Social Media and Business Intelligence: The Perfect Partnership

Many businesses now view social media as a core component of practically everything they do. According to a Harris poll on behalf of Sprout Social, 91% of executives in the US expect their social media marketing budget to increase in the next three years. The majority of these respondents predicted it would grow by more than 50%.

In the same survey, 85% of corporate leaders said social data will be a primary source of business intelligence for their organization in the future.

It's clear this is a resource that companies can't afford to ignore, so how can you put it to use to generate positive results for your enterprise?

1. Learning lessons from customers

Your audience - existing and prospective customers alike - are an invaluable source of insight and intelligence about your business. They're the ones using your product or service, after all, and having spent their money with you, past buyers won't hesitate to tell you when certain aspects of your offering need to change.

One of the clearest examples of how you can use social-derived customer feedback to benefit your business is by gathering views on your marketing. If you've just launched a major new campaign with a strong social media element, the way people respond to it on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and the rest will give you a strong early indication of what's working and what isn't.

Social platforms also provide the opportunity to build a community of followers and people who have a connection to your brand, your product offering or the industry you operate in. This can be an invaluable resource when you're looking for immediate, unfiltered opinions from those who matter most: your customers.

 2. Real-time takeaways

Another key advantage of social media is the fact that the various conversations and activities occurring in this space are all happening in real time.

Whereas other methods of collecting feedback, analyzing your performance and studying industry trends - running customer surveys and conducting market research, for example - are often time-consuming and laborious, social platforms can deliver up-to-the-minute insights.

Not every piece of information you collect through these channels will be relevant or actionable, but the option to have real-time conversations with your audience can be crucial when you're focused on goals like monitoring a new marketing campaign or gauging responses to a product launch.

3. Learning from your competitors

Thinking about your business and coming up with new plans to improve it doesn't always have to involve looking inward. Sometimes, examining what your competitors are doing - specifically in terms of their biggest successes and failures - can prove just as enlightening.

Social media is one of the most powerful tools you have to monitor everything from your industry rivals' latest marketing campaigns and ad strategies to the levels of engagement they're achieving with their audience.

Based on these insights, you can make more detailed and data-driven conclusions about the methods you're currently using and if you should consider changing them to generate better outcomes.

Studying competitor activity is also a good way of keeping your finger on the pulse of broader industry trends and challenges, which is crucial if you want to make your business more relevant and resilient.

4. Analyzing your customer service

Winning new business and strengthening your company's revenue stream should always be a priority, but it shouldn't come at the cost of existing customer satisfaction. Research has shown that attracting a new customer is five times more expensive than retaining an existing one, so it pays to keep past buyers happy.

Furthermore, people who have purchased from you in the past can become powerful advocates for your brand if you make a special effort to recognize and reward them.

Communicating through social channels is swiftly becoming the most effective way to maintain relationships with your current audience and monitor their satisfaction levels, thanks to the immediacy and responsiveness we've already mentioned.

If, for example, an existing customer isn't fully satisfied with your after-sales service, or has some suggestions on how you can make it better, social media is the most direct way for them to share their views with you.

5. Getting ahead of critical trends

Sudden changes in customer habits, preferences and expectations can be either a huge opportunity or a serious threat to your business.

If you can keep up with fast-moving trends and respond quickly, you'll demonstrate that you understand your audience and you're able to meet their needs. On the other hand, if you're too slow and you fall behind the pace of change, you'll be at a big disadvantage to competitors who respond quicker.

Sprout Social highlighted the example of bicycle manufacturer Trek, which learned through social listening that 2020 was "the year of the bike boom" and was able to forecast how long this phenomenon might last and position itself to take full advantage of the resulting opportunities.

To stay on track of the latest trends relevant to your audience and your company, there's no doubt social media needs to be your primary focus. Regular monitoring of the most prominent themes and talking points on your customers' favored platforms will help you predict what's coming next and prepare for it.