How can social media behavior provide insights about a consumer?

With the world quickly boiling down to tweets, posts, check-ins and pins, it seems that everything we ever wanted to know about anyone is just a click away. We are at the point where what brands a person “likes,” what restaurants they “check in” at, and what products they “pin” could hold the key to some of the most illusive consumer insights.

LOOK and LISTEN

The first step to learning about your customers is listening to what they are saying in social media and looking at what they post about. An obvious example would be a rant about poor customer service at a new Vietnamese restaurant. Depending on if you are the restaurant, a competitor, or a different business that provides great customer service, you could learn different things here. Maybe you now know that this customer likes Asian food and that she values having her water glass filled. You can also learn about a consumer from less blatant activities. If, perhaps her Pinterest boards are full of exercise tips and diet recipes you can infer that she would be a great target for your new weight loss system. It is all a matter of observing.

FORWARDS and BACKWARDS

This system can work in multiple directions. For example if you are a brand like, say Pottery Barn, one strategy would be to look at what people are saying about other brands that are your competitors. Things that people like (or dislike) about Crate & Barrel or Restoration Hardware can give you ideas about what people in the space in are interested in and what they prefer. Alternately, you could sift through and monitor a test group of individuals that you see as your target. By looking at what they, individually are talking about you could find new ways to provide service in their lives. As Pottery Barn, you could learn that customers are really dissatisfied with the durability of their furniture upholstery, but still want a fashionable look. That could inspire you to go back and further research your fabric selections and offer something that your customers aren’t getting anywhere else.

ENGAGE 

This is not a new technique, but as we’ve discussed some companies do it oh, so right and some fail miserably. The most powerful way to get your message across is get someone else to talk about it, preferably someone with influence. As we discussed in class, there has been great work done in attempting to measure the influence of individuals - who’s messages are amplified the greatest. The trick here is to get on their good list. But before you can do that, you have to know who they are and who their audiences are. It may be very cool for Michael Jordan to tweet about your new baby sling, but odds are his followers aren’t new mothers. It is your job to know who influences your target customers and get in good with them. Follow them on Twitter or Pinterest. Then put content out that will be retweeted or repinned or reposted. Once some sort of trust has been established it is time to up the ante. If you are a shoe company, maybe you get people to post a photo of their shoe collection! Not only do shoe lovers love to talk about shoes and will show them off - you can see what styles and quantities your customers have in their closets already. See there are insights to be found just about anywhere!