Social intelligence top questions answered (by the experts)

Social intelligence is a magical mystical being. We love it (obviously) but we get why some find it frustrating. We looked into our expert partner content to get some answers to some of the most common concerns.

Why can't anyone tell me what I can do with social intelligence?

Because the answer is lots. Tools and experts often use words like 'uncovering' and 'discovering'. That's because the social data world is often about going digging for one thing and finding lots more. Social intelligence will tell you what you don't know. Here's a post we did on some of the case studies of social intelligence doing its magic.

So, what can I do with social intelligence?

Using social data for trend analysis is just the start. While it’s great to be able to look at themes, the true power of social listening lies in being able to uncover insights that can be applied to strategic decisions. Vincent Corbo from Digimind has 6 key actionable market trends you can identify using social listening, in just 30 minutes.

Check out his, 6 Actionable Market Trends You Can Identify in 30 Minutes: The Power Of Social Listening webinar.

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Isn’t social data unusable because it’s so complex?

One of the things that hold researchers back from social data is that it’s an unstructured data source that’s not easy to interpret or always trustworthy. Yet, it’s this complexity that makes it so rich with insights, if you know how to get to them. Ben Sigerson, VP of Solutions at Converseon says AI models combined with scoring methodology is how brands are getting around the complexity of social data and using it to measure brand health.

Get more info in his Making the Complex Simple: How to Measure Brand Purpose with Unstructured Text webinar.

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How do you analyse all that data?

It’s one thing to gather a load of data, quite another to analyse it. No wonder the huge task of analyzing social data is such a blocker for many brands. This crucial step in social intelligence takes time, experience and resources, and thankfully it doesn’t need to be a manual task with the emergence of AI technology. Phill Agnew of Brandwatch has 5 ways tips AI to improve their analysis and ultimately save time.

Listen to his, Improve Your Analysis With AI: Five Simple Tips webinar.

Why should I be doing social listening?

In 2019 brands said the number one reason they analyse social data is to inform marketing and content strategy. Why? ‘If you’re in communication and you’re not listening, you’re doing half of communication’, says Ryan Young from Talkwalker. In his simple but powerful illustration of social intelligence, Ryan positions listening in the middle of posting and conversing. In other words, being part of the conversation effectively, requires effective listening.

Conversational Intelligence: Three Ways to Create a Real Impact on Your Business

So is it just about marketing?

No. There is more to social data than optimising communications and knowing what to post on social media. Many brands and businesses are using social data for research, to answer questions about target audiences and consumers, or even to predict where the next trend will be so innovators can get ahead of the curve.

Check out the demo of Black Swan's Trendscope platform about: NPD on Steroids How Social Prediction is Fuelling Faster Stronger Innovation Pipelines for CPGs.

And going back to Converseon's demo, you'll see a more complex use case about augmenting brand tracking and brand health initiatives with real-time social data - essential for any large organization who conducts internal reputation management.

But there are many many more use cases out there and the tech, research methods, and practices are advancing all the time.

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