What is your job title? How do you use social listening in your work?
I'm a Social Intelligence Researcher and Consultant. I collaborate with brands and agencies to uncover insights through social data, augmented with search, web analytics, sales data, and traditional research methodologies like surveys and focus groups. This approach helps me understand clients' questions and tailor solutions to their needs. Social listening is at the core, allowing me to analyse communities and answer strategic questions. Throughout my career, I've conducted research for a wide range of purposes, including brand reputation, informing marketing strategies, guiding acquisitions, uncovering competitor tactics, risk mitigation, and even exploring societal issues and options for change. My priority has always been to humanise the data, highlighting the real people behind the numbers to ensure clients understand the motivations and needs of their audience.
What’s your background? How did you get into social listening?
My background spans 17 years, beginning in data analytics for the local government. I had an incredibly supportive manager who nurtured my interest in the power of data analytics, particularly when applied to consumers and service users. He instilled in me the importance of humanising data and understanding the real-world impact of my research. His influence has shaped my ethical approach to the field, and I’m eternally grateful to him for the care he took in motivating and encouraging me – even on the odd days when a simple VLOOKUP had the best of me! This led me to upskill and pursue my first social media role at Groupon. I then joined BT, where I helped establish their social listening practice, a practice that further matured and grew at the helm of fellow Social Intelligence Insider Adam Mills. Later, I worked at Microsoft (fun times!), and agency-side, before landing a role on the social intelligence-provider side. This diverse background allows me to see the big picture when it comes to client needs. Now, as a freelancer, I enjoy the freedom to utilise a wider range of tools for a more holistic understanding of online conversations and behaviours.
What’s been the project you’ve been most proud to work on?
While I'm proud of many projects that led to tangible results – from acquisitions and rebrands, to product innovations and beyond – my most recent standout is the "This Is Black Gen Z" research conducted with fellow researcher Rachel Ayeh-Datey and TapIn. Our goal was to understand the motivations, drivers, and experiences of Black Gen Z talent in the workplace. The study uncovered challenges they face, including the heartbreaking practice of altering their names to appear more 'hireable.' We proudly took an intersectional approach, analysing data across gender, age, nationality, education levels, and other personal factors. We also contrasted results with other generations, highlighting the unique experience of Gen Z employees and prospects. This project reaffirmed that social intelligence extends beyond sales strategies and beyond reports on “how to sell more”; it's such a powerful tool for understanding communities, with ample possibilities to raise awareness and drive positive change.
What’s the biggest misconception about your work?
The biggest misconception is that social intelligence is just about vanity metrics like mentions, sentiment, and follower counts. In reality, it's far more sophisticated. True social intelligence leverages diverse datasets to answer complex research questions. It's about uncovering the human stories behind the data, understanding communities' concerns, and informing strategies that address those needs. Anyone focused solely on vanity metrics simply misunderstands the powerful insights and potential for positive impact that social intelligence can deliver – but it’s not too late to start.
Any nightmare clients? Why? (No names)
In the past, the nightmare was clients' reluctance to trust social intelligence and data-driven insights. Thankfully, that's less of an issue today. Case studies, research advancements, and the open adoption of sophisticated social intelligence tools all showcase the value of this field that I cherish so much. Evidence of this shift includes dedicated Head of Social Intelligence roles within organisations and the growth of communities like the Social Intelligence Lab. Sure, challenges remain for us researchers, but we definitely spend less time justifying our work than we did a decade do, and more time delivering strategic insights. It’s not a nightmare anymore; it’s a validating opportunity.
Is there anything that you’re doing with social data that you don’t see others doing? Any missed opportunities?
I pride myself on integrating social intelligence with behavioural, cultural, and sociolinguistic insights on a number of projects I’ve worked on. This holistic approach humanises the data and leads to more actionable, impactful recommendations. My background and interest in linguistics (particularly sociolinguistics, the study of the relationship between how we speak and who we are) gives me a unique lens, allowing me to analyse how specific communities communicate and what drives what they share, where they share it, and the “why” behind it all. Gretchen McCulloch's book, "Because Internet," further validated this approach, with an exceptional book delving into how the way we speak can reveal a lot about who we are. (Highly recommended book for any social intelligence researcher by the way!) Integrating sociolinguistics into social intelligence research is a clever (and fun) way of better understanding the people and audiences you’re researching, because focusing solely on numerical data without this deeper and richer context is a significant missed opportunity for impactful research.
Who has made a lasting impression on you? Any SI heroes?
I've had the privilege of working alongside brilliant minds in social intelligence throughout my 17-year career. I'm particularly grateful to the hiring managers who champion this discipline, understanding its potential to drive data-informed decisions (special thanks to Georgina Lewis and Caroline James at Microsoft for leading the way!). I've learned a tremendous amount from fellow analysts and researchers (special shout-out to my dear “research comrade” Taylor Dickson at Brandwatch for being a stellar example of how to design and present data stories in a visually compelling way that makes the data come to life – you do it like no other!). I admire exceptional leaders like Dr Jillian Ney (thank you for being such an inspirational leader and for building an online home for a community of researchers where we can thrive and belong), and Dr Liz Gross, founder and CEO of Campus Sonar, who demonstrates the power of social intelligence for strategic, audience-centric initiatives for Higher Education leaders. Sure, projects offer their rewards, but I’ve learned and grown so much from the collaborative spirit and shared passion of fellow researchers. It’s what keeps me going.
How do you think the social intelligence industry will evolve in the next few years?
Sure, we can talk about the increased adoption of AI for sophisticated social analytics, and we can talk about how that’s happening with slightly bad timing with social media platforms not being as open and accessible with their data, or only providing access to ROI-relevant metrics that are more geared towards advertisers than researchers (as well as newer platforms not bothering with data access at all). However, what I find more fascinating and exciting is how industries that used to be highly restrictive like finance, healthcare, and government, are now driving some of the most innovative uses of social data. I think this definitely is another point for the field’s growing adoption and legitimacy. I’m also fascinated by how the rise of alternative search is prompting us to diversify how we research: you have social search gaining ground, and AI-powered tools streamlining the search experience (think browsers like Edge and Arc drastically streamlining our search experience). Our field of social intelligence research thrives on adapting to these shifts, and I’m eager to see the innovative solutions we’ll develop together.
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