The Future of Social Media 2013 Predictive Analytics

Simplify360 eBook: redicti!
e "nalytics #$e Future of Social Media
Worlds First 360 Social Marketing Suit www.simplify360.com
Simplify360 eBook: redicti!e "nalytics #$e Future of Social Media
Table of Contents
PREFACE..........................................................................................3 WHAT ARE PREDICTIVE ANALYTICS?........................................................5 ADITYA CHOWDHARY CLIENT SERVICES DIRECTOR !AR"ETELLI#ENT.....................................5 $EYOND SENTI!ENTS.........................................................................%& 'ISHAN ANSARI SENIOR $(SINESS ANALYST) TAR#ET CORPORATION...................................%& SOCIAL !EDIA STRATE#IES FOR THE DATA DRIVEN NEWSROO!.....................%* DENNIS !ORTENSEN + CEO) VIS(AL REVEN(E........................................................%* TOO !(CH TAL" IN ANALYTICS , TOO LITTLE ACTION-.............................../ A0AY "EL"AR + COO) HANSA CE1(ITY............................................................../ ACTIONA$LE ANALYTICS .....................................................................2 0A!ES TAYLOR + CEO) DECISION !ANA#E!ENT SOL(TIONS............................................2 (NDERSTANDIN# AND !EAS(RIN# SOCIAL INFL(ENCE................................3/ AR(N S(NDARARA0AN PROFESSOR AND NEC FAC(LTY FELLOW) NEW YOR" (NIVERSITY3S STERN SCHOOL OF $(SINESS.......................................................................................3/ HOW SOCIAL !EDIA CAN REVEAL THE !YSTERY OF $RAND LOYALTY-............3* #." S(RESH #ENERAL !ANA#ER) ITC FOODS.....................................................3* SCR! IN .&%34 NE5T #EN SOCIAL !EDIA ANALYTICS..................................// $H(PENDRA "HANAL + CEO) SI!PLIFY36&..........................................................// SOCIAL !EDIA $EST PRACTICES............................................................53 AN"ITA #A$A CO FO(NDER) SOCIAL SA!OSA.......................................................53 INSIDE $I# DATA + WHAT3S IN IT FOR !AR"ETIN#?.....................................5* DEEP SHERCHAN + C!O) SI!PLIFY36&.............................................................5* SOCIAL !EDIA PREDICTIONS FOR .&%3...................................................6. PRASHANT 0AIN SOCIAL !EDIA ANALYST) SI!PLIFY36&.............................................6.
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#oday enterprises are o!erw$elmed wit$ t$e possi'ility of social media. (ts 'een pro!en t$at it is no longer a fad and it means serious 'usiness. "t t$is turning e!ent of reali)ation* enterprises are not e+uipped wit$ rig$t tools and $uman resources to le!erage social media. ,n t$e ot$er $and* we are seeing a rapid inno!ation in t$e field of social media tools and tec$nologies - social monitoring* analytics* marketing* intelligence* scrm* 'ig data etc. "s a result* we at Simplify360 tried to connect wit$ different professionals acti!e in t$is field of social analytics and learn from t$em a'out t$e future of social media. (n t$is process we kept $earing predicti!e analytics as a repeating term. .ence we asked our team to reac$ out to t$e e/perts in t$e field and learn a'out w$at does predicti!e analytics mean in social media and its role in t$e future of social media. We would like to t$ank all t$e people w$o $a!e agreed to s$are t$eir e/perience and knowledge a'out social media.
W$at "re redicti!e "nalytics0

"ditya 1$owd$ary
Aditya Chowdhary, has over 16 years of experience in areas of Application Development, Marketing and Social Media Analytics. e has worked with glo!al companies like "#, Dell. e was instr$mental at Dell to set$p the Social Media Analytics practice and very recently has %oined Marketelligent.
W9at a7e :7e;<8t<=e anal>t<8s?

A;<t>a C9o?;9a7> Cl<ent Se7=<8es D<7e8to7 !a7@etell<Aent
redicti!e analytics $a!e 'een around for a long time and slowly t$ese analytic tools are finding t$eir way into t$e marketing and social media arenas.
redicti!e analytics use 'e$a!ioural data from past to predict $ow indi!iduals will 'e$a!e in t$e future. For instance* your credit score is a predicti!e model including your repayment $istory and ot$er information to predict w$et$er you3re a good credit risk or not.
redicti!e models commonly include a num'er of !aria'les* suc$ as num'er of late payments* and weig$ing factors t$at reflect t$e importance of t$at !aria'le in predicting future 'e$a!ior. #$ese are commonly regression4type models. 5

Modern predicti!e analytics use similar kind of data to 'uild models to classify people into different groups or predict t$eir 'e$a!ior . For instance* we mig$t 'uild a model t$at predicts $ow muc$ of a product we3ll sell if we lower 6or raise7 t$e price. W$ile we won3t 'e a'le to predict W., will 'uy at t$e new price* we really don3t care. We only need to know if we3ll sell more at t$e new price. #$us* predicti!e analytics $elp us determine w$ic$ marketing strategies will produce t$e 'est 8,( 68eturn on (n!estment7. Ho? bBs<nesses Bse :7e;<8t<=e anal>t<8s? Businesses use predicti!e analytics in a num'er of ways* one suc$ way is discussed a'o!e. (n addition* a num'er of tools* suc$ as 18M 61ustomer 8elations$ip Management7 use predicti!e analytics to determine marketing strategies. "not$er type of predicti!e analytic is 19: 61ustomer 9ifetime :alue7 w$ic$ uses purc$ase information to classify customers into groups and determine t$e le!el of profit reflected 'y eac$ group* w$ic$ is used to 'uild marketing strategies for eac$ group. Des87<:t<=e Co;els an; :7e;<8t<=e anal>t<8s ;escripti!e models are often o!erlooked as tools for generating predicti!e analytics 'ecause t$ey suggest strategies t$at will generate 'etter results wit$out 'eing a'le to +uantify $ow muc$ 'etter t$e results will 'e.
So$rce& grii!design.co.$k
"n e/ample is t$e #8" 6#$eory of 8easoned "ction7. #$is model states t$at 'uying 'e$a!ior is impacted 'y a consumers attitude and 'eliefs a'out t$e products* as well as t$e norms related to t$at purc$ase. #$is t$eory* ofcourse* underpins $ow social media works. Social media $elps in 'uilding attitude toward products* 'ased on t$e references from t$e most credi'le sources 4 our friends - and esta'lis$es norms of 'e$a!ior w$en we see all our friends 'uying t$e product. So* w$y aren3t t$ese descripti!e models 'eing used more fre+uently in 'usinesses0 (n part* t$at3s due to poor e/c$ange 'etween 'usinesses and academics *w$o seem to speak different languages. P7e;<8t<=e anal>t<8s an; so8<al Ce;<a Social media analytics is a powerful tool for unco!ering customer sentiment dispersed across t$e countless online sources. "s 'usinesses feel t$e pressure to gain new insig$ts from social media* t$ey re+uire t$e analytics e/pertise to transform t$is flood of information into actiona'le strategies. #$ere is a lot of internet c$atter a'out social media analytics to predict t$e future. #$is field of predicti!e analytics is in its infancy* 'ut t$ere $as 'een enoug$ success to generate e/citement a'out its potential. <
(n case of social commerce* any kind of 'u)) is a good 'u)) 'ecause it directly translates into customer demand. For e/ample* keeping tap of all t$e trending topics on #witter can 'e a useful e/ercise to predict future demands. #$is allows 'usiness to le!erage social media and ma/imi)e sales. #$oug$ t$e concept is still in its infancy* &0%3 is an e/citing time w$ere we could see some of t$ese concepts 'eing implemented.
Beyond Sentiments
>is$an "nsari
'ishan is a SAS certified predictive modeler with over ( years) analytics cons$lting experience for glo!al players in !anking, ins$rance and retail domain. 'ishan is c$rrently part of *arget Corporation)s enterprise !$siness intelligence team !ased in +ndia that provides analytic sol$tions to pro!lems in operational risk, loss prevention and profit protection area.
$e>on; Sent<Cents
'<s9an Ansa7< Sen<o7 $Bs<ness Anal>st) Ta7Aet Co7:o7at<on
So$rce , http&--provalisresearch.com-$ploads-Sentiment.%pg
(f you are reading t$is* you pro'a'ly are aware of $ow t$ings in t$e social media world usually work. @ou pro'a'ly $a!e usedAseenA$eard of tools t$at tells you a'out t$e sentiment of your customers* 'y analy)ing w$at t$ey are writing o!er !arious social media platforms. "nd ( am sure many of you would $a!e also seen software pro!iders making tall claims a'out $ow accurate t$eir engines are in predicting t$e correct sentiment of a companys customer 'ase. #$ere is no +uestion a'out w$et$er sentiment analysis is a powerful analysis tec$ni+ue or not* 'ecause it certainly is. #$e 'igger +uestion is w$et$er it is t$e rig$t t$ing for you or not0 "nd if it is* t$en do you $a!e t$e a'ility to apply it correctly or not0 (f you are looking for an answer to t$e +uestion w$et$er in!estment on sentiment analysis is t$e rig$t t$ing for your 'usiness* t$en read furt$er. (n case you $a!e already spent loads of cas$ on 'uying a sentiment analysis package* still read furt$er to know $ow you can 'est utili)e it.
W9> sent<Cents? Being a part of a smart and proacti!e organi)ation t$at listens to all its customers* you would want to 'uild a strategy w$ere you: B B B B 9isten to all t$at your customers are saying a'out your 'rand or a #ake actions 'ased on customer sentiments 8edress customer grie!ances 'y offering $im or $er some 'rownie "nd in turn 'e lo!ed 'y your customers for 'eing a great listener %0
newly launc$ed product
points

