Raconteur: Data & Intelligence - Businesses Turn to Social Media Listening for Consumer Insights

In a tight economy, social media offers businesses a value-for-money alternative to both customer satisfaction surveys and pricey ad campaigns.

Social media platforms are a treasure trove of data about the behaviour, aspirations and wishes of the world's customers. But the way businesses listen in to and analyse this gigantic human conversation is changing, according to 1700 professionals from medium to large businesses that we surveyed.

Nearly 63% said their main goal for social media listening was to gain a better understanding of audiences and target groups, compared to 42% who said managing brand reputation was a main goal. In an interview with Raconteur (Distributed in The Times), Meltwater Enterprise Director Samantha Monk, analyses these results from the recent social media survey and explains how the evolution in social media listening is enabling businesses to utilise social media as a primary source of consumer insights.