those starting out, Content Marketing Institute lays out 5 Easy Steps to Define and Use Your Brand Voice.

New social trends for digital gurus

Published on February 14, 2017February 28, 2017 by adminLeave a comment

“you don’t get a win unless you play in the game.” – Lin-Manuel Miranda, Hamilton.

The social landscape constantly changes with new social media trends calling the attention of users across the globe. In order to stay competitive with their digital presence, brands and their social media marketers must begin to use new social trends.

What is new in 2017? Here are four trends PR practitioners and marketers must start to incorporate into their messaging.

Live Videos

Facebook and Instagram’s new live videos are taking over the internet. People can now keep up with their friends in real time by tuning into the live videos streaming on social sites.

Businesses must begin to utilize these live videos to increase two-way communication with their publics.

According to Bitly, “This is something someone looking to make their brand more personable and authentic should definitely be planning. For example, if you’re running a team-building exercise, consider streaming it to your audience and make them feel like they’re involved.”

360-degree Videos

The new 360-degree videos open another playing field for businesses showing their products to customers on social media.

“Businesses will also greatly benefit from this new technology. They’ll be able to show 360° videos of hotels, houses, cars, museums, art galleries etc. to their potential clients on different social media channels,” Bitly said.

A great example of this is CBS’s 360-degree video of the Broadway play, Hamilton.

Watch this 360° Hamilton: An American Musical performance of "Wait For It" now for an exclusive look at the cast getting ready for The 70th Annual Tony Awards this Sunday 8/7c live on CBS or CBS All Access.

Posted by CBS on Wednesday, June 8, 2016

This gives the Hamilton fans a sample of the musical performances, and it also shows the stage’s set and theater. This alone received 2.5 million views. It increased the buzz about the show and allowed CBS to communicate with their audiences with interactive technology.

Employee Advocates as Brand Ambassadors

A growing trend from brands is increasing their employees’ communication on social media with consumers.

Customers often trust recommendations about products more than marketing pushes and advertisements. Therefore, employees are companies’ biggest asset because they are closest to the product. They can share that knowledge online by having conversations with customers about the product.

In a case study conducted by Link Human on AT&T’s use of employee advocates, they found that, “the results of the program showed an ROI of an estimated media value of over $1 million; a community of 1533 members, who have produced over 20,000 social media posts and audience engagement is over 400,000.”

Social Shopping

Social commerce has grown significantly due to social sites like Instagram and Pinterest. These allow customers direct access to purchasing pages when the promoted product is linked from their social site.

According to SproutSocial, “The Sprout Social Index discovered 57% of consumers are more likely to buy from a brand they follow. Additionally, 75% have made a purchase because they saw it on social media.”

Utilizing Social Media as a Soon-To-Be Grad

Published on January 24, 2017January 24, 2017 by adminLeave a comment

We live in a social {media} world…

Growing up in the digital age, most millennials have never known a life without the constant connection that social media sites provide. It is practically second nature to chat with friends via Snapchat, post pictures on Facebook and keep up-to-date on Twitter.

However, social media sites can be significantly more useful than the casual posts many college students use it for regularly. It can help soon-to-be grads land jobs and make meaningful connections. Here are some tips to ensure you are utilizing social media to its fullest as a soon-to-be graduate.

Demonstrate Your Knowledge

Every graduate’s social media handle is a digital representation of their brand as a future professional. When beginning to look for jobs, soon-to-be grads should take the opportunity to demonstrate their industry knowledge on their social media handles. Start discussions on industry news. Write a blog post about experiences in an internship.

According to The Huffington Post’s Social Media Etiquette for College Students and Young Professionals, “Like it or not, your communication becomes a strong part of your overall image. Recognize this as an opportunity to set yourself apart as a person with integrity.”

When employers begin to research applicants, they will see a potential employee both actively sharing their knowledge and wanting to grow.

Keep It Clean

Many college students think of their social media accounts as a way to connect with friends and tend to not have clean and appropriate posts.

However, as stated before, any social media account is a digital representation of your brand as a professional. When applicants have compromising pictures and posts, it is often an immediate issue for employers. Although Facebook and Instagram posts might not be on your professional accounts, if it is published online with your name, it is a representation of you professionally.

As far as privacy settings go, employers have ways get around them. According to Repup.com, “A full 69% of employers admit to rejecting an applicant after checking them out on Facebook or another social media site; the reasons given for rejection range from inappropriate photographs and posts to misrepresentation of background or abilities.”

These conflicts can be avoided by simply not posting anything questionable. If you do not want an employer to see it, do not post it. It is always best to put your best foot forward.

The Gold Mine – LinkedIn

Connections are vital in landing any job, especially the first job out of school. The best social media site to network on? LinkedIn.

While LinkedIn is a social media site, its focus is on connecting professionals to make them more productive and successful. Therefore, your LinkedIn profile should be a digital representation of your resume and portfolio material.

Beyond profiles, LinkedIn has job listings and groups that college students should research or join in order to make connections. Also, HR departments and recruiters often use LinkedIn as a way to meet new applicants. Reach out to these individuals because it never hurts to make connections and grow your network.

For more information on utilizing LinkedIn, visits 4 Ways to Find Job Opportunities on LinkedIn.