Well* t$is all works really well w$en you are running a CMom and op Store. W$y0 Because: B B B B B @ou know w$o your customers are @ou understand t$eir language @ou understand t$eir moods* t$eir emotions @ou know t$eir preferences @ou know w$at will pleaseAdisplease t$em
Ho? a7e t9<nAs ;<ffe7ent <n so8<al Ce;<a? Simple answer to t$is would 'e - in more ways t$an one. (t is important for you to understand t$ese differences to figure out w$et$er you need sentiment analysis or not. . Dot e!ery person is good in e/pressing t$emsel!es in te/t* and definitely not in Eust $undred and forty c$aracters. "nd t$is poses a 'ig c$allenge. W$y0 Because* t$ere is no way to capture customers facial e/pression t$roug$ social media* nor is t$ere a way to capture !oice modulation to figure out customers mood.
Wit$ deli'erately e/cluding t$e discussion a'out misclassifications t$at maEority of t$e tools anyways do* t$ere is one more aspect of language t$at ( t$ink s$ould 'e considered* and t$at is dialects. (n t$is !ery world of ours* w$ere spoken languages c$ange wit$ e!ery two $undred to t$ree $undred kilometers* it will only 'e illogical for us to e/pect e!eryone to e/press t$eir
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sentiments in t$e language in w$ic$ our softwares D9 engine is trained. ,F. So in t$at case will it 'e insane for us to demand for an D9 engine t$at $as t$e functionality of identifying t$e sentiments from any languageAdialect. Do* it wouldnt 'e completely insane. But it is !ery likely t$at you will 'e paying a 'om' to get suc$ a ser!ice. 9et us assume t$at you get an D9 engine t$at $as all t$ese powers. #ell me w$o writes a perfect language t$ese days0 (f you t$ink your customer does* t$en you are a'solutely wrong. G!en S$akespeare would $a!e $ad a $ard time in e/pressing $imself in $undred and forty c$aracters forget a'out an a!erage Hoe 6 ardon me if you are S$akespeare or HoeI7. We are li!ing in an era w$ere e!en nati!e speakers are getting 'ad in grammar day 'y day. 9anguages are e!ol!ing* and so are t$e D9 engines. "nd* more e!ol!ed an engine is* more dollars you $a!e to 'urn for it. "no?<nA >oB7 obDe8t<=e @ou will 'e sol!ing t$e maEor part of t$e pu))le if you figured out w$at your o'Eecti!e is 'e$ind sentiment analysis. Because* after t$is you Eust $a!e to pick t$e rig$t approac$ to ac$ie!e your goal. (f you are managing a customer ser!ice center and you recei!e %00*000 e4 mails e!ery day* and would like t$em to 'e classified as ositi!e* Deutral or Degati!e t$en you can use software t$at $as t$e capa'ility to do t$e Eo'. #$ats all t$e functionality you need to ac$ie!e your goal. 8est of t$e work will 'e done 'y t$e e/ecuti!es to ensure eac$ customer is satisfied. Loo@<nA be>on; sent<Cents Say if you $ad kids. @ou find out on a Sunday morning t$at your kids were annoyed a'out somet$ing and were not looking $appy. Being a good parent you gi!e t$em permission to go out wit$ friends. (f you are a more in!ol!ed parent* you would yourself go out wit$ your kids* to make t$eir day. "
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parent !ery well knows w$at to do to c$ange t$e mood of t$eir kids. "s a kid ( $a!e really enEoyed t$at. Sometimes getting annoyed for no good reason can also get you treats* Eust 'ecause your parents wants you to 'e $appy always. But if you were a responsi'le parent* w$at else would you do0 @ou would pro'a'ly try to understand* w$y were your kids upset at t$e first place0 .a!e t$ey 'een getting annoyed +uite often recently0 W$at are t$e circumstances w$ic$ makes t$em un$appy0 " responsi'le company is no different from a responsi'le parent in t$is aspect. (t will do a root cause analysis of w$at actions led to all t$is. "nd t$ey can take actions to ensure t$at suc$ circumstances do not arise in future. "n organi)ation wit$ a dedicated customer ser!ice team can pro'a'ly do all w$at a responsi'le parent do* gi!en t$at t$ey know w$o t$e customer is. (t can spend resources to get in touc$ wit$ t$e customer* understand $isA$er concerns* identify t$e causes of un$appiness and t$en act accordingly. (t can also go a$ead and analy)e w$at were t$e t$ings t$at led to suc$ circumstances. So w$at s$ould you do0 S$ould you wait for a c$eaper D9 engine wit$ all t$e functionality0 ,r s$ould you wait until your company 'uys a foolproof te/t4analytics software license0 (t is important to 'e clear a'out w$at e/actly is your o'Eecti!e to perform sentiment analysis. @ou can t$en com'ine t$e results from a not so !ery e/pensi!e tool wit$ ot$er free tools or wit$ your own data !isuali)ation tools for analysis. St7eaC #7a:9s ,ne suc$ freely a!aila'le tool is stream grap$. (t $elps you in analy)ing w$at people $a!e 'een tweeting a'out a 'randAproduct o!er a period of
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time.
.ig$re& /So$rce , http&--www.neoformix.com-0ro%ects-*witterStream"raphs-view.php1
#$e Stream Jrap$ s$ows t$e usage o!er time for t$e words* w$ic$ are $ig$ly associated wit$ t$e searc$ word. ,ne of t$ese series toget$er wit$ a time period is in a selected state and colored red. #$e tweets t$at contain t$is word in t$e gi!en time period are s$own 'elow t$e grap$. @ou can click on anot$er word series or time period to see different matc$es. (n t$e matc$ list you can click on any word to create a different grap$ wit$ tweets containing t$at word. @ou can also click on t$e user or comment icons and any K89 to see t$e appropriate content in anot$er window. (f you see a large spike in one time period t$at $ides t$e detail in all t$e ot$er periods it will 'e useful to click in t$e area to t$e left of t$e y4a/is in order to c$ange t$e !ertical scale. #$e 'ad part is t$at t$e free !ersion analy)es latest t$ousand tweets. #$e good part is t$at t$ere are open source resources 6$ttp:AAwww.processing.orgA7 a!aila'le to $elp you de!elop suc$ grap$s. ro'a'ly you need to in!est some time to de!elop t$at. 8emem'er* t$ere are no free lunc$es and t$ere are no free grap$s eit$er.
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@ou can com'ine t$e results of t$e sentiment analysis wit$ t$e results of stream grap$ analysis to infer w$at circumstances pro'a'ly led to positi!e or negati!e sentiments. So e!en if your sentiment analysis says t$at =0L of your customers $a!e neutral opinion and your sales figures are way 'elow your forecasted sales* a stream grap$ can $elp you identify w$at pro'a'ly is causing t$e low sale. Stream grap$s present one way of !isuali)ing t$e data. #$ere can 'e multiple suc$ ways of analy)ing it. " good analyst will always find a suita'le way of presenting t$e appropriate information t$at you would like to $a!e in order to !alidate your sentiment analysis findings. "nd remem'er wit$out !alidation* your results from sentiment analysis in t$e worst case can 'e as 'ad as t$at from a random classifier.
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Social Media Strategies for t$e ;ata ;ri!en Dewsroom

;ennis Mortensen
Dennis Mortensen is C#2 3 .o$nder of 4is$al 5even$e, +nc., whose #ditorial S$pport 0latform helps editors to !etter place content and provides real,time recommendations and predictive analytics to more than 678 glo!al online p$!lishers, incl$ding Comcast, *he Atlantic, 9:C ;niversal and <e Monde. +nsights from =iley and sits on the :oard of the Digital Analytics Association. e is the a$thor of Data Driven
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So8<al !e;<a St7ateA<es fo7 t9e Data D7<=en Ne?s7ooC

Denn<s !o7tensen + CEO) V<sBal Re=enBe
Hust as t$e (nternet itself 'egan to upend news and Eournalism in t$e mid4 %??0s* so too $as social media added anot$er layer to t$at up$ea!al. er$aps e!en a greater one t$at doesnt Eust c$ange t$e deli!ery and consumption of news and information* 'ut t$e creation and molding of t$e stories t$emsel!es. #o compare t$e c$anges* it would 'e one !ery large order of magnitude. So8<al !e;<a4 Ne?s?<7e o7 Ne?s7ooC (ts agreed t$at t$e pre!alence of mo'ile de!ices and social media tools $as turned e!eryone into a pu'lis$er of sorts. W$ile not e!ery indi!idual can $ope to moneti)e t$eir tweets like a cele'rity* e!ery last tweet out t$ere $as t$e potential to affect Eournalists and t$e gat$ering of news. #$ey may not lead t$e story* 'ut t$ey!e 'ecome parts of t$e stories told 6man tweeting Bin 9aden raid7 and parts of t$e newsgat$ering process 6Ggypt and t$e "ra' Spring7. (n t$e &2 mont$s since "ndy 1ar!in of D 8 pro!ided a model for futuristic newsgat$ering 'y tweeting at potential sources and confirming reports from afar* many* if not most* Eournalists $a!e found t$eir way onto #witter and are using it to t$e same effect. (n t$e same s$ort span* t$is same mo!e to t$e center of t$e news $as $appened in t$e newsrooms t$emsel!es in t$e way t$at content is pus$ed out to an audience. #$e Social Media Gditors role was created to e!angeli)e and educate. Wit$ so many Eournalists of all stripes now sa!!y in social* it $as 'ecome critical to determine and assign 'ot$ owners$ip of t$e social c$annel wit$in t$e newsroom* as well as owners$ip of t$e content t$at goes out under eac$ indi!idual feed. Def<n<nA SB88ess <n E;<to7 an; PBbl<s9e7 Te7Cs
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"s more and more people in t$e newsroom $a!e mo!ed to pu'lis$ing on t$e many social platforms a!aila'le to t$em* t$e mo!ement to measure t$at acti!ity $as followed. For most indi!iduals* a somew$at limited !iew of success in social media is defined simply 'y response. ;id ( get re4tweeted0 Fa!orited0 .ow many M replies do ( $a!e0 W$ats my Flout score0 T9<s le=el of CeasB7eCent <s f<ne fo7 t9e <n;<=<;Bal) bBt not fo7 Ce;<a 8oC:an<es + ?9e7e a8t<=<t> CBst be CeasB7e; b> t9e ?a> <t ;el<=e7s aB;<en8e) an; b> 9o? t9at aB;<en8e Blt<Catel> 8an be Conet<Ee;. For online properties* if you want to increase your audience* t$at content must 'e e/posed to new audiences on a regular 'asis. media c$annels to e/pand t$eir reac$. @et t$e true impact on t$eir 'usiness - success or failure - is !ery difficult to measure. Sure* t$ey can measure tweets and and likes and ot$er !anity metrics. (ts easy can 'e a trap t$at is fallen into +uickly. But tweets and fa!orites and s$ares only $a!e a secondary effect upon t$e 'usiness* and t$ey $ardly measure audience interaction. #$e editors in large newsrooms of leading editorial operations need to know more. Hust as wit$ t$e content and acti!ity on t$eir own we'sites and properties* t$ey want and need to measure social media similarly. For e/ample* w$at are t$e e/pectations of content pu'lis$ed0 (f editors at *he Atlantic, pu'lis$ a piece of content at %pm* it would 'e fair to $a!e an e/pectation on $ow muc$ direct output it will generate: ow many views sho$ld this content generate> ow many views does it act$ally receive> +s this content that sho$ld !e shared on social media> fa!orites and re4 u'lis$ers understand t$is* and most +uickly go to Face'ook* #witter or ot$er social
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+f so, when sho$ld it !e shared to attain the maxim$m impact>
"s a process* editors and t$eir social media tools s$ould essentially follow a process of 6%7 finding and selecting t$e proper contentN 6&7 pus$ing t$at content into t$e social c$annelsN 637 measuring success andAor failure* and 627 learning and optimi)ing from it. W$en editors 'egin to answer t$ese +uestions and follow t$is process* t$ey make t$e definition of t$eir success in social media more precise* and t$ey mo!e away from t$e !anity metrics of t$e consumer marketplace. (t is one of t$e t$ings t$at separate t$e genuine pu'lis$ers from t$e Oe!ery'odys a pu'lis$erP pu'lis$ers. Dete7C<n<nA SB88ess an; Fa<lB7e <n Real T<Ce #$e real4time nature of social media interaction makes it a natural complement to t$e newsroom. (t is* $owe!er* t$at same fleeting aspect t$at makes real4time success measurements akin to capturing lig$tning in a 'ottle for t$em. (t can only 'e done wit$ some of todays more
sop$isticated tools. Wit$ t$e proper tools in $and* news organi)ations can $a!e more e/act measurements on social media. For e/ample* t$ey can $a!e a means to determine t$e difference 'etween tweeting content at 2:&3 p.m. and 2:35 p.m.* followed 'y recommended actions 'ased on real4time performance and consumption data. "dditionally* t$e 'est tools can tell editors w$et$er %?

