What is your job title? How do you use social listening in your work?
Senior Manager of Global Business Insights leading Social and Digital Insights
At a high level, I use Social Insights to understand the voice of consumers, specifically their interests and affinities, as well as attitudes and opinions. These insights are used to get a full picture of sentiment towards product launches, brand perception, and crises.
What’s your background? How did you get into social listening?
For most of my career I worked in quantitative fields, i.e. accounting and finance. In 2017 I began working at Mattel in Global Business Insights focusing on toy and entertainment franchises. Social Listening volume was a line item in a spreadsheet. That changed in 2019 when my manager, inundated with requests, asked me to work on a couple of social listening projects. Within a few months, social intelligence became my full-time role.
What has been your biggest achievement?
My biggest achievement has been learning to trust my instincts. Mid-career I shifted from a quant to a qual based role.I came from a world of forecasts, budgets and excel spreadsheets.
When I began in Social Listening I tended be laser focused on every number. With time, I came to realize that qualitative Social Insights drive the story, and the numbers are along for the ride.
What’s the boldest mistake you’ve made? What did you learn from it?
I can’t think of a spectacularly bold mistake I’ve made in recent years, though many from my 20’s come to mind… I’ve made many smaller mistakes. But rather than dwell on them, I use them as opportunities to adjust and grow. As a result of mistakes I’ve tailored communication and deliverables to meet the needs and styles of various teams and people throughout the organization.
What would be your dream project to work on?
If there’s a sequel to the Barbie Movie I’d love to lead the Social Insights for it!
Let me add, this Barbie has no insider info. It’s a fun, pink dream.
Do you think there’s a right way and a wrong way to use social data?
For me, the answer lies in how to approach analysis and insights.
Oftentimes I’m asked very specific questions. But what if while analyzing the data I discover those questions aren’t the whole story? What if I realize different questions should have been asked? What if I have to deliver bad news that I know won’t be well received?
It’s important to have an open mind, be flexible, and recognize that there are diverse people behind the numbers. Only ever giving answers to questions asked and regularly sidestepping difficult results, isn’t a great way to approach social data.
Are there areas where you think you should be using social data for but aren’t currently?
This is a question I often ask myself! I have conversations with people throughout the organization to understand their business objectives and needs, current sources of research, and knowledge gaps. Social Listening at Mattel is very different in 2024 vs. 2019. As the business and brands evolve, so does Social Listening.
What’s your favourite data source to use and why?
Instagram - It’s a window into people’s passions and lives. There are so many insights about Fandoms and the Kidult audience that come from studying visual patterns and trends. It can be quite powerful to have those visual patterns and trends pieced together. I find that a lot of the “aha” moments are based on Instagram insights. It’s worth mentioning that this is a time consuming data source, and may not be the right fit for requests with a tight deadline.
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