Guide to Using Social Media Technology in Market Research

Authored by Novus Insights 23/09/2022

Technology market research has come a long way. Most businesses these days appreciate the necessity of market research when it comes to staying competitive and developing a strong brand. A notable barrier for companies looking to conduct market research is that it can be a costly and time-consuming endeavor. The rise of social media platforms and advancements in technology now make it possible for businesses to use more effective and affordable market research techniques to get a hold of crucial market data and insights. Social media has led to the emergence of new market research applications that can help organizations gain an understanding of their target market, client preferences, and other crucial insights. In this article, we will examine how brands can use social media as a tool for tech market research.

Why social media can be helpful for market research

Currently, 68 percent of business-to-business (B2B) organizations gather intelligence using social media technology market research techniques. Although business-to-consumer applications are slightly less prevalent, more than half (59%) are focused on acquiring social media intelligence. Before you reach out to technology market research firms that provide market research consulting services, it’s crucial to understand why companies are relying more and more on social media when conducting market research. Here are some of the most notable reasons:

• Access to Real-Time Insights: Brands can use social media to get real-time information about customer opinions, trends, and other topics of interest. They can use this information to spot new trends and meet the ever-changing consumer demands.
• Highly effective: The planning and execution phases of conventional market research approaches typically take weeks or months. On the other hand, brands may do market research in a matter of minutes, hours, or days by utilizing social media.
• Cost-effective data: Nearly all social media sites provide users with access to social media tools that enable them to compile meaningful data. A company can better understand its target market by using data on demographic distribution, likes, shares, interactions, comments, etc.
• Expand the market research's scope: Nowadays, almost everyone makes use of social media sites. Consequently, you have access to a considerably wider audience when conducting market research using insights from social media platforms than you would have with traditional market research approaches.

Things to remember while using social media for market research

Here are some of the crucial dos and don'ts of using social media platforms for conducting marketing research.

Dos

• Focus on small goals:
  Social media offers immediate access to people who have something to say about your business, which is a big advantage over traditional market research. Make use of this to your benefit! Focus on the smaller details within your larger market research plan to acquire laser-focused insights.
• Cleanse your data:
  Social media generates a staggering quantity of spam, so check that your social media analytics tools can remove it and be alert to any spam that might still manage to sneak through. One of social media market research's most time-consuming steps should be data cleansing and sorting. If you want to get access to bullet-proof data, spending 60 to 80 percent of the total research time on cleaning your social media data should be your priority.
• Create a data culture:
  Make analytics and data more than just "the thing to do," and make an effort to pay attention to and act on the conclusions the analytics team derives. Although switching from intuition to data-driven action is a significant shift, it will lead to a change in your corporate culture toward respecting and appreciating data.

Don’ts

Make sure you don’t commit these technology market research errors while using social media:

• Don’t try to measure everything:
  Researchers have access to a disproportionate amount of data from social media, but unfortunately, much of it is spam. Early goal and objective definition will aid in separating the gold from everything else that glitters.
• Don’t take data out of context:
  The lack of scientific rigor in social media analytics has been criticized in the past. Data tampering may seem alluring, however, make sure to avoid it at all costs. Otherwise, misrepresented data may eventually invalidate your findings.
• Don’t confuse findings and insights:
  Findings are the data you generate as a market researcher. On the other hand, insights are the data that these “findings” generate after thorough analysis. Your focus should be to gather the right kind of data, otherwise, the quality of your insights will be compromised.

Final word

Social media market research comes with a ton of advantages and benefits for tech establishments. To get the most out of your technology market research efforts, it is important to work with an experienced technology research firm that employs state-of-the-art market research techniques. When searching for technology market research consultants with a proven track record, look no further than Novus Insights! We are one of the leading market research firms that can deliver actionable insights from research data using the most up-to-date market research techniques. To talk to our market research experts or get answers to all your questions, call +91 1244142292, +91 7428225350, or email contactus@novusinsights.com. You may also fill out our contact form and our market research consultants will reach out to you at the earliest.