David Sager

How did you get into social intelligence? What was your career path to your current position?

I got incredibly lucky getting into this field. When I was in college, there really wasn’t a social listening class, and data science wasn’t even on my radar. Luckily, I had amazing bosses and mentors in the advertising world who helped me gain the technical and non-technical skills needed to really understand social listening.

What do you think makes you successful in your work?

• Strong analytical skills: the ability to analyze large amounts of data and extract insights from it is crucial in social listening.
• Attention to detail: monitoring social media conversations requires paying close attention to details in order to identify important trends and issues.
• Strong communication skills: being able to effectively communicate the insights and findings from social listening to stakeholders is an important part of the role.
• Understanding of social media platforms: having a good understanding of how different social media platforms work and what types of conversations take place on them can help to identify relevant conversations and trends.
• Flexibility: social media and online conversations are constantly changing, so the ability to adapt and change strategies as needed is important.

What are the key skills that have contributed to your success?

Thoroughness, boiling down the complex into simple, and an understanding of how data works and flows are key skills that have contributed to my success.

What motivates you in your work? What makes you want to keep working in social intelligence?

What keeps me going in social is the fact that my work helps make business decisions. Having a direct line to the consumer and being able to extract insights from a global conversation is really powerful in moving the needle.

I also love diving into any new culture. Each platform, each influencer, each corner of the internet has its own ways of communicating and inside jokes, and I love being able to dissect and understand them.

What makes social data special compared to other data sources?

Social data has several unique characteristics that make it different from other types of data:

• It is self-reported which means that it reflects people’s true thoughts and feelings, rather than what they think an organization or researcher wants to hear.
• It’s available in real-time: Social data is often public, meaning that it is accessible to anyone with an internet connection. This allows for real-time monitoring of conversations and trends, which can be useful for identifying emerging issues or opportunities
• It’s massive: Social media platforms generate a huge amount of data every day, and social listening tools allow to easily collect and process this data
• It’s diverse: Social data comes from a wide variety of sources, including social media platforms, blogs, forums, and more. This makes it possible to gather information from different communities, demographics and interest groups
• It’s a rich source of context: Social data can provide valuable context around a particular topic or event, such as the sentiment around a brand, the demographics of its audience, or the main drivers of a conversation.

What does being a social intelligence evangelist mean in the context of your work?

• Being a social intelligence evangelist means that I am a passionate advocate for the use of social media listening and analysis in my organization. This involves a variety of different responsibilities, such as:
• Educating others within my organization about the value and potential uses of social intelligence
• Identifying and promoting best practices for social listening and analysis
• Developing and delivering training on social intelligence tools and techniques
• Building relationships with key stakeholders and decision-makers to help them understand the benefits of social intelligence
• Identifying and promoting the use of social intelligence in new and innovative ways
• Building internal and external networks of experts to share knowledge and best practices.

As a social intelligence evangelist, I am expected to have in-depth knowledge and experience in the field of social listening and analysis, as well as strong communication and leadership skills to effectively promote the use of social intelligence within my organization. I am also always staying up to date with the latest technology and changes in the social media landscape, as well as the related industry to bring the best value to the stakeholders.

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