Most businesses have noticed that their customers have become more sophisticated—not just in selecting what products or services to purchase, but which social media channels and endorsers they choose to believe. Nowadays, people buy products not just for consumption, but for the “personalized experience” that’s associated with the brand name.
People flock “instagrammable” establishments such as hole-in-the-wall cafes, just because they’ve seen positive peer reviews on social media. Customers are quick to swipe their credit cards for items that have been recommended by a blogger or an influencer.
As a business owner, how do you then understand and communicate with your current, connected target market to reach the right people who have a high propensity to buy your product or service?
We asked Millie Morales, our resource person on digital marketing, for how exactly we could use the data we’ve gathered from our various social media exposures.
Here are three ways to take advantage of data from your social media assets:
Know your customers’ micromoments
Most of us are creatures of habit. While we may have individual schedules or priorities, there tends to be a pattern wherein a certain activity is done by a certain segment of the population, such as office lunch time, or after-office commute.
Companies should then review past campaigns, and consolidate learnings from past and current data to check for consumer patterns. This allows you to customize a product or experience.
For example, McDonalds Philippines has been launching different ad creatives depending on the time of day, such as a McDo Breakfast Meal ad early in the morning, or a burger ad in the afternoon. It’s all about presence at a specific decision-making moment of your customer.
Use data to check out your market and competition
There are different social listening tools available for you to determine what’s currently trending, what topics to avoid discussing on your social media pages, or what your competition is doing right.
Different products may sell better in stores, while some sell better online.
For example, with the use of data from social listening tools, beauty companies are able to discern what type of product should be placed on the appropriate offline vs online stores.
Data can also help companies react if an item is out-of-stock in their own stores or in their competition’s, giving them the opportunity to replenish items quicker or advertise what the competition is lacking.
Data can help you uncover problems, and solve them
Social media analytics can provide useful insights on your business issues which may include poor brand recognition, faulty products, bad customer service, or wrong target market. In the United States, many customers use Twitter to air their concerns about a product or promote an event by trending it.
Data can also help businesses identify conversion issues on their e-commerce platforms by providing information about consumer “fall-outs” in the customer’s journey: from clicking the ad, to browsing the site, to adding to cart. Businesses should be able to determine whether they’re providing a seamless customer experience online, and optimize the journey accordingly.
Data have helped marketing campaigns become more measurable, and have provided a deeper understanding of your market, your competition, and your business. Data also allow businesses to see the bigger picture of their playing field. It is up to you how you are going to use data to create informed decisions, better products and more efficient service.
Morales will facilitate a workshop titled “Social Media Analytics: Drive Results through a Data-Driven Approach” on Aug. 20, 2019, at the Inquirer Academy.
The Inquirer Academy is located at 4168 Don Chino Roces Ave. corner Ponte St., Makati City. For more information about the workshop or if you would like to add your input on the article, you may email ask@inquireracademy.com, call (632) 834-1557 or 771-2715 and look for Jerald Miguel or Karl Paz.