or not to include p$otos w$en s$aring or tweeting* w$ic$ accounts to s$are on* and sometimes* t$e !alue of s$aring specific content multiple times. #$is difference can 'e significant for some properties !ersus ot$ers. atterns for w$en and w$at to s$are e/ist* 'ut t$ey tend to 'e !ery muc$ property4specific. #$ey are so specific t$at* for e/ample* one news organi)ation can s$are content wit$ e+ually powerful results from dawn Ctil dusk* w$ile anot$er will only succeed in limited windows. W$at works for one news organi)ation wont work for anot$er* largely as a result of audience fragmentation $a!ing intensified to t$e degree it $as.
F<AB7e %4 H<sto7<8 SB88ess !easB7eCent fo7 Lea;<nA Onl<ne P7o:e7t<es " comparison of acti!ity for two leading online properties* s$owing $ourly clicks into t$eir article content !ia social media. Dote t$at one property* in addition to an o!erall larger num'er of clicks per $our* ne!er truly falls to )ero* w$ile t$e ot$er does so almost e!ery nig$t.
For t$e editor and t$e newsroom* t$is makes t$eir social media acti!ity only wort$ t$e time t$at t$ey in!est in measuring it 44 not for t$e !anity metrics* 'ut for t$e deeper ones. #$is is w$ere t$eir a'ility to know true success from simple failure will s$ow w$et$er t$eir time spent s$aring 6to grow t$eir audience7 $as 'een well spent.
(s<nA P7e;<8t<=e Anal>t<8s to Dete7C<ne YoB7 NeFt Ste: Gditors today* particularly social media editors* li!e wit$in w$at can 'e an
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endless torrent of information* opinions and acti!ity. #$ey are called upon to +uickly w$ittle it all down* and make +uick* yet significant decisions a'out t$e placement and direction of content. Ji!en social medias real4 time nature* t$e use of predicti!e analytics can $elp data4dri!en editors to stay one step a$ead of t$e game.
F<AB7e .4 $en89Ca7@ Pe7fo7Can8e P7e;<8te; fo7 T?o Lea;<nA Onl<ne P7o:e7t<es G./ 9oB7 :e7<o;H " comparison of t$e e/pected social media acti!ity for two leading online properties* s$owing $ourly clicks into t$eir article content !ia social media. Dote t$at one property* carries a consistently $ig$er le!el of acti!ity t$at 6a7 peaks more s$arply during key periods* and 6'7 maintains a significant le!el of in'ound clicks 6!iews7 t$roug$out t$e o!ernig$t period.
W$ereas t$ese decisions were once made 'ased on intuition* skill and instinct* t$ere now e/ists a $uge pool of data t$at* w$en properly applied* can en$ance an editors Eudgment wit$ suggestions and t$e additional confidence to take decisi!e action. #$e genuine !alue of suc$ predicti!e algorit$ms is in t$e a'ility to recommend specific actions for an editor wit$in an editorial framework outlined 'y t$e organi)ation. Separately* t$ese two elements are importantN toget$er* t$ey pro!ide a powerful engine for editors to act immediately* secure in 'ot$ t$eir Eudgment and t$e interest of t$eir pu'lication. #$ese new tools simplify data and tell a newsroom w$en it s$ould tweet and also w$at it s$ould 'e tweeting. #$e computeri)ed suggestions take on t$e &%

role of a deputy editor: someone w$o knows t$e $istory of t$e data* as well as editorial !alues of t$e paper* and can t$erefore determine t$e 'est pu'lis$ing strategy to follow. (n t$e end* it is still t$e editor making Eudgment calls. #$ey Eust $appen to 'e faster and 'etter calls. Con8lBs<on #odays data4dri!en newsroom relies on many tools to keep pace wit$ t$e real4time nature of communications. Social media is a natural fit for t$e newsroom* 'ot$ in t$e collection and dissemination of t$e news* 'ut it needs to 'e deployed wit$in a editorial framework. Wit$out one* t$e pu'lis$er may as well 'e an indi!idual. But wit$ a clearer* data4dri!en strategy for measuring t$e success and failure of t$e out'ound social media* t$e newsroom of today will 'e ready for t$e news of tomorrow.
&&
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#oo muc$ talk in "nalytics Q too little actionI

