Social media has become an important part of our generation’s day-to-day life. Through social media, people get exposure to the outside world from the comfort of their homes. Hence, major brands should not miss out on using this opportunity to expand their presence online!
Social media can help brands in interacting with their customers directly. It also enables brands to show their vast collection, without spending huge amounts of money. The main advantage of marketing your product online is that you can get a relatively wide reach in less time and at less spending.
Since so many people interact on social media regularly, gathering data about their behavior and getting insights about it becomes relatively easier.
In this article, we will understand why it is always beneficial to derive consumer insights through social media and what are the possible Sources of Consumer Insights.
Table of contents:
- Benefits of Pulling Consumer Insights From Social Media
- Consumer Insights Vs Market Research
- The Sources Of Consumer Insights
- Begin With Primary Analysis
- Explore Which Main Topics Are Being Discussed About Your Brand
- Look For The Exact Platform Where People Are Interacting The Most
- Competitor’s Consumer Insights Can Help
Benefits Of Pulling Consumer Insights From Social Media
In this era of technology, consumers have got a lot of power in their hands. Consumers can make more calculated decisions since they can search for different features and qualities of the product they are interested in, as well as read others’ reviews on it.
Due to the rising competition, audiences are presented with a variety of options for a single product and that is why the trend of ‘personalizing the product’ is hitting the markets. Social media can help a brand significantly in getting information such as the kind through which you’d know what is going on in the consumer’s mind about the product.
Promoting good product reviews on social media channels can help in building a good brand image among consumers who are on social media. Brands can also get ideas about the trends their target audiences are currently following.
Consumer Insights Vs Marketing Research
Consumer insights and market research can sound the same at times. But the main thing which makes consumer insights different from marketing research is that consumer insights help in deciding future actions for a brand.
On the other hand, marketing research stops at data analysis. Here, you can say that marketing research is the initial step of data collection and analyzing what the data says, and it is followed by getting consumer insights through the data analysis to make further decisions.
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Continue reading the blog to know more about the Sources of Consumer Insights.
The Sources Of Consumer Insights
1. Begin With Primary Analysis
The first step in deriving consumer insights is always the primary analysis of people. Since people always express their views about almost everything, the move they make on social media, it is imperative to understand the perspective from which a consumer’s mind operates.
Tracking the views and opinions of people on your brand is relatively easy. First, you need to go through the comments section of your account’s posts to get first-hand information. Then go for analyzing your social media mentions. Some social media platforms like Facebook and Instagram also provide information about the geographical area of your audience and the behavioral patterns associated with it to assess the areas from which you are getting engagement.
After analyzing everything, check whether the communication about your brand is positive or negative. If a significant percentage of people are talking negatively about the brand, take it as feedback and work on it. If there is something positive talked about on social media, focus on it for more improvements in the future and thank the audiences for their positive reviews.
2. Explore Which Main Topics Are Being Discussed About Your Brand
Sometimes, it is not enough to check on positive or negative opinions about your brand. You have to move further by checking the ‘context’ of the conversation.
Try to discover the topics that are being discussed around your brand. For example, the discussions about iPhone on social media are mostly about ‘expensive phone’, ‘costs one of the kidneys’, or ‘good for video recording’, even though the product’s main USP is data security.
In this way, you can decide on future marketing strategies.
3. Look For The Exact Platform Where People Are Interacting The Most
The purpose or the kind of audience of every social media platform is not the same. For example, LinkedIn is a platform for working professionals. Instagram is ‘younger’, and the content there is relatively more casual. Hence, knowing about the platform can help you generate the right kind of conversation.
Also, knowing which particular platform is being used by your target audience matters a lot. It can help you in increasing the consumer engagement of your brand by serving the needs of the people.
4. Competitor’s Consumer Insights Can Help
Analyzing your brand and getting consumer insights through it, is no doubt, the best idea. But you shouldn’t forget that your target audience is also shared by your competitors. Hence, it becomes important to seek information about how people are interacting with your competitors as well.
Start looking for brands that are being discussed frequently in a positive light within your industry and which particular brand is more popular among your target market. Also, few brands generate trends through social media channels, so it could be helpful to analyze the reaction of your target audience and work on similar ways to engage with your audience.
Also, you can explore what competitive advantage your brand has and you can promote the brand’s ‘x-factor’ more on social media. In the end, you should be able to understand what your brand can do better in the future.
Conclusion
Social media helps the brand interact with its audience and also in exploring the conversation going around about the brand. If you are running a brand, social media will definitely help you in growing your business.
Understanding consumers is always important in brand building. To make this easier, look at the Sources of Consumer Insights, follow these steps to derive consumer insights and learn about your current and probable target audience.