Consumer Behavior

Social media data fast becoming business intelligence data

Photo by istock.com

April 15, 2021

As an increasing number of consumers interact, share and express themselves on social media that activity data is fast becoming a primary source of business intelligence that's playing a bigger role in business strategy.

That's a prime finding of a research report commissioned by Sprout Social and conducted online by The Harris Poll that surveyed 1,000 U.S. consumers and 250 business leaders.

More than half, 85%, of business leaders are moving forward with social data as business intelligence information and nearly half of those polled expect their social media marketing budget to jump by up to 100% in the next three years, according to release on the findings.

"Our research shows that U.S. companies today rely more on social media than any other communications channel for virtually all critical business activities," Anna Ginovker, director and senior consultant, The Harris Poll, said in the release.

"Whether for sales or lead generation, engaging with customers, building brand awareness or for gaining customer insights, nearly all executives (95%) agree companies will more heavily rely on social data to identify business opportunities outside of marketing. A majority of executives (59%) also anticipate their use of social media to increase over the next three years indicating this channel is certainly here to stay — as much for businesses as it is for consumers," he said.

Additional key findings from the report include:
• Nearly all executives (95%) agree companies will more heavily rely on social data to identify business opportunities, including those outside of marketing, over the next three years. They anticipate use of social media data to inform strategy and business decisions across sales (67%), customer service (61%), product (53%), research and development (48%) and human resources (43%) departments.
• Consumers expect companies to use social media to provide a more personalized experience based on previous interactions (61%), read and analyze what customers post on social media (59%), and know them better based on their activity on social media (51%). This is more pronounced among Gen Z, Millennials and Gen X, yet no more than 44% of executives are 'very confident' in their social media strategy meeting the needs of different generations.
• Seventy-eight percent of consumers are more willing to buy after a positive experience with a brand on social, 77% will choose that brand over the competition, and 72% will increase their spending, demonstrating the impact of social on the bottom line.