"Eay Felkar
A%ay ?elkar, Co,.o$nder 3 C22 of ansa Ce@$ity, has over 68 years of experience in c$stomer,driven marketing across a wide range of ind$stries like Soft goods, :anking 3 .inancial services 3 5etail. e has had expos$re to a wide variety of !$siness styles 3 c$lt$res across 0rocter 3 "am!le, :ritannia, Marico, ShopperA Stop 3 D.C !ank.
Too CB89 tal@ <n Anal>t<8s , too l<ttle a8t<onADa> "el@a7 + COO) Hansa CeIB<t>
(s analytics yet anot$er fad0 (s t$ere CB89 Co7e tal@ aboBt <t t9an 7eal sol<; a8t<on. (t does seem so w$en you look around you as a consumer. Marketers still dont care* as muc$* a'out 'eing rele!ant to you. @ou get t$at umpteent$ credit card solicitation from t$e 'ank w$ic$ $as already sold you a card. "nd not$ing a'out a p$ysical 8etailer s$opping e/perience makes it personal for youI "nd yet your online persona seems to 'e treated differently Q w$en you go to "ma)on Q ot$er sites you do get a feeling of getting offers 'eing recommended for you. "nd as a consumer you flit 'etween your online Q offline a!atars Q t$is 'ecomes more Q more o'!ious. W$ats t$e difference0 Is t9e7e a 8ateAo7> of o7Aan<Eat<on ?9<89 <s able to le=e7aAe J;ataK fa7 Co7e effe8t<=el>? #a7tne7 says t$at only &0L of enterprise will use more t$an 50L of t$e total data t$ey collect to gain competiti!e ad!antage.
&2
#$is is w$at software arc$itect Jrady Booc$ $ad in mind w$en $e uttered t$at famous p$rase: LA fool ?<t9 a tool <s st<ll a fool.L "oogle,exec$tive,t$rned,Bahoo,C#2,tho$ght,leader Marissa Mayer declares Cdata is apoliticalC and that her old company s$cceeds !eca$se it is so data,driven& C+t all comes down to data. 5$n a 1D test Eon 1D of the a$dienceF and whichever design does !est against the $ser,happiness metrics over a two,week period is the one we la$nch. =e have a very academic environment where we)re looking at data all the time. =e pro!a!ly have somewhere !etween 78 and 188 experiments r$nning on live traffic, everything from the defa$lt n$m!er of res$lts to $nderlined links to how !ig an arrow sho$ld !e. =e)re trying all those different things.C " recent "d "ge article carried t$is comment: :ritish Airways spent almost a decade corralling passenger data from 688 so$rces into one data!ase. +t !$ilt infrastr$ct$re to s$pport the n$m!er cr$nching, !$t perhaps the harder piece, said Simon *alling,Smith, exec
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40,Americas, is getting in,flight personnel to $se the technology and data to create !etter cons$mer experiences. And :A introd$ced on!oard i0ads to send in,flight crews passenger,specific information, !$t *alling,Smith said enco$raging staff to $se them is still a challenge. C0ro!a!ly half of the messages don)t even get delivered,C he said. !a>be t9e7e a7e soCe lea7n<nA3s 9e7e4 %."nalytics doesnt need you to sol!e a tec$nical pro'lem 'ut a O'usiness Q socialP pro'lem. "nd most Business analysts $a!e not spent muc$ time in 'usiness roles. #$ey are super specialised num'er crunc$ers wit$out a sufficient e/posure to 'usiness reality. G!en if t$e managers $a!e some e/posure to 'usiness t$roug$ e/perience across a !ariety of analytics proEects* is it enoug$0 Does t9<s b7<nA t9e anal>t<8s 8a7ee7 <nto soCe Deo:a7;>? WoBl; anal>sts be able to A7o? <n 8oC:an<es be>on; a le=el or is it a parallel consulting stream only0 &."nalyts need to OStory tellP to em'ed analytics into t$e fa'ric of t$e company. But analysts are too one4dimensional Q not em'racing t$e intersection of Otec$nology* statistics Q 'usinessP. So analysts struggle to tell stories. ,ften ( see Eournalists do a far 'etter Eo' wit$ infograp$ics in media. But information Eournalists are not wanting a career in analytics Q so t9e7e <s a Aa: <n Jsto7> tell<nAK. 3."nalytics is too t9eo7et<8al. Dot enoug$ integration wit$ systems $as $appened to pus$ decisions to t$e point at w$ic$ consumers interact wit$ t$e 'usiness. #$is is far easier to do in new ,nline 'usinesses w$ic$ $a!e 'uilt t$eir systems around t$is capa'ility. 1(,s Q tec$nology teams in large e/isting offline 'usinesses dont see t$is as important. 2.A=e7aAe aAe of eC:lo>ees in online 'usiness is far lower. @ounger people are adopting analytics far faster. #$ey are getting e/posed to it in t$eir education Q t$ey are consuming it t$roug$ t$eir Odigital a!atarsP. #$ey see t$is often as a Ono 'rainerP. ,lder e/ecuti!es are $arder to con!ert to t$is
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line of t$inking.
&<
"ctiona'le "nalytics
Hames #aylor
Games is the C#2 and a 0rincipal Cons$ltant of Decision Management Sol$tions. e is the leading expert in how to $se !$siness r$les and analytic technology to !$ild Decision Management Systems. Games is passionate a!o$t $sing Decision Management Systems to help companies improve decision making and develop an agile, analytic and adaptive !$siness.
A8t<onable Anal>t<8s
0aCes Ta>lo7 + CEO) De8<s<on !anaAeCent SolBt<ons
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#$e use of analytics* especially predicti!e analytics* to impro!e 'usiness results is a key focus for marketing departments around t$e world. #$e potential for new sources of O'ig dataP* suc$ as social media* to impro!e analytics results is getting attention too. #o add !alue* t$oug$* any analytics must 'e actiona'le - and acted on. G/perience suggests t$at making analytics actiona'le is $arder t$an it looks* wit$ far too many analytic models sitting unused or failing to $a!e a significant 'usiness impact. art of t$e reason t$at organi)ations struggle wit$ making analytics actiona'le is t$at t$ey $a!e a mistaken 'elief t$at using analytics will tell t$em $ow to c$ange t$eir 'usiness. #$ey 'elie!e t$ey can do some analytics and get a great Oa$a momentP t$at will tell t$em to start doing somet$ing differently or stop doing somet$ing else. #$ey 'elie!e t$at analytics will gi!e t$em $uge* one4time impro!ements in t$eir 'usiness. But t$ey are wrong. "nalytics will not tell you $ow to c$ange your 'usiness. (nstead you must c$ange your 'usiness so t$at analytics can $elp you run it more effecti!ely. @ou must c$ange your 'usiness* c$ange t$e way you interact wit$ prospects and customers* so t$at your analytics can 'e actiona'le.
#o make analytics actiona'le many organi)ations are ;ecision Management. ;ecision Management is an approac$ to analytics t$at focuses on decisions first identifying* modeling and managing critical 'usiness decisions and applying analytics to impro!e t$ose decisions. ;ecision Management does not 'egin 'y asking Ow$at can we measureP or e!en Ow$at does t$is data
turning to
tell us.P
;ecision Management 'egins 'y asking w$ic$ decisions matter to our 'usiness0 W$ic$ decisions* if made correctly* will mo!e our 'usiness performance in a positi!e direction0 .ow* e/actly* do we mo!e t$e dials on our das$'oard0
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By identifying t$e decisions t$at can 'e impro!ed wit$ analytics* ;ecision Management identifies w$ere your 'usiness will $a!e to c$ange to account for analytics. (t identifies t$e decisions t$at are made t$e same for e!ery customer w$ere analytics could target or personali)e t$ose decisions. (t identifies t$e decisions w$ere you segment customers 'y c$annel w$ere analytics would segment t$em 'y 'e$a!iour.
#$ese decisions are often not t$e first ones t$at come to mind* $owe!er. (nstead of focusing on 'ig strategic decisions or on management decisions* ;ecision Management focuses on decisions a'out indi!idual customers or prospects. #$ese Omicro decisionsP are often $idden in an organi)ation 4 $idden 'ecause alt$oug$ organi)ations reali)e t$ey make a decision a'out t$eir customers* t$ey do not reali)e $ow many t$ey make. For instance* if you decide to send a marketing email to a su'set of your customers you mig$t t$ink you $a!e made Eust a couple of decisions suc$ as w$at to put in t$e email and w$o recei!es it. "nd you mig$t t$ink t$at you could use analytics to come up wit$ a muc$ 'etter email or target list. W$ile you $a!e made t$ese two decisions* you $a!e also made a decision for
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eac$ customer to eit$er recei!e or not recei!e t$e email. #$erefore* if you $a!e %0*000 customers you Eust made %0*000 decisions - one for eac$ customer. Similarly* if your we'site $as a t$ousand !isitors eac$ day and you $a!e decided on a promotion to display t$en you $a!e made a t$ousand additional decisions Eust today - to display t$is promotion to eac$ indi!idual !isitor. ,rgani)ations are increasingly reali)ing t$at t$ese micro decisions can 'e made one at a time* treating eac$ customer uni+uely and relying on analytics to personali)e and target t$e promotion* message or content deli!ered. By c$anging your 'usiness to t$ink of t$ese as micro decisions* decisions a'out a single customer or prospect* you can make your analytics actiona'le. Dow your propensity models are actiona'le* for instance* 'ecause you make t$e email content !ary depending on w$at eac$ customer is likely to 'uy. Because predicti!e analytics tell you w$ats likely to 'e true for a gi!en customer* t$ey are actiona'le only in t$e conte/t of a micro decision a'out t$at customer. #$is focus on decisions addresses one of t$e 'iggest c$allenges in de!eloping actiona'le analytics. By focusing on decisions t$at must 'e made and 'y tying t$ese decisions to t$e way t$e 'usiness operates* t$e metrics t$at matter to it* analytic teams ensure t$ey understand t$e pro'lem t$at must 'e sol!ed and t$at t$ey can clearly see w$at success looks like - $ow t$ey will measure t$e !alue of t$eir analytics. ;ecision Management also creates a s$ared framework and colla'oration en!ironment for t$e 'usiness* (# and t$e analytics teams. Because all t$ree groups understand decisions and decision4making* t$ey can come to an understanding of t$e pro'lem 'y identifying and prioriti)ing t$e micro decisions t$at dri!e t$e organi)ation3s success. ;ecision Management links t$ese decisions to t$e 'usiness dri!ers and performance measures t$at $a!e t$e most impact on t$e 'usiness. Modeling t$e decisions to 'e analytically impro!ed clarifies and focuses analytic proEects. redicti!e analytic models can now 'e 'uilt to influence t$ese decisions*
3%

predicting t$e risk or opportunity in eac$ customer or prospect. Because t$ese decisions are $ig$ !olume e!en small impro!ements can make a 'ig difference* making it possi'le to 'egin s$owing a positi!e result from relati!ely simple analytic models. #$ese decisions often need to 'e made in real4time so t$ese predicti!e analytic models must 'e deployed into automated decisioning solutions suc$ as offer or ad engines. ,nce 'uilt t$ese solutions will need to e!ol!e and impro!e 'ot$ to increase t$e +uality of decisions and to ensure t$at c$anging circumstances are reflected in t$e way decisions are made. ;ecisions are $ig$ c$ange components* impacted 'y c$anges in markets* consumer 'e$a!ior* regulation and data. 1ollecting data a'out w$at works* continually refining t$e predicti!e analytic models you use and optimi)ing o!er time ensure t$e 'est possi'le outcomes. "nalytics are a potentially powerful tool in your toolkit* pro!ided t$ey are actiona'le. Focusing on decisions first* and on micro decisions* will make sure t$ey are.
3&
Knderstanding and Measuring Social (nfluence

"run SundararaEan
Ar$n S$ndarara%an is a professor and 9#C .ac$lty .ellow at 9ew Bork ;niversityAs Stern School of :$siness, and an expert on infl$ence in social, economic and political networks. is award,winning research has !een widely p$!lished in scientific %o$rnals. is recent op,eds have appeared in o$tlets that incl$de :loom!erg, .inancial *imes, arvard :$siness 5eview, *he Mint and =ired.
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(n;e7stan;<nA an; !easB7<nA So8<al InflBen8e

