Social data and what to do with it

Social is still a relatively new space with a lot more room to grow and mature. Social has emerged to be a big driver of eCommerce success;however, there are still those who doubt its power. Either way, social can not be ignored. Today, the market is crowded with social tools and platforms. As a result, a mountain of social data is now being collected every day, minute and second.

The trouble is: data that doesn’t inform decisions is a waste of space. Data that can help us make our work more meaningful, powerful and efficient is gold. We need to actively make that data valuable instead of letting it gather dust in the corner. Here are a couple of tactics on how to do that:

• Content – Many social tools/platforms can collect data about your audience’s likes, interests and even passions. You now have the ability to understand what type of music they like, what kinds of technologies excite them and who their social heroes are. Knowing this, you write blog posts, record videos and podcasts that cater to the other facets of their interests outside of what you are selling to them
• Identify Brand Ambassadors – You can find out who your most passionate or engaged customers are (those who go above and beyond simple sharing and are actually conversing with you). Engage and reward the people loyal to your cause or brand. Give them special attention and make them that much more excited to go out and spread the good news about their experiences with you and what you offer.

There’s so much to track and so much to analyze. There is tremendous opportunity to use social data to understand your audience in a much more intimate way. Social has opened up a way to get on the ground floor with your most valuable customers and understand what influences them in their daily lives. Understand these influences and you can win their hearts. Win their hearts and they will tell your story to others forever.

By Andrew Tsai