You know how everyone tells you that social media is critical for success in today’s business market. Well, I will, too- but for completely different reasons. And, with a more focused result in mind.
First, let’s consider this. Our governments eavesdrop on conversations all over the world. And, if they were really good at this (trust me, they’re not), they would use intelligence. How often have you heard that they have conversations recorded- but not analyzed- that would have warned them about this activity. It doesn’t take a mental giant to recognize that this sort of data collection is frivolous. And, that’s what too many of us do with our social media activities.
Oh, I know some of you seek out mentions of your company or your name. But, that’s mostly for psychic rewards. Let’s refocus these efforts and make them worth our while- really. We have tons of “unknown unknowns” in business. These are questions that we don’t know to ask. And, if we could decipher these unknown unknowns, we could capitalize on this – long before anyone else does, and that turns into profits. And, me being the techie that I am, I am now going to drop a technical term- cluster analysis. And, that means we have to track more than our names or company brands. Looking for keywords (your name, your business name, your product) is searching for something that is already known. We know what it is we are seeking.
Cluster analysis lets us read documents, words, etc. that uses statistics to track what is being said in relation to other words. Using probability. Is this word likely to appear next to that word- or not. By analyzing these relationships, we can discern new trends. For example, 18 months ago, you would not have found many mentions of the Olympics and London near one another. Those clusters are found in lots of places. And, if these were circles of words, the circles would be very large right now. From a blip to a “Big Gulp”. The problem is that we don’t know what those clusters mean. Just that a cluster is forming.
That’s where WE have to come in and decipher what those trends mean. We need to convert this rapid growth of clusters (called a trajectory) into “leading indicators”. The music industry is doing this. They have found a very strong correlation (r2 about 0.94) between social media mentions and record sales. With a 10 to 15 day lag between activity peaks and record sales. So, one can begin to forecast demand- and control the inventory of CD’s, for example. We are looking to determining what new product needs are developing. See what needs are rising, which are dropping, to discern the best avenue for new product concepts. These unmet needs- the complaints about problems, functionality failures, etc- are features or products that we should be inventing or perfecting. Admittedly, one of the problems is that some of these trends come and go very quickly- truly evanescent in scope. And, tracking all the social media streams is not a task for the indolent (even with computer power, since we did say WE have to become involved to decipher these trends). But, if you are ready, willing, and able, you should find your next product definition- without resorting to in-person interviews, mailings, and the like. 
If you would like to learn more about cluster analysis, you are free to retain our services 
… But, you can also check out these two great sources.
http://www.statsoft.com/textbook/cluster-analysis/#general
http://www-users.cs.umn.edu/~kumar/dmbook/ch8.pdf
I know there are programs to help harvest in depth social media information, to the minute…I’ve seen them in action and how they pinpoint it down to the very person is nothing less than spooky cool. So, I have been exposed to this kind of thinking. What I have never been able to wrap my head around is how I personally might benefit from it. The answer is probably at this point in my career I can’t, but it is something to consider for the future. (I hope) Anyway, excellent information for us to consider, Roy! Have a wonderful Sabbath!
Lisa Brandel recently posted..Heart A Glow by Lisa Brandel
I think your business requires watching what keyword are associated with the people who like your painting. And, then using THOSE keywords to attract a large audience, Lisa.
Cool, Roy. I wish I could hire you. I get the general idea, but I lose it on the specifics and the math.
Ann Mullen recently posted..Help for Seniors:10 Early Signs and Symptoms of Alzheimer’s
Sometimes, you have to make the choice to “leap” and then get the rewards, Ann. You never know what the cost/benefit ratio is until you exmaine it…
I am in, Roy. I know these tools, although some like confusing in theory, narrows down a whole deal of profuse information. Twenty years ago (I can’t believe it’s been that long) I worked with a similar statistical toll (EOFs = empirical orthogonal functions) and I know this tools work. The key is to find the correct data source; any suggestion?
Gustavo recently posted..Interesting definition of growth rate (Don’t run away; you’ll like this)
I think you can choose to check the keyword on twitter that excite you- and then examine each of the word in the tweets you’ve collected. That’s a start, Gustavo.
NO matter how you look at it, social media has value. But looking at trends and adapting to the trend if you identify an opportunity is a real challenge for many people even with the statistical evidence. Interesting the 15 day lag.
Roberta Budvietas, recently posted..3 tools for Keeping Track of Business
I am always willing to believe that social media has value. But, there are many people who tweet incessantly where they are, with whom they are talking, etc. I don’t find that of value. Nor can it help me run my business more efficiently.
Of course, OUR discussions, Roberta, are always highly entertaining…
I love how you broke this down, Roy. Where I struggle is the balance of time and result. While I understand the theory, knowing how to execute it is another story. I have never been and probably never will be (I hope) one who spends my life on social media. Some of the so-called tools just leave me shaking my head and asking why.
Thanks, Roy, for a bit of reality.
Cathy Miller recently posted..3 Guest Blogging Spam Recipes
Thanks so much for your comments, Cathy.
And, that was my point, exactly. All these tweets I get with no value added makes me wonder which twit is trying to get my attention!
Roy
Ooh, I love data! I guess it’s from my social science background with statistics and such. Probably, it’s more likely due to being married to an engineer. It’s good to focus efforts on social media or the whole thing can be a time suck and not effective at all in marketing one’s biz. One of my teachers says to make 80% of your social media posts about value and content to help your target audience and make 20% the actual marketing.
Lisa recently posted..Chillax!
I’ll have to check out that theory, Lisa…
Thanks for your comments!