A7Bn SBn;a7a7aDan P7ofesso7 an; NEC Fa8Blt> Fello?) Ne? Yo7@ (n<=e7s<t>3s Ste7n S89ool of $Bs<ness
" couple of weeks ago* ( $ad an interesting classroom discussion wit$ my MB" students at t$e (ndian Sc$ool of Business a'out t$e relati!e OinfluenceP of S$as$i #$aroor 6%.6<M #witter followers* Flout score =27 and riyanka 1$opra 63.2?M #witter followers* Flout score =57. #$at room full of digitally sa!!y future 'usiness leaders concluded* among ot$er t$ings* t$at: %. @es* 'ot$ were indeed 'ot$ influential - #$aroor in t$e realms of politics and literature* 1$opra in t$e realm of fas$ionN &. #$e actual content in t$eir #witter feeds $ad !ery little to do wit$ t$eir domains of influence* and 3. #witter 6and t$us Flout7 was more a reflection of t$eir real4world influence rat$er t$an t$e c$annel 'y w$ic$ t$ey garnered t$eir influence. @ou mig$t de'ate eac$ of t$ese points 6as t$ey did7* and come to different conclusions a'out points 6&7 and 637 for ot$er OinfluencersP. "nd you mig$t end up 'eing rig$t. #$e point is* t$e science of measuring influence is still in its infancy* and t$ere are still su'stantial gaps 'etween actual influence in t$e real world* and w$at t$e data trails of our online networks capture. .ere are t$ree simple lessons t$at can guide us in t$e interim: T9<nAs t9at loo@ l<@e =<7al s:7ea; a7e often s<C:l> ;eCoA7a:9<8s (t is often e/citing to see application downloads* ad!ertisements or product adoptions t$at appear to 'e spreading t$roug$ a customer 'ase* and makes all of us want to identify t$e influencers. .owe!er* t$ere are many different reasons w$y suc$ outcomes mig$t OclusterP across customers w$o
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are connected !ia a social media platform like Face'ook or an emailA(M network. We $a!e known for decades t$at O'irds of a feat$er flock toget$erP* or people w$o $a!e social connections tend to 'e similar* a p$enomenon sociologists call O$omop$ilyP. W$en you see clusters of connected customers making similar c$oices* it could simply 'e 'ecause t$ey $a!e similar tastes* w$ic$ causes t$em to 'e friends* and t$ese tastes 6or demograp$ics7 are dri!ing t$e c$oices. ,r it could 'e e!en simpler. #$e c$oice itself 44 for e/ample* adopting (nstagram 44 could 'e causing t$e creation of t$e friends$ip ties* somet$ing we call OselectionP. #$e trou'le is* in t$e data* 'ot$ t$ese e/planations look identical* and e/actly t$e same as a t$ird - t$at your product or idea is in fact spreading !irally 'ecause of genuine person4to4person social influence. But t$e marketing implications of t$is difference are $uge. (f you $a!e real influence* a !iral marketing strategy is t$e way to go t$e ne/t time around. (f not* a demograp$ics4'ased approac$ would 'e 'etter. Smart companies are t$erefore mo!ing 'eyond network simulations* superficial analysis and measures like Flout* del!ing deeper into capturing t$e flows of data and measuring influence more precisely. #$e tec$ni+ues
1 arent too comple/ * and eas ily im plem ented - you Eus t $a! e to know
to look out for t$em . Lots of sCall 8ontaA<ons a7e Aene7all> bette7 t9an one A<ant e:<;eC<8 " series of studies @a$oo and Microsoft 8esearc$ $a!e s$own t$at an o!erw$elming maEority of influence4'ased spread o!er social media $as !ery little dept$. #$at is* o!er ??.?L of t$e total !olume of online social contagion comprises one or two steps* and it is !ery rare for somet$ing to spread widely o!er #witter* Face'ook or any ot$er emerging digital platform.
See* for e/ample* "ral* Muc$nik and SundararaEan* D"S &00?* $ttp:AAwww.pnas.orgAcontentA%06A5%A&%522
35

#$is $as important implications for $ow you allocate your ad!ertising money if you are in fact targeting influencers to spread your message. (n most cases* if you spread your 'udget o!er targeting a large num'er of somew$at influential people* rat$er t$an going after a few e/tremely $ig$ly connected ones* you will get 'etter returns.
It3s not DBst t9e net?o7@) <t3s t9e 8ontent as ?ell W$en t$e lig$ts went out during Super'owl &0%3* t$e marketing 'rains at ,reo rapidly generated t$e following ad content rapidly:
" link to t$is ad* tweeted from M,reo 6w$ic$ $ad* at t$e time* a mere 65*000 followers7 generated %6*000 re4tweets and 6*000 fa!orites* 6more t$an triple w$at resident ,'amas most successful tweet generated after t$e State of t$e Knion speec$7* making t$is per$aps t$e most successful ad!ert of t$e Super'owl. ,ften* in our +uest for influencers* we forget t$at good content can create its own !iral spread. Some companies like Bu))feed are 'uilding a 'usiness on t$is idea. G/treme $umor like t$eirs isnt always necessary - w$ats critical to remem'er is t$at e!en in our 'ra!e new world of social marketing* t$e message is still at least as important as t$e ma!en.
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.ow Social Media 1an 8e!eal #$e Mystery ,f 9oyaltyI

J.F
Mr. ". ?. the "eneral :rands with :$siness of <imited the Staples, 9oodles and prod$cts. "?
Brand
Sures$
S$resh is Manager , the .oods +*C looking after categories of Snacks, Confectionery, 5eady to #at has worked in a
variety of roles from Sales to *rade Marketing to :rand Management. +n his prior assignment, he was ead , :rands and :$siness Development with the 0ersonal Care !$siness where he oversaw the la$nches of !rands like .iama Di =ills, 4ivel and 4ivel Active .air , across the intensely competitive categories of Soaps, Shampoos and .airness Creams. e was also *rade Marketing Development Manager responsi!le for the development of Distri!$tion and +* strategy for all +*C)s .MC" prod$cts.
Ho? So8<al !e;<a 8an 7e=eal t9e C>ste7> of b7an; lo>alt>#." SB7es9 #ene7al !anaAe7) ITC Foo;s
9ets face it. 1ustomers are no longer loyal or rat$er t$ey are loyal 'ut to 'rands t$at understand and engage wit$ t$em in t$e new world. #$e messages carried 'y t$e ad!ertisements are no longer compelling. For years* 'rands were a'le to suppress t$e consumers !oice. But now* all it takes is a #weet or a Face'ook update from an irate customer and t$e world knows a'out it. .onesty $as 'ecome most 'rands top priority. 3<

Maintaining 'rand loyalty $as suddenly 'ecome t$e 'iggest c$allenge. Moreo!er* t$e entire concept of loyalty is !ague. "ll t$anks to Face'ook* w$ere one person is interacting wit$ se!eral competing 'rands* all at once. (n suc$ a scenario* traditional 'randing e/ercises are no longer effecti!e in getting t$e attention of customers. #$is is furt$er complicated 'y t$e !ariety of de!ices w$ere suc$ micro eco4systems e/ist. #$is is t$e result of t$e digital con!ergence of culture* 'usiness and economy into 'its and 'ytes. So* t$is is w$ere lie not only t$e c$allenges 'ut also $uge opportunities for 'rands to understand t$eir customers. ;igging into t$e wealt$ of social media data* 'rands can today disco!er consumer insig$ts like ne!er 'efore. #$ere are 2 steps to understanding customer insig$ts t$roug$ social media: B B B B Find out w$at people are talking a'out and w$y Find out w$o is talking and influencing t$e crowd Kse t$is intelligence to optimi)e your 'rands message to impact in Measure your interaction and influence of t$e messages and optimi)e
real4time. t$em. ,ne 'rand t$at $as successfully utili)ed t$e a'o!e steps is BingoI wit$ t$e launc$ of BingoI #angles on Face'ook. Wit$ o!er 3 million fans* Face'ook offered BingoI a great window into understanding consumers con!ersations. 1onsumers use t$ese forums to talk a'out t$eir likes Q dislikes and welcome new information on product as t$ey find it appeti)ing* tempting Q satisfies t$eir need for !ariety. 1onse+uently we decided to launc$ t$e new Bingo #angles first on Face'ook and gi!e a c$ance to loyal BingoI fans to disco!er t$e product and also taste it 'efore it $it t$e market. " teaser contest was created for Face'ook fans w$ic$ encouraged t$em to decip$er t$e 'rand name and t$e winners could taste t$e product 'efore it was made a!aila'le in t$e market. #$ousands of fans participated in t$e contest and packs of
3=

Bingo #angles were sent to t$e winners. #$is campaign $elped us connect wit$ t$e 'rand ad!ocates and also use Face'ook as a launc$ platform for !arious ot$er 'rands. ;ata is a !ital raw material for 'uilding t$e 'usiness infrastructure in t$e information age. Brands t$at can put systems in place to access* process and utili)e t$e data will 'e t$e most successful in connecting wit$ t$e customers and influence t$eir decisions.
#$e key idea 'e$ind customer loyalty is customer retention. #$ere are already different programs* w$ic$ 'usinesses employ like reward programs* referral programs and %4to4% marketing campaigns to ensure t$at customers stay wit$ t$e 'rand. But social networks are taking o!er t$ese programs in terms of gaining a deeper relations$ip wit$ t$e 'rand. #$ere are 3 ways to use social media data to impro!e and make social programs muc$ more effecti!e: %. T9e $7an; s9oBl; AenB<nel> 8a7e
W$en you em'ark on t$e social media Eourney* 'e prepared to respond to negati!e as well as positi!e feed'ack and genuinely do somet$ing a'out
3?

consumer pro'lems. ,n t$e "as$ir!aad Multigrains Face'ook page one of t$e fan 'roug$t to our notice una!aila'ility of "as$ir!aad Multigrains atta in $er area. We used t$is info to in!estigate t$e issue wit$ our sales team and figured out t$at t$ere was an issue wit$ t$e sales person operational in t$at area. "ction was taken immediately and we called 'ack t$e consumer to !alidate t$at $er pro'lem $ad 'een addressed.we figured out t$at t$is was an issue due to t$e sales person operational in t$at area. #$us listening to a single fan* w$o was representing a cluster of consumers in t$at region* we were a'le to resol!e issues faced 'y many suc$ consumers in t$at region. .. EnAaAe ?<t9oBt los<nA fo8Bs on >oB7 b7an;s
Many times t$e focus on t$e content posted on Social Media platform goes to e/tremes. Git$er it is too generic or it is too 'rand centric. #$ere s$ould 'e a proper 'alance. 3. $7an;s 9a=e to lea7n to 8on=e7se ?<t9 8onsBCe7s as eIBals.
Brands are too used to speaking to consumers from a position of aut$ority Q knowledge and not as a friend. But today 'rands need to learn to con!erse wit$ t$e consumers on e+ual terms Q 'e seen as an ena'ler. #$e key t$ing is to do it wit$out compromising on t$e 'rand OpersonalityP. .ence t$e !oice of BingoI is more yout$ful Q contemporaryN t$e !oice for "as$ir!aad is always Eoyful Q optimistic w$ile t$at of Fitc$ens of (ndia is aut$entic Q welcoming.
20

