Manish Verma
What does social intelligence mean to you?
To me, social intelligence is a must-have capability for any brand looking to leverage the power of social and digital data to drive business growth and innovation. It's more than just monitoring conversations; it's about extracting predictive insights that enable proactive decision-making across the organization. In today's digital ecosystem, social intelligence serves as our early warning system, helping businesses anticipate market shifts, consumer needs, and competitive threats before they become obvious. By combining advanced analytics with human expertise, we transform raw social data into actionable intelligence that drives strategy.
What are you doing that no one else is to drive the social intelligence industry forward?
At Clover, we’re pioneering the integration of AI with social intelligence tools to provide predictive analytics that is hyper-focused and industry-specific(Pharma). Our unique approach combines traditional social intelligence with other data sources and machine learning to forecast trends and consumer behavior. By developing proprietary algorithms and leveraging vast datasets, we’re pushing the boundaries of what’s possible in the industry, enabling brands to make data-driven decisions with unprecedented accuracy.
It's the year 2030: What does the practice of social listening look like?
In 2030, social listening has evolved into a seamless, AI-driven process that integrates with every aspect of business strategy. Advanced AI and machine learning models provide real-time insights, predictive analytics, and automated action recommendations. The practice of social listening is no longer a standalone function but an integral part of the decision-making process across all departments, from marketing to product development. Agentic AI will revolutionize social media intelligence by providing human-like interaction and deep analytical capabilities powered by technology.
What is the most common question you are helping your clients answer?
The most pressing question from our clients has evolved beyond just trend prediction to: 'How can we automate and integrate our social intelligence function while combining multiple data sources?' Organizations are seeking ways to reduce manual effort through automation while enriching social data with CRM data, sales figures, customer service interactions, and market research. They want to understand how AI and advanced analytics can help them move from labor-intensive data analysis to automated, real-time insights generation. We help them build integrated data ecosystems where social intelligence seamlessly combines with other business intelligence streams, creating a unified view of their market landscape.
Have you got a favorite social intelligence use case or case study from the last year?
One of my favorite use cases from the past year involves a major pharmaceutical company focused on product innovation. By leveraging social intelligence, we analyzed millions of conversations around diabetes and weight management from the top 20 players globally. This analysis helped identify unmet needs, feature requests, and consumer pain points. These insights guided the development of new product features that no competitors were offering, resulting in the acquisition of new customers and a significant increase in customer satisfaction.
They say to be great you need to read around your subject – what are you currently reading or your favourite book and what insights have you been able to apply to your work?
Currently, I’m reading “The Art of Thinking Clearly” by Rolf Dobelli. This book provides insights into common cognitive biases and decision-making errors. Applying these insights to social intelligence helps us better understand how biases might influence consumer behavior and perception, allowing us to refine our strategies and provide more accurate recommendations to clients.
If you had to share three emojis that summed up social intelligence, what would they be?
🔍 (Magnifying Glass): Represents the in-depth analysis and insights we derive.
🌐 (Globe) for global intelligence, and
🧠 (Brain) for blending human and AI intelligence.
What advice would you give to a brand who wanted to create an internal social intelligence team?
Start by defining clear objectives aligned with business goals. Invest in both technology and talent – you need data scientists alongside cultural analysts and industry experts. Create cross-functional integration points to ensure insights flow directly into decision-making processes. Focus on building a culture of data-driven decision making, but don't underestimate the importance of human interpretation and context for final actionable insights.
What are you looking forward to in social listening for 2025?
I'm particularly excited about the integration of quantum computing capabilities in social intelligence analysis. This will enable processing of unprecedented amounts of unstructured data in real-time. We're also seeing promising developments in emotion AI and cultural context understanding. The convergence of these technologies will enable a more nuanced understanding of consumer behavior across diverse global markets, revolutionizing how brands connect with their audiences.