Many businesses are finding benefits in using social media in the area of market research.

Because market research includes social opinion, and demographic research that is supported by statistical and analytical techniques, businesses are now including information that social media tools are able to provide. Although the market research process is normally a time consuming process, provisioning tools streamline the nature of in-depth research and quickly contribute insights from many valuable angles.

Social media is giving businesses the access to millions of consumers and feedback regarding products and services in many industries instantly, which surmounts the process of seeking this information from a subset of this audience. When it comes to creating or improving products, social media is gives instant access to the communities who are already or would like to engage with your brand.

Data Collection to Determine Awareness

What percentage of the market is aware of the product or service you’re offering? How many of those consumers are using your product in comparison to those using a competitor’s product or service? Gain useful insight and pinpoint reasons for the road blocks.

Data Analysis to Size up the Competitors

By using social media monitoring technology, you can benchmark campaigns and strategies to gain powerful insights into a competitors’ strategies, strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats. Real-time analysis and segmented reporting highlights channels that direct competitors and similar businesses are using, and outlines specific information about how their products, services, and brand is being perceived in the market.

Consumer Sentiment

The history of consumer research has long been saturated by focus groups and surveys. Results that are attributed to a controlled group are void of opinions and unfiltered interactions that potentially lead to break-through findings. Social media monitoring gives real-time access to opinions, data that dates back, and analysis of conversations that lie outside the typical survey participant, larger groups for sampling, agility in experimental proceedings.

Once these communities have been accessed, there’s no telling how far the results could take your business, or how profitable products and services could become.

Social Strategy1 is paving the way businesses use social media for market research. We recently partnered with AUS Inc. to provide the industry leading big data and social media platform for market research.