By Adam Proehl
Last week I wrote a post about the four kinds of data (Actionable, Interesting, “Who Cares?”, and Golf Course Executive Brag” data). At the Pubcon Vegas Conference a couple of weeks ago, I showed a slide which stated quite simply that Social Media Metrics can provide the ultimate in actionable data.
Here’s why: Forget trying to measure Social Media ROI for a second – that’s a topic for another post. The obvious point I want to make here is that your customers and prospects are telling you something. They may or may not be directly talking to you, but in either case, they’re talking about you and it makes sense for you to listen. You have the ability to take action immediately because those who are talking are telling you:
- What they want…
- What they need…
- What they think they need, but may not know for sure…
- What they like…
- What they hate…
- You suck…
- Why you suck…
- How to not suck…
- You rock…
- Why you rock…
- Why you’re better than a competitor…
- Why you’re worse than a competitor…
- What their intentions are…
- They have questions …
- They have a concern causing them to hesitate…
- They’re indifferent to your brand, products, or services…
- They just became mayor…
- If they’re physically at your business …
You get the idea. Granted, at best social media conversations only provide a sampling of how your customers feel and those that do tweet or post my be more passionate or opinionated than those that don’t. However, as a brand you would be making a mistake if you’re not open to treating the data you get from these metrics as something that is actionable and potentially representative of your customer base.
Thanks for reading. Feedback is always welcome.
Posted by Adam Proehl 