So we now know w$y and $ow social media can $elp decip$er t$e mystery of 'rand loyalty. But t$e last portion and t$e most !ital one* is to understand $ow to measure t$is in social media. #$ere are 2 factors* w$ic$ one must consider w$ile looking into 'rand loyalty in social media:
%.
First of all* w$at are customers talking a'out your 'rand and $ow0
W$at are t$eir attitudes and sentiments towards your 'rand0 W$at is t$eir feeling towards your 'rand0 "re t$ey neutral* friendly* $ostile or ignorant0 #$is $elps 'rand not only understand t$e emotion 'ut also map t$em along t$e 'rand attri'utes and identify t$e missing 'its. &. Secondly* to understand t$e emotional connection 'etween a customer
and your 'rand and measuring t$e strengt$ of t$e 'ond. Most often an out4 'urst 'y a customer is temporary* and can 'e mitigated easily. .ence* identifying suc$ customers is !ital. Many a times t$e re!erse is true as well. #$ere was once a complaint on Face'ook 'y a consumer on t$e +uality of "tta. Before we could 'egin to address t$e pro'lem* 3 ot$er consumers $ad responded asking t$e fan to c$eck t$e storage conditions at t$e outlet of purc$ase as well as $er kitc$en.
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3. #$irdly understand t$at t$e customer is likely to 'uy more t$an one segment of products from t$e 'rand. #$is sends muc$ a stronger signal of loyalty. 2. "nd finally* know w$ic$ platforms are more effecti!e in communicating
wit$ t$e customer. Gmail* Social Detworks* Mo'ile* #:* #a'lets and t$e list goes on. #$e a!enues w$ere customers are present are wide. .ence identifying t$e top engaging platforms and optimi)ing t$em is !ital. Mining social data and 'uilding your decision systems on top of it is t$e secret of successful customer retention. #$e main goal is to make an emotional connection wit$ t$e customer in eac$ interaction to increase referrals* retention and ac+uisition.
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S18M in &0%3: De/t Jen Social Media "nalytics

B$upendra F$anal
:h$pendra is the co,fo$nder and Chief #xec$tive 2fficer of SimplifyH68. 0rior to this he was a manger and fo$nding mem!er at Marketelligent, an Analytics Cons$lting company. #arlier he worked at .air +saac /now .+C21 as Marketing Analytics Cons$ltant and served clients like artford +ns$rance, Smith and awkins, and Coca,Cola. :efore .+C2, :h$pendra worked at "lo!al Analytics as :$siness Analyst, and lead a team of 6 people to develop and implement #nterprise Decision Management System for S$!,prime :anking in ;nited States.
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SCR! <n .&%34 NeFt #en So8<al !e;<a Anal>t<8s

$9B:en;7a "9anal + CEO) S<C:l<f>36&
#$e time w$en people discussed tools is long past. &0%3 will talk a'out 'usiness outcomes* F (s and unified systems t$at streamline 'usiness functions. Social Media is mo!ing towards 'ecoming a general utility medium muc$ like $one or Gmail. 8emem'er* e!en t$oug$ t$ese mediums are used for customer ser!ice* no one refers to t$em as suc$ e/clusi!ely. Social Media is $ig$ly misrepresented in 'usiness circles. (t is regarded as an ad!ertising medium to amass Face'ook fans and #witter followers. #$is s$ould end now.
We s$ould start looking at t$e 'usiness functions and use Social Media to ac$ie!e t$e 'usiness goals. #$e F (s needs to 'e defined and 'est practices 'uilt up. "nd to make all t$ese t$ings $appen* "nalytics $as a maEor role to play. .ere are some of my recommendations. %. So8<al !e;<a <s Co7e t9an EnAaAeCent. So8<al Ceans bBs<ness. Gnoug$ and more $as already 'een said a'out Social Media Gngagement. 9et us outgrow it. 9et us talk a'out t$e real 'usiness impact. ,'!iously* t$e same 'usiness metrics work for Social Media t$at work for ot$er mediums. #$e !alue $as to 'e in one or more of t$e following: a. In87ease; Re=enBe
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#$ere are multiple a!enues of re!enue reali)ation t$roug$ Social Media. 1ompanies are trying offering discount coupons and cross4selling products in eac$ ot$ers Social 1$annels. Most companies $a!e not 'een a'le to generate leads for 'usiness. But t$is was true for all earlier adopted c$annels - #ele!ision* 8adio* Gmail etc. #$e leads are 'est generated and tracked wit$ $ig$ confidence t$roug$ 1 "ds.
For Social Media to 'e successful* it is !ery important to $a!e clear re!enue goals and a strategy to 'ack it. We* at Simplify360* $a!e 'een !ery successful in generating a good num'er of leads from Slides$are. (t works great for a B&B Model. b. In87ease; $BEE
Social Media does not only $a!e consumers. (t $as resonators too. "nd t$is can 'e $ig$ly le!eraged 'y properly 'uilding a community and keeping t$em acti!e. #$e message once gone !iral is more powerful t$an se!eral passi!ely played ads in ot$er c$annels. 8eason - t$e message flows in t$e form of recommendations 'etween friends and connected indi!iduals. #$e trust factor is t$us $ig$ enoug$ to s$ow some ama)ing output. 8. Cost Sa=<nAs
#ake t$e e/ample of a B , operation. #$e a!erage cost per call from a B , company to t$e consumer costs an a!erage of KS; R0.% 6(D8 57* w$ile t$e cost of recei!ing a call on time from a customer is KS; R% 6(D8 507. #$e difference in t$e price occurs as t$e B , 1ompany needs to c$arge for resources waiting for t$e call too. #$is adds to t$e p$one 'ill c$arge. Dow take t$e e/ample of a Social Media 1ontact 1entre. Se!eral people may post complaints on Face'ook or #witter* a few reps can +uickly $andle it and respond like an (nternet Messenger. #$e 'enefit $ere is no one needs to remem'er eac$ ot$ers p$one num'er or email id. Bonus - $uge sa!ings on
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manpower cost. "dd to it t$e remo!al of p$one 'ills. Simple internet connection will suffice. #$is results in $uge sa!ings o!erall.
..
InteA7at<on <s t9e ?a> to Ao. So8<al CR! <s t9e fBtB7e.
@ou mig$t $a!e a million fans on Face'ook and you pro'a'ly $a!e a few million customers. "nd a million times* you $a!e asked your Social Media "gency $ow many of t$ose fans are your customers and $ow many sign4ups you recei!ed t$roug$ t$e medium. @ou $a!e 'een a 'adass towards your agency. .ere is t$e 'ad news - your agency does not $a!e t$e answer. But t$ere is good news too - you can $a!e t$ose answers. #$e answer surfaces w$en you start looking at it closely and ask your (# guys to work closely wit$ t$e 1M,s office and to do proper 18M (ntegration. @ou may c$oose to outsource it too. "nd ( feel* t$is is a 'etter solution as w$en two 1 9e!el officers get in!ol!ed* t$e work $ardly gets done on time. 9et t$e 1M, take on an outsourced partner and get t$e 18M integration 'it done.
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Dow get your customer ser!ice guys* .8 guys and Finance guys in!ol!ed* and +uickly mo!e towards making t$e w$ole Gnterprise fully Social. #$e future* and your unfair ad!antage o!er competition starts $ere. 3. Nee; to 7<se abo=e t9e !IS Re:o7ts. P7e;<8t<=e Anal>t<8s <s t9e ?a>
to Ao. @ou $a!e Social Media data* and you may $a!e some good M(S reports t$at s$ow t$e $istorical trend and some 'e$a!iour grap$s. ;o not assume t$at you $a!e enoug$ intelligence re+uired to run t$e 'usiness. @ou pro'a'ly $a!e t$e intelligence to run t$e 'usiness 'ut you mig$t 'e Eust missing enormous opportunities 'y not mining t$is !alua'le data and getting 'usiness insig$ts. "fter t$e data mining and insig$ts e/traction* anot$er window opens and t$at is for predicti!e analytics and forecasting. #$e Social Media data is a not only an indicator of e/isting issues or opportunities* it mig$t 'e pointing to a $uge market s$ift. .ad Black'erry focused enoug$ on Social Media and mined t$e incoming data for i,S and "ndroid* it wouldnt $a!e 'een left 'e$ind till now* in t$e Smartp$one war. "ll it needed was time to counter t$e two 'iggies wit$ a good 8 campaign and some +uiality touc$ screen p$ones. #$ey ignored t$is and 'ottom4lines 'eing 'adly $it. /. "PIs of So8<al !e;<a. ROI <n fo8Bs. launc$ kept
ignoring it till t$e 1G,s office got into a crisis wit$ 'ot$ t$e top4line and
We talked a'out direct 'usiness impact. Dow let me talk a'out some direct
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F (s t$at s$ow real 'usiness impact. a. In87ease; Re=enBe
#$e F (s $ere need to 'e: <. No. of lea;s @outu'e* Face'ook* #witter need landing pages and links to track t$e num'er of leads t$at get reali)ed. Slides$are pro!ides a way to capture leads t$roug$ form su'mission. (t is important to realise t$at suc$ social media leads are mostly t$e leads t$at s$ow interest in your product and not necessarily an interest in 'uying t$e product. #$is does not $old true and t$ere can 'e a direct 'uying interest in leads if a coupon is downloaded t$roug$ a Face'ook "pp* for
e/ample. <<. 1Bal<t> of lea;s (t is important to track t$e +uality of leads in terms of furt$er communication t$at goes wit$ t$e generated lead. #$e con!ersion rate is t$e 'est metric to Eudge. ;o not get carried away wit$ t$e noise a'out Social Media and look for ot$er metrics. Simple 'usiness metrics work great $ere. <<<. VolBCe of bBs<ness Aene7ate; 2=

