Social Networks Could Yield Key Business Intelligence

I'm starting to get a little burnt out on twitter and facebook. Do we really need to know that you're craving ice cream or you did something new with your hair? It's better used for a pupose that's more useful.

This reminds me of the whole Kevin Smith versus Southwest Airlines incident. The whole debacle started with a Tweet. It became very public with both sides using social media to release statements. Other people were allowed to voice their concerns and Southwest paid attention. This incident was probably a big learning event for Southwest and I am sure they are going to adjust their practices and use of social media accordingly.

This is yet further explanation of the FaceBook/Yelp alliance.

As FaceBook continues to play the role of stalkerish significant other while it gets more free and easy with user information, it will become a one-stop shop for research on consumers.  FaceBook's business plan thus appears to be the same as that of the average (if you'll pardon the phrase) attention-whore.  The crazy part is: it may actually work.

Dan,

Thanks for all your clarifications and expanded explanations -- helps a lot! A great service someone should do for these discussions is provide anonymization of case studies. We're each of us too busy (and probably a bit nervous) to do this for our own clients, but if there were a trustworthy third-party...

@modza - well, a few points.

One: the title of the article was not my choice, to be honest. I'd make a bolder claim that it's not COULD yield key BI, but that it absolutely can and does, and that's been clear to me for the last 7 years since I first started writing about and covering the rise of social networks, blogs, etc..

An alternative title - to give you a sense as to where I was coming from for this article.

Is Your Digital Supply Chain Deaf Dumb and Blind?

Perhaps that sheds more light on what I was aiming for. Yes? No?

Two: I think we're disagreeing on what "use of social media" means - as I absolutely believe that Apple and Google are masters there.

To me, "social media" is not the purely overt "engagement" side of social media - which is where most discussions focus.

Apple and Google are certainly masters in stirring up buzz (and not just Google Buzz) in the social media world, AND in listening (i.e., BI), which is my primary point - if you aren't listening and tapping into the social world, one way or another, you're dead, especially at the scale of any of the brands mentioned.

Do you need to engage as Ford, Best Buy, Zappos, Comcast and others? They've certainly had various degrees of success, but EVEN JUST LISTENING (or "Awareness" in my terminology) will be put you far ahead of the competition.

Engagement is more work, and far more visible of course, and frankly, it's apparent that Comcast in particular hasn't been able to scale that up to actively manage it WELL. Witness the disconnects to hand-offs inside Comcast to take over the engagement that may have begun in Twitter, then falls apart when calling in to either sales or support to followup. While I'm a big fan of the Cluetrain Manifesto and everything that's fallen out of that, if we can get to active listening AT LEAST versus outright conversations, that's a major improvement IMHO.

Three: As you say, if you are "the best at their business" - it's not purely based on social media, but being masters, period, of modern business, including outsourcing, traditional marketing, sales, design, automated and streamlined processes, and yes, social media (defined however you like), etc..

Social media is just one component of that, and, as the title of the article stands, the focus is on BI - not as the sole source of BI, but the fastest/most real-time source of BI from a sentiment standpoint.

Four: I would definitely refer to Nielsen Buzzmetrics et al for definitive analysis and explicit examples/details of social media as BI. Only so much I can cover in 500-700 word articles.

The directly applicable evidence that I do have on the consumable/CPG market, I can't reference via citation, as it's based on private conversations with people directly involved in that space.

For better or worse, I can't get them on record at this point, as it's potentially like the discussions in Financial Services right now. If ANYONE is doing well in this economy, there's a potential lynch mob waiting to wonder why they didn't get a piece of the pie. In this case (CPGs and white-label providers), it happens to be because they are running their businesses more intelligently (more tightly tied to BI and what will suit customer needs/wants NOW, not 3 years ago), and not because they're skimming off of the Fed bailout, or betting massively, contrarily (and morally, questionably) against the fate of the economy.

Dan

I agree with you in that using a STOCK PRICE chart is not an proof positive way to demonstrate the successful use of SNs to yield business intelligence. That is a different kind of performance-based measurement. A Roper or Nielsen report, that would be a good thing to highlight.

I think I am applauding the success that companies like Apple, Google, etc have had in using the qualitative feedback along with the quantitative feedback. As a qualitative marketing researcher, naturally I am biased to the emotions under the numbers.

Forgive me of that - but I do know by research (proprietary unfortunately) that reveals what good things campanies are doing (like Ford) and NOT doing (remember Tropicana package switch?) SN in both aboves was like wildfire.

Well, by the chart, only Google and Apple are really outperforming, and it's not their use of social media that distinguishes them, as I'm sure you'll agree. They're just the best at their business. Ford I agree is using social media well.

What I'm asking for is evidence of what Dan's titular claim -- that "Social Networks Could Yield Key Business Intelligence." 

modza-

The companies that Dan cites in that chart are those I was referring to as examples. I think each, in their own way, have come quite a long way in using social media as an "ear on the wall" Perhaps I know about these (and notably Ford which I cite) as quite forward thinking / acting companies in this regard.

The "big guns" of research - the Nielsens and such of the world have many white papers, as do the smaller research firms, on this -- it was and continues to be a red hot topic, and one which a search online will surely bring examples that you may read at your convenience.

I agree with what Dan states, that sometimes the large houses aren't quick to report. however their reporting is deep and the smaller companies that do some great research quickly all add to our knowledge and information base.

I apologize in advance if I'm blind, but SteveGNYC, I don't see any "nice examples of companies that are really using SN smartly" in Dan's blog. I see a chart of some stock prices, but are those companies using social media/networks as early-warning systems, as Dan (quite rightly, in my opinion too) advises?

Can anyone point to specific cases of companies taking advantage of reading social network sentiment or other signals that are later validated by ComScore or other more formal research?

Dan - great post and nice examples of companies that are really using SN smartly and not just as a JUMPON THE BANDWAGON kind of thing. I agree with Michael - the compare isn't a fair one, since each is in a different sector and therefore may very well have a bias.

The P&G store is an interesting idea and this will be one to watch. Sure we all use their products, but I wonder if people will "shop" there like they might for other products - let's watch this one.

As a side note - I enjoy when companies use SN intergrated way - I'm thinking Ford strongly here, and that NYC furniture company who placed GPS tracking devices on furniture and then dropped them curbside throughout NYC. Then tracked and followed them, then spoke with the "dumpster divers" Really nice combo of technology and SN.

Nice work Dan