by Alyssa Newsom- Do you put thought into “liking” a post on social media? Do you consider the effect that your engagement will have on that brand? Probably not, and I can’t blame you.
Engaging with a post on social media is so simple for the individual doing it. However, analyzing that engagement rate from a brand’s perspective is crucial to their survival. Whether you’re a Public Relations professional or simply learning how your engagement affects a brand, here are five ways that brands use social media analytics to ensure their success as a company.
- Provide insight into what customers are enjoying or disliking
The main goals of social media analytics tools are to monitor your brands reputation and provide performance reports to the organization, clients, and stakeholders. Once a benchmark report is made, you can decide from there which tactics of your social media strategy should be changed or should stay the same.
2. Reaching their target market
Through data analytics, brands can discover who their ideal customer is. The biggest mistake that a brand can make is casting too wide of a net. This would cause that brand to just become another face in a crowd of businesses and consumer services. A great example of target marketing would be Barkbox. Barkbox is a subscription box for dogs. Now, this idea sounds pretty niche-oriented, right? Well it is… but, they were able to build a huge social media following (1.4 million Instagram followers) because the brand didn’t cast too wide of a net to their audience.
3. Map for influencers
After choosing their target market, a brand will then use those analytics to see which influencers that market is engaging with most. If they are a fashion company, then their audience might be engaging with a fashion influencer on Instagram. A helpful way to map for influencers is to look through hashtags.
4. Discover which social media strategies represent the brand most accurately
By now, most of us have probably seen the way that brands interact with their target audience through Twitter or another social media platform. Some brands- like Wendy’s- take on a casual, friendly tone in their tweets. Others, choose to stay more professional. Either way, it is crucial that a brand has a social media presence. The Neilson Report discovered that 33% of customers use social media platforms for feedback, rather than a phone to contact a brand. Being present on social media will allow a brand to interact with their audience. Additionally, it allows them to address any complaints or compliances.
5. Increase engagement rate
Analytics will also unveil to the brand where their target audience is seeing their content the most. This is how PR strategist’s for the brand will decide where to display their content. Displaying it through the right platform will increase engagement from their audience. For example, if your target audience is Baby Boomers, then you will probably want to post most of your content to Facebook. Inversely, if your target audience is Gen Z, then Instagram or Twitter would be the best place to engage with them.
Overall, social media presence is crucial for brands and how they are perceived. Understanding data analytics is a crucial factor in whether a brand will be successful or ultimately fail. What are some other ways that social media can influence the way a brand presents itself to its target audience? Comment below.
I think you make a great point when you bring up the fact that different social media strategies are required for different types of brands. The case of Wendy’s is an interesting one because they were the pioneer in the fast-food sector to really take on that casual, almost combative tone with their audience. They way they brought it together gave a sense of authenticity to the consumers and resulted in massive success. From there, you saw a lot of the rivals like Burger King follow suit to what Wendy’s had created. While yes they need to find a target, it is also important for these brands to find ways to elevate their stance and create a buzz of authenticity to stand out from the rivals in their respective industries. The next interesting movement is companies and brands using comments on popular influencer’s posts on Instagram to attract consumer attention.
I enjoyed your post! You mentioned some good points about how brands should use social media to elevate themselves. When brands are active on social media, it makes audiences feel like they are being communicated with on a more personal level. With Wendy’s especially, their more informal social media posts make them seem more as though they are trying to be friends with their audience members, which gives off a friendly vibe. I definitely agree with your point at the end that brands need to have a presence on social media to put themselves on the map. I think brands should also consider interacting on a more personal level with fans on social media. Creating some sort of challenge for their audience is a fun way to attract more attention to their brand.
It is important to know who the target audience is and their age demographic because if a brand wants to connect with millennials they should use Twitter, Instagram, and now maybe even Tik Tok. However, if a brand wants to make an impact with Baby Boomers then the brand should use a platform like Facebook because that is what most Baby Boomers use for social media. The tone brands and companies use on social media can also define and shape the audience members they influence and connect with. You gave a great example with Wendy’s Twitter account, they are famous for being funny, quirky, casual, and relatable through their tweets.