Social Media is the Wild West of Data Analytics

Source: Mentionlytics

Business Intelligence is defined by Wikipedia as a “set of techniques and tools for the transformation of raw data into meaningful and useful information for business analysis purposes.” A growing number of today’s digital businesses employ some kind of analytics or reporting scheme, as they aim to better utilize data for the decision-making process. As data-driven conclusions become the new norm, many companies are coming to the realization that they need to keep tabs on their social media presence just as closely as they do their day-to-day operations.

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Companies are learning that social intelligence is business intelligence.

It’s no longer enough to simply rent a space at the local Facebook, Twitter or Instagram booth. The next phase of the social media revolution is the in-depth analysis of enterprise-wide social media channels. Any company looking to make a splash in the digital sphere that has yet to begin this process is behind the 8-ball. Social media data should be analyzed just like operations data is. Without the proper understanding, it remains difficult for business users to keep their hands on the pulse of customer satisfaction, branding, industry trends, and even the competition.

The obvious solution would seem to come from the solution providers integrating social media analytics into their existing BI tools. However, the business folks that monitor day-to-day operations and create reports are unlikely to be the same users interested in social media metrics. It’s for that reason that a number of social-centric analytics tools have sprung up in recent years to make good on the promises of Facebook, Twitter and the like.

One of the major social media analytics platforms playing in this space is Mentionlytics, a London-based web and social media analysis tool. Their marketing solution features a report that finds any web mention, including those on the top social media sites and allows for reporting and infographic generation so organizations can gain an all-encompassing view of their online presence. Additionally, users can track mentions via industry and competitors from virtually every avenue on the web. They’re constantly updating the platform, and they even offer a free trial.

None of this is rocket science, as even in the days preceding social media, those companies who best reached out to and engaged their customers were able to entrench themselves as brands people wanted to embrace. Now more than ever, customers don’t just buy products, they participate in them, and the driving force behind that is social media.