What is your job title? How do you use social listening in your work?
As a managing director, I lead a large team of stellar healthcare researchers through the process of discovering insights. That means I’m helping to guide things from query writing for maximum data volume, to analysis of social posts from a variety of lenses, to distillation - helping the team and our clients know what can and should be done based on the findings. I think of social listening as the beating heart of research - if you want to know how people truly feel, especially in healthcare, look there first and let it shape your knowledge and future assumptions.A huge part of my role is to integrate methodologies - social media listening + qualitative interviews, for example, for maximum impact. I spend a lot of time thinking about what to ask next, how to examine the data, or pair it with something else.
What’s your background? How did you get into social listening?
I am a sociolinguist by training, which means I have been studying the way that people communicate since my undergraduate studies. But really, I’ve been studying language my whole life. When I was 8 years old, my mom said to me, “There are two ways to say things to people - a mean way, and a nice way - choose wisely based on how you want to be known.” Clearly she was way off - there are more than two ways to say things to people - and I’ve basically made it my life’s work to figure out what those ways are for a specific audience, to enact behavior change.
I worked in a variety of market research roles in the pharmaceutical industry before I really took a deep dive into social listening. When I joined Real Chemistry, they were already so ahead of the curve (studying newer channels versus relying on what was then just Twitter), so I was able to jump in and innovate. I’ve always loved how social listening provides us with the lexicon to really understand people and what makes them tick.
What’s been the project you’ve been most proud to work on?
I’ve had the opportunity to work on some really amazing launches, with fantastic client teams - projects in migraine, epilepsy, psoriasis and GVHD come to mind as some of the most exciting and best work I’ve contributed to.
What’s the biggest misconception about your work?
That social media data is not valuable, or quantifiable, or leading to impact. Also, so many clients believe that their target audience is NOT online - for example, rare disease patients, patients who are 65+, etc. - but they are! They may not be posting on Instagram, but they are engaging passively with content, and we can help understand their mindset, who they are as people, with the work that we do.
Any nightmare clients? Why? (No names)
We’ve all had clients we remember - and I think that this is because, as Maya Angelou said, we remember how people make us feel. I’m lucky that nowadays, most of my clients are thought partners and love to ideate. The nightmare clients of my early career were those where we lacked mutual trust, or who accidentally made me feel stupid for believing in the power of social media!
Is there anything that you’re doing with social data that you don’t see others doing? Any missed opportunities?
True VISUAL LISTENING is becoming incredibly important as platforms transition away from text-based, static posts to images and especially videos. We’re working on some really cool, AI-enabled, visual listening on platforms like Instagram and TikTok, so that we can actually quantify across visual mediums as well as see measurable impact of specific types of images.
Who has made a lasting impression on you? Any SI heroes?
While I wouldn’t say that I have any SI heroes specifically, I do have a few heroes in innovative research - and I think the two concepts go hand in hand, as social intelligence is constant innovation and evolution. Those are Jeff Kozloff, the first CEO I worked for in healthcare research - who consistently saw the value in innovating, so much so that he started a company founded on a crazy idea he had. And, a client of mine, who I will not name, but who has consistently pushed the envelope within her organization to showcase the value of social insights across functions.
How do you think the social intelligence industry will evolve in the next few years?
First and foremost, I think we will see more sophisticated use of AI and machine learning algorithms to personalize content, improve user experience, and enhance content moderation. AI could also drive more immersive and interactive content creation tools for users.
Of course, we’ll also see a greater emphasis on privacy and security. With growing concerns over data privacy and security, future social media platforms may prioritize more robust privacy controls and transparency. This could lead to new models of data ownership or even decentralized platforms where users have more control over their information. Relatedly, we may also see increased regulatory oversight, as social media's influence on society becomes more evident, governments worldwide might impose stricter regulations.
A trend I think we’re already starting to see is localization - and I’m very excited about this one. While social media has a global reach, there’s a push toward more localized content and community-building, catering to specific cultural and regional interests. I know both for work and personal use, I can see the value in more localized content and the power and impact for good that social media can have in a community.
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