#oget$er wit$ con!ersions* keep a ta' on your !olume of 'usiness. #$is is simple. 4ol$me of !$siness I S$m /converted leads J reven$e from the leads1 (f ( $a!e to look at Simplify360* most of our 'usiness con!ersions $a!e $appened from t$e leads recei!ed t$roug$ our Social efforts. #$e num'er currently stands at slig$tly o!er 50L. b. In87ease; $BEE (ncreased 'u)) is 'est measured using t$e 8 logic. #$e price t$at a company would end up paying for ads on !arious digital or non4digital c$annels. 8emem'er 'u)) is not merely t$e num'er of mentions on t$e we' and no. of retweets or s$ares. But t$is $as to reflect in t$e form of actual money gained or sa!ed 'y t$e company. ere is an example& *ata Docomo gets a coverage of 18 news mentions a month on the front pages of ma%or national dailies for !eing the most followed .ace!ook page in +ndia. *he s$m of the ad cost for those 18 spaces is a direct saving for the company. 9ow add to that the total amo$nt of digital ads that *ata Docomo wo$ld have paid for, in getting ads across the digital formats of those national dailies. *he amo$nt is not small.
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@ou s$ould furt$er mo!e a$ead and add t$e you recei!e from any Social 1$annels. 5.
1 rate for all t$e clicks t$at
In t9e So8<al E7a) Intell<Aen8e <s 7eal t<Ce.
#$e time $as gone w$en you would !isit a Market 8esearc$ agency* ask t$em to do a sur!ey* collect t$e results in a mont$ or two* analyse t$e data and get t$e report in 3 to 2 mont$s. #$e pace at w$ic$ inno!ation $appens now and markets s$ift* t$e traditional market researc$ reports will 'e as good as useless. 1urrent 'usiness scenarios call for a real time intelligence monitoring system* and no medium can deli!er it 'etter t$an Social 1$annels. #$e Social Media stream is real4time and t$ere are enoug$ systems like Simplify360*t$at pro!ide intelligence on 'rands* competitors and markets in real time. Waiting for reports is a part of $istory now. Welcome to t$e intelligence re!olution. 6. So8<al !e;<a <s no Co7e C!O3s :7obleC. It <s t9e CEO3s :7obleC.
@ou are making a Big mistake if you consider Social Media as Eust a part of ;igital Media Marketing. (t is not. Social Media is a part of ;igital Media* 'ut
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it is not limited to Marketing Functions. (t is more like Gmail and $one. (t is a resource t$at t$e w$ole company needs to play wit$ and take 'enefit from. Social Media is t$us* a 1G,s pro'lem. (t is a 'rand reputation pro'lem* it is a social media marketing pro'lem* it is a customer ser!ice pro'lem* it is a $uman resources pro'lem* and it is an in!estor relations pro'lem. "t Destle* t$e 1ommunications :ice resident is responsi'le for Social Media efforts t$roug$out t$e company. For (#1 Foods* it is t$e marketing $ead and indi!idual 'rand $eads w$o take t$e call. For 1offee ;ay* 1M, 8amki $imself gets in!ol!ed. "nd for Ma$indra Jroup* Jroup 1$airman "nand Ma$indra $imself leads t$e Social "rmy. #$e way companies use Social media !aries greatly* and t$is* ( feel* is t$e outcome of a lack of defined 'est practices in t$e Social Media industry. More and more companies are now following t$e "nand Ma$indra Model or Mic$ael ;ell model. #$e 1G, leads t$e c$arge. Make no mistake. #ake Social Media seriously. (t is a 1S, pro'lem. Wit$out a senior le!el in!ol!ement* Social Media can 'e a disaster as muc$ as it results in t$e loss of $uge opportunity.
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Social Media Best ractices

"nkita Ja'a
A Social Media strategist and cons$ltant, Ankita "a!a has co,fo$nded her second start $p, Socialsamosa.com, An +ndian Social Media ?nowledge 0ortal.She loves networking, meeting
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new people and is a !ig time shoeoholic.
So8<al !e;<a $est P7a8t<8es

An@<ta #aba Co FoBn;e7) So8<al SaCosa
@ou pro'a'ly $a!e got your 'rand on 'oard social media and are working wit$ your team or agency on taking it a$ead. @ou $a!e great e/pectations from social media and want it to work wonders for you. But will it 'e of any $elp to you0 ,f course it will 'e* if you follow t$e following 'est practices. O7Aan<Eat<onal a;a:t<ons4 In=ol=e all ;e:a7tCents: Social Media marketing is passT. Social 'usiness is in. Social Media cannot work in a silo* it cannot 'e used as a pus$ marketing tool anymore. (t is and it will 'e a two way con!ersation. ,n social media* you will get customer +ueries and complaints. So you need to $a!e an alert customer ser!ice department in your organi)ation and a one w$o is trained and e+uipped to $andle +ueries on social media* 'efore t$ey 'ecome a 'ig 8 crisis.
#$e sales team will also $a!e to Eump in* to nurture leads t$at come in from social media. #$e product inno!ation team will get t$e necessary feed'ack 53

from t$e consumer con!ersations for free* w$ere t$ey tune in to listen t$at is* w$ic$ will $elp t$em redesign t$e products or ser!ices to increase performance. #$e mine of con!ersations* if analy)ed* will $elp t$e market researc$ team understand t$e consumer 'e$a!iour and consumption patterns. #$e idea is to t$ink 'eyond one department and one 'enefit of 'eing acti!e and $arnessing t$e power of social media. T7a<n >oB7 HOD3s4 @ou cannot e/pect acti!e participation from all t$e departments if you dont train and encourage t$e leaders. #$e o'Eecti!e s$ould 'e to make t$em comforta'le wit$ t$e medium* to make t$em understand t$e importance of Eumping into social media. .ands on training will facilitate t$e process of con!erting t$e rigid lean organi)ation style functioning into a more free flowing one. Social media can 'e t$e catalyst for encouraging .,;s to work closely wit$ eac$ ot$er. Inte7nal So8<al Net?o7@4 ,n t$e a'o!e note* encouraging social interactions at t$e workplace t$roug$ an enterprise social network will 'oost t$e flow of information wit$in t$e organi)ation* make it a more $umane place to work at and t$us increase efficiency and producti!ity. (f t$is interests you read on $ere. St7ateA> le=el a;a:t<ons4 Ha=e a :e7sonal<t> Simply 'roadcasting content will not take you anyw$ere. (t is essential to $a!e a 'rand con!ersation style* a pattern and a personality. (t is t$is personality t$at will $elp t$e 'rand stand out in t$e ocean of con!ersations online. Flipkart is known for its +uick and witty reply. FQB 'rand .ippo for its one liner puns. #$is $elps consumers remem'er and recall. (t 'reaks t$e
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monotony in t$e o!erload of con!ersations. (f you $a!e a personality for your 'rand in all your offline communication plans* you only need to eit$er duplicate or impro!ise on t$at. #$e personality will also $elp you $a!e a sustaina'le strategy in place. S>n8 offl<ne st7ateA> an; :os<t<on<nA @ou dont want to 'e one 'rand offline and an entirely different 'rand online. (n todays age of ad!ertising o!erkill it is essential to spread out t$e same message across all mediums. #$e promises offered offline need to 'e carried forward online too. #$e digital team s$ould work closely wit$ t$e 'randing and communications team. G!en $ygiene factors like using t$e same colour sc$eme as t$at of t$e 'rand* t$e same punc$ lines etcetera s$ould 'e taken care off. G!en in a standalone digitalAsocial media campaign t$e a'o!e mentioned $ygiene factors will need to 'e on your c$ecklist. EnAaAe ?<t9 <nflBen8e7s (n any purc$ase 'e$a!ior* peer recommendations play a !ery important role. "ll t$e more so now t$at we $a!e easy access to our friends and family3s opinions on one click. (t 'ecomes of an utmost importance to a 'rand w$en t$e purc$ase decision is 'eing influenced 'y a current customer or someone w$o $as e/pertise in t$e product !ertical rat$er t$an t$e 'rands marketing efforts. #$e idea would 'e to influence t$ese influencers positi!ely so t$at t$ey can influence t$e masses. .owe!er* Eumping into t$is wit$out a strong 'lueprint and crisis management plan would 'e foolis$ness. #$e influencers will not support t$e 'rand if t$ey arent con!inced t$emsel!es a'out it. " !ery tactical approac$ for interacting wit$ t$em is essential.
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Anal>t<8s at t9e 8o7e4 !<ne) !on<to7 an; Anal>se to <C:7o=<se Knfortunately !ery few 'rands are doing t$is. #$ere is a gold mine of 'rand and consumer insig$ts $idden under t$e dust of con!ersations waiting to 'e tapped. @ou can understand w$o is talking a'out you or your competitors* w$ere are t$ey talking from* w$at are t$ey talking a'out. "re t$ey $appy wit$ t$e product* t$e pre sales ser!ice* t$e after sales ser!ice* t$e !ariety of options a!aila'le* etc. Basically any 'usiness pro'lem can 'e sol!ed 'y in!esting time and effort in t$e analysis of data. Dot only will it sol!e 'usiness pro'lems* analy)ing and studying insig$ts will $elp increase product performance and efficiency. Gnterprise grade tools like Simplify360.com* Bo/mytalk.com etc $elp in making t$e Eo' easier. Anal>se :e7fo7Can8e :e7<o;<8all> 8unning campaigns and $a!ing $uge 'udgets of media spend is t$e pattern t$at ( see wit$ 'rands. W$ile media spends is relati!ely easier to calculate* social media isnt. But it is essential to set internal metrics like engagement rate* sentiment impro!ement* grie!ances resol!ed* traffic on site increase* actual sales figure to measure t$e performance of all social media acti!ities. "naly)ing t$ese periodically eliminates resource wastage and furt$er strengt$ens t$e 'elief in social media. "s you can see for yourself* t$ere are so many aspects to social media apart from Eust marketing. "nd following t$e a'o!e practices will $elp you le!erage t$is ama)ing medium.
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(nside ;ata W$ats for Marketing0

;eep S$erc$an
Deep Sherchan is the co, Chief Marketing SimplifyH68. e is leaders in social and has p$!lished reports on social media in
Big in it
fo$nder and 2fficer at one of the tho$ght media analytics n$mero$s research implementation of !$siness systems.
Ins<;e $<A Data + <t fo7 !a7@et<nA?

