Marketers understand that consumers buy based on their relationships with products and brands. Purchases are often driven by comfort and passion for a brand - especially true for items that display self-expression, like automobiles and clothing. Today, social media is the most direct way to understand consumer motivation. Without social media analysis marketers act as Mad Men characters - cool cigarettes and martinis in hand, waiting for the results from that focus group they conducted three months ago, and oblivious to the urgency of what is happening now.
Social intelligence offers the most raw, unprompted consumer data with unprecedented immediacy. However, how can marketers find brand passion within unparalleled volumes of social media data? Through three simple indicators:
- Consumer Behavior
- Terminology Relevance
- Competitive Analysis
Consumer Behavior: Finding Where Real Conversations Take Place and Just Who Matters
If marketers are running a multi-channel go-to-market campaign, they need to know the most effective places to spend. Social media analysis can identify the most active and relevant sites and which conversations matter. For instance, if they have a music app, they'll want to know where related conversations take place and what is generating excitement. From here, it is possible to segment by genre of music and actions associated with these fans, and more importantly, influential commentators. Social cannot only find these influencers, but also their number of followers, verbal intensity and relevance to the brand.
Terminology Relevance: Can We Have Some Plain English Here?
Marketers' audiences don't always understand what's being said. A marketer will often present an outdated brand taxonomy that doesn't reflect the conversation about their brand on social channels. These words might work for a corporate brochure, but today's savvy and youthful consumers will tune out quickly. Consumers are using hashtags, acronyms and other unusual forms of communication, so using social to understand the vocabulary is critical to being relevant in contemporary communications. A good analytics tool can help surface common and influential terms for the industry and brand, giving valuable insights for brands to #SpeakClearly on social.
Competitive Analysis: How Does Brand Passion Stack Up vs. Other Brands?
Moving fast is critical in a market with almost infinite information and buying options. But what about brand passion for the company's products vs. the competition's? The good news is social media analysis enables marketers to quickly see how consumers are rating and responding to their competitors' products, and can inform their decisions surrounding an upcoming product launch or seasonal event. They might think their own feedback is positive, only to realize it pales in comparison to competitive brands. Don't miss on a simple opportunity to enrich findings with immediate comparative data.
So What's Next?
In the next three years, there will be a huge shift in marketing spend from traditional techniques to social media methods. The relevance and immediacy of social channels will accelerate business decision speed - and for marketers ready to activate it, social media tools will make a difference in sales and customer satisfaction. Social analysis from a scalable and sophisticated tool will make data the new creative, driving brand passion via rich segmentation, precise targeting and rapid program execution. When it comes to the all-important brand passion, time really is money.