Intelligence People: Anton Bezkorovainyi of YouScan

This week, we sit down with Anton Bezkorovainyi, Head of Research at YouScan to talk about all things social intelligence. Here's what Anton had to say.

When did you first become involved in the ‘social intelligence’ sector?  

I started working on social media monitoring projects in 2014 as an analyst. My first task was to help one bank to understand the composition of social buzz around it by categorizing user conversations and highlighting the hottest topics. Since that time the industry revolutionized significantly: adding a research component to the daily job of social media listening manager, and finally turning into social data-driven decision-making or simply intelligence. It is always cool to mention that even such giants as Nestle need your professional services and expertise in order to learn from their customers while launching new products.

What did you want to be when you were growing up?

So many things: from policeman to professional athlete so far :)

To be honest, I could never see myself doing what I actually do today. In fact, 15-20 years ago you could hardly imagine being able to instantly dive into data about different people, their opinions, behaviors and preferences at the touch of a button. Nevertheless, I am happy to work in the research sector today feeling motivated with what is going on in our sector.  

What, in your opinion, are the key benefits of social data analysis for organisations?

Besides the obvious one - there are so many things happening in social media that you may miss huge opportunities unless using social data analysis - I would put some emphasize on the following benefits.

Firstly, unsolicited data. Social conversations are published with no interviewer push. They show what really matters for customers and shed light on surprising insights quite often.

Secondly, cost-saving. Despite the fact that the very social media research requires time and money it can drastically reduce other resources usage. Compared to other research methods in most cases social media listening loads you with priceless data faster, cheaper, and with almost no geographical boundaries.

Thirdly, agility for different teams. Empowered with a functional social media listening platform yesterday your customer support team was able to conduct deep research on client complaints evolution over time. Today your marketer is working on spotting new campaign opportunities with the help of trend detection. Tomorrow your communications manager will focus on co-branding campaign analysis with the help of image analysis technology.  

What aspects of your work do you most enjoy?

For me, there are two inspirational moments in our work: eureka effect when you realize the picture behind the data and when social media insights are implemented in business processes helping organizations become better.    

What are the biggest challenges in your day-to-day work?

Growing data volume is the biggest challenge we face in our work. More social networks, more users, more posts, more comments - we have to cope with that every day. Luckily, we use machine learning and sampling to extract insights from social data, but still, the challenge exists. Another one is fake content. A well-known worldwide problem which sometimes may mislead the researcher if not detected timely.    

Are you worried about regulatory restrictions impacting on your work in the future?

The social media landscape is changing every day. Therefore, new regulations or policy updates are not knocking us out. We and our clients adapt to all the changes we face immediately so I am not worried about future regulatory restrictions that much.

Which social data analysis tools do you use? Do you have a favorite?

I have tried different tools as well as got certified with several ones. Undoubtedly, my favorite is YouScan - the platform I worked with for many years. What I’d like to put an emphasis on are its evolution and constant improvement. This tool always stays on top of analyst needs regularly adding vital features for making complex tasks made easy.  

Do you think the ‘social intelligence’ community needs its own professional body?

Not sure whether there is a strong need for a dedicated body but it is important for the community to stay close. To learn from each other, to participate in relevant events, and to overcome the major challenges.  

Name a book you would recommend to others

The Mom Test by Rob Fitzpatrick. Ask the right questions to get all the answers you need.  

Name a social account that everyone should follow

It may sound cheesy but ... Elon Musk on Twitter. The perfect combination of news, irony and memes :)

Which person, living or dead, would you most like to follow you on social?

Roger Federer. At least for one ‘like’ under my tennis match video ;)

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