Why is Social Media Analytics So Important Today?

We live in the Digital Age where everyone — yes, even our grandparents — are on social media. It is rare to come across someone who doesn’t have at least one social media account, whether on Facebook, Instagram or even Quora. 

As more people sign up for social media platforms, the amount of big data produced increases. This means that businesses now have access to information that can improve decision-making and targeting. But, how do they make sense of all that data? Simply put, they employ the use of social media analytics. 

Pursuing an online Master in Data Science programme at Sunway University Online will help you develop a deeper understanding of data analytics, which includes social media analytics. This skill can be applied in various industries to help businesses get ahead of the competition by improving targeting for advertising, building deeper customer insights, and making informed business decisions. 

What is Social Media Analytics?

Social media analytics is commonly understood as gathering data from the number of likes, comments or shares a post receives — but it goes way beyond that. 

Social media analytics refers to the measurement, collection, analysis and reporting of social media data to understand and optimise your social media presence. It’s a tool that helps companies understand their customers better by identifying their age groups, locations, preferences and choices to achieve their business goals. 

Effective social media analytics is the ability to cut through online “noise” and extract useful insights that can be converted into actionable strategies or plans. To do this, you must be able to differentiate the data gathered from active users from that of spam, bots or trolls. Once that’s done, you’ll have a clearer picture of how to use the data collected for social media optimisation. 

Social Media Analytics a Boon to Business

Apart from optimising your social media to better suit your customers, social media analytics has the power to grow your business exponentially. Here’s why you should invest in social media analytics: 

Strategy development 

Through the use of social media analytics, you’ll be able to determine the most effective type of content and platform for your business. For example, short videos might work best on social media sites like Facebook and TikTok compared to the photo-forward Instagram. 

Simply blasting out content is no longer an effective way to generate leads. With the data gathered from a thorough analysis of your social media platforms, you’ll be able to track when your audience is most active. This helps to pinpoint the best day and time to schedule posts.

Understanding competitors

Conducting a competitive analysis is the first step in ensuring a successful marketing plan. This can easily be done with social media analytics because it gives you a better overview of what content works for competitors. You can also track what doesn’t work and avoid making the same mistakes as your competitors. 

Using social media analytics to spot opportunities and devise marketing strategies is a great way to get a leg-up in the highly competitive world of digital marketing. You can do this by conducting an analysis of strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats, or employing the use of a web analytics tool that provides you with useful insights on customer behaviour. 

Customer relationship management systems

Nowadays, customers are more inclined to buy from businesses that employ a “people-first” or “experience-led” approach. Given this, developing and managing a customer relationship management (CRM) system is pivotal in ensuring customer satisfaction. 

Since customers often take to social media to express their disappointment, it’s easy to gather data and insights on what companies are doing wrong. From there, you’ll be able to adjust your CRM system to meet the needs and expectations of your customers. 

How Does Data Ethics Fit Into the Equation?

In a world where content is shared instantaneously, social media analytics helps businesses understand individual customer behaviour as well as group or demographic behaviour. Incorporating data ethics into this is of utmost importance as customers need to know that their data is protected at all times.

Social media analytics heavily relies on data collected from various social media platforms. This data benefits both companies and their customers in terms of improved customer service, product development and a better overall experience. But, it also begs the question: “Is my data protected?”

Data protection comes hand in hand with data ethics. It revolves around protecting private and confidential user information, while ensuring that the data collected is not misused for ulterior motives. By using proper data ethics protocols, businesses can ensure that they don’t violate any laws or regulations, and keep their reputation intact at the same time.

Data ethics is a key part of our online Master in Data Science programme. The programme is designed to create ethical data practitioners who prioritise customer data protection above all else and instil good values in future data scientists.  

Empowering Future Data Leaders

Sunway University 100% online Master in Data Science is designed to equip students with the skills and knowledge to navigate the complexities of a data-driven world.

Not only will students learn to collect, analyse, and interpret data, as well as present insights effectively, they will develop a deep understanding of the ethical considerations surrounding data use, ensuring that they can make informed, values-driven decisions in their professional lives. This is particularly important in industries where data has the power to influence business outcomes. 

Schedule a call with our Education Counsellors today to explore how this programme can help you build a successful career in data science.