Dee: S9e789an + C!O) S<C:l<f>36&
U;ataI ;ataI ;ataIU $e cried. U( can3t make 'ricks wit$out clay.U
W9at3s <n
S$erlock .olmes ,*he Advent$re of the Copper :eeches "nd t$is is e/actly $ow most marketers feel 'efore t$ey start designing t$eir marketing campaigns. 1onsumer insig$ts are t$e most important element for dri!ing marketing decisions. Wit$out t$em* most enterprises would stop 5<

functioning. Big data is one of t$e manifestations of todays consumer trends 4 proliferation of social actions* platforms and de!ices. #$ere are t$ree important aspects of 'ig data t$at are c$allenging marketers - !olume* !ariety and !elocity. Millions of dollars are spent in setting up ro'ust data centers to tackle t$ese c$allenges. #$ese infrastructures $a!e gi!en rise to new met$ods and tec$nologies to $andle and process data* w$ic$ are efficient and fast. "nd marketers are only Eust starting to reali)e t$e power of t$is efficiency and t$e opportunity to le!erage data. (n order to ma/imi)e profita'ility* marketers are always looking for ways to optimi)e t$eir media spending* communication strategy* and customer segment. B B B W$o are we targeting0 W$at are we saying0 W$en and w$ere are we saying0
#$ese +uestions need definite answers* w$ic$ can only 'e produced t$roug$ analysis of customer data. "nd we are lucky t$at we $a!e t$e tec$nology and data to work on. #oday* t$ere are a !ariety of customer touc$ points t$at are generating data e!ery second - likes* s$ares* comments* tweets* updates* !ideos* !oice* mouse clicks* location* meta tags* customer transactions etc. "ll t$is unstructured data calls for an e/tensi!e analysis and integration wit$ structured data a!aila'le wit$ t$e enterprise. Besides t$ese c$allenges* marketing in particular $as more to 'enefit from t$is paradigm s$ift. .ow marketers can use Big ;ata0 %. CBstoCe7 Ins<A9ts) SeACentat<on o7 ta7Aet<nA.
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Knderstanding customers $as ne!er 'een easier t$an t$is. #$e data collected from a !ariety of customer touc$ points can 'e mined for 360 degree profiling and segmentation.
..
O:t<C<E<nA t9e 8oCCBn<8at<on CessaAe.
(n todays fast paced communication $ig$ways* messages tra!el at t$e speed of lig$t* reac$ing millions. "s t$e message mo!es from one person to anot$er* it creates a lot of feed'ack t$at can 'e gat$ered in real4time. "nalysis of suc$ feed'ack gi!es marketers a clearer look into t$e performance of t$e message and t$e kind of optimi)ation it mig$t need. #$is can ena'le marketers carry out "AB testing on messages and increase t$eir impact. 3. Real t<Ce Re8oCCen;at<on #ene7at<on
#$e retail sector is one area w$ic$ can 'enefit $ugely from 'ig data analytics* 'ecause compared to any ot$er industry* it creates $uge data from different offline and online transactions. Big data can allow e4commerce sites to crunc$ a $uge amount of data in seconds and pro!ide recommendations to t$e !isitors on t$e kind of products t$ey mig$t 'e interested to 'uy. #$is kind of real4time analytics implementation can $ugely increase t$e sales count. Joogle* "ma)on and now e!en Face'ook* $a!e 'een e/perimenting wit$ suc$ met$ods to make effecti!e "ds and product placements. 5?

/. Ne? :7o;B8t St7ateA<es
Starting from mo'ile de!ices to clot$es to s$oes* you can 'uy anyt$ing online. "s a result* t$ere are numerous dedicated 'logs and communities t$at discuss specific products. #$is pro!ides $uge opportunities for marketers to analy)e t$e con!ersation and produce strong correlations 'etween t$e kinds of product people mig$t want to 'uy. #$ese kinds of feed'ack can 'e sent 'ack to t$e product team to make any edits and c$anges. #$ese adEustments can increase t$e effecti!eness of t$e product 'y large margins. 5. Lea;MP7os:e8t I;ent<f<8at<on
1urrently many automated marketing tools are coming up wit$ t$e implementation of 'ig data analytics* w$ic$ allows marketers to understand $ow people are interacting wit$ t$eir marketing campaigns and identify prospects. Wit$ information generated from engagement on Face'ook* #witter* Blogs and ot$er platforms* suc$ tools can effecti!ely identify leads w$ic$ are more likely to con!ert. 6. IC:7o=<nA 8BstoCe7 eF:e7<en8e
18M tools and contact centers are under $uge c$allenges to resol!e online customer complaints originating from $undreds of different platforms and portals. Besides responding to messages* analytics can 'e implemented to predict future issues and trends to a!oid any escalation. #$is can $elp marketers 'e prepared wit$ acti!e measures and impro!e t$e customer e/perience wit$ t$e ser!ice or products. #$e great de'ate among e/perts and tec$nologists is still 'etween $ow muc$ s$ould marketers depend on 'ig data analytics. Many traditional
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marketers still 'elie!e t$at most campaigns are 'ased on gut feeling and instinct* and less data dri!en. But ( 'elie!e* at t$e end it is w$at you want to ac$ie!e t$roug$ your campaigns and to w$at e/tent you can optimi)e t$em t$roug$ data analytics. #$ere will always 'e a portion of understanding* w$ic$ will 'e 'ased on instincts and $uman e/perience. Wit$ time and money* e!ery enterprise comes under a certain p$ase w$ere optimi)ation 'ecomes a key factor in winning a competition or making a Eump to new $eig$ts. (n suc$ scenarios 'ig data can pro!ide marketers wit$ an instrumental tool to 'ring t$e most and 'est out of t$e campaign.
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S,1("9 MG;(" 8G;(1#(,DS F,8 &0%3

ras$ant Hain
0rashant Gain is a social media analyst at SimplifyH68. Social Media according to him is a %$st the digitiKation of real world conversationsL hence it sho$ld !e done ca$tio$sly.
So8<al !e;<a P7e;<8t<ons fo7 .&%3

P7as9ant 0a<n So8<al !e;<a Anal>st) S<C:l<f>36&
"c+uisitions* (nno!ations* ( ,s and 1ontentI #$ese four tops t$e list for laying t$e groundwork for Social Media redictions in &0%3. Wit$ social
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media marketers focusing more and more on customer ser!ice t$roug$ social media c$annels* t$e platform w$ic$ does it t$e 'est will definitely 'e t$e winner. .ere are some predictions w$ic$ ( t$ink are going to get reali)ed in &0%3. Content !a7@et<nA be8oCes to: :7<o7<t> fo7 !a7@ete7s Wit$ e!er growing content s$aring from 'rands and users* $a!ing uni+ue content will 'ecome top priority for t$e marketers. Dow is t$e time for 'rilliant !ideos* cle!er info grap$ics* decent comics and ot$er !isually appealing content. Jrowing popularity of platforms suc$ as interest* (nstagram is making t$is need e!en more crucial. V<sBal Content ?<ll be a CBst 9a=e Wit$ Face'ooks ac+uisition of (nstagram and an unprecedented rise in interest community* it is +uite !isi'le t$at t$e online users are now getting more and more inclined towards !isual content. May 'e* t$e reason 'e$ind t$is would 'e t$at !isual content is not only s$area'le 'ut it can 'e kept for reference later on. So* refined content along wit$ classic !isuali)ation will emerge as winner of t$e $earts of online consumers. Sl<;es9a7e be8oCes e=en Co7e <C:o7tant (f you talk a'out content marketing and you dont mention Slides$are t$en it wont 'e rig$t. Slides$are is turning up to 'e t$e most preferred destination for 'usiness owners w$en it comes to content s$aring* and it $as o!erpowered giants like Face'ook* #witter as t$e worlds largest professional content s$aring community.
63

"nd* it wont 'e difficult to understand t$e reason 'e$ind 9inkedins decision of ac+uiring Slides$are in &0%&. Data s8<en8e fo7 So8<al !e;<a !a7@et<nA Ta8t<8s Social Media platforms are turning out to 'e a !ery rele!ant data source for organi)ations* and many 'rands are eyeing data scientists as t$eir first c$oice to work in t$eir social media marketing teams. Wit$ t$e ad!ent of 'ig data and many afforda'le tec$ni+ues for retrie!ing data* t$e com'ination of data science and social media will take t$e digital marketing strategy to an altoget$er new le!el. Sea789 fo7 bette7 Cet7<8s fo7 CeasB7<nA So8<al !e;<a ROI ,rgani)ations are finding it toug$ to tie dollars wit$ t$eir social media marketing returns. For 'udget planners it will 'e $ig$ly rele!ant to know t$at w$at kind of tangi'le returns t$ey are getting wit$ t$eir social media marketing strategy. "nd* $ence 'rands will definitely call for some compre$ensi!e and ro'ust metrics for measuring t$eir Social Media 8,(. #ooAleN C<A9t be8oCe t9e fa=o7<te :la8e to 9anA oBt 8ecently Joogle lus 'ecame t$e Do.& social network in t$e world. #$e most powerful feature of Joogle lus is t$e 1ommunities* w$ic$ in fact is fully capa'le of replacing forums. (t is an e/cellent way to 'ring like minded people toget$er. (t is turning out to 'e a great 'oon for 'usinesses as it facilitates pri!ate work communication* training and support* client communication and many ot$er useful features. "ll Fudos to engineers at Joogle w$o slowly and steadily making t$is possi'leI Is t9e7e a b<A a8IB<s<t<on on t9e l<st? Wit$ Face'ook getting $old of (nstagram* 9inked(n 'uying Slides$are for
62

R%%? mn* we see a !isionary approac$ of social media giants as t$ey are !ery well aware of t$e fact t$at content s$aring is going to 'e t$e key in t$is 'usiness and t$e platforms w$ic$ are producing !isually enticing and knowledgea'le data can 'e t$eir launc$ pads to t$e top. Wit$ so muc$ inno!ation and creati!e concepts w$ic$ $a!e come in t$e past two years in t$e world of social media* it wont 'e too speculati!e to t$ink t$at a 'ig ac+uisition is on t$e minds of some 1G,s. !o7e <n;Bst7<es ?<ll 8ons<;e7 ente7<nA <nto So8<al !e;<a ,rgani)ations see Social Media latforms like Face'ook* #witter as t$e 'est way for maintaining relations$ips wit$ t$eir consumers. "nd* wit$ suc$ grueling competition t$ey are feeling t$e need of a compre$ensi!e and ro'ust digital strategy more t$an e!er. " report from Jartner confirms t$e fact t$at digital tec$nologies are now a top priority for 'rands in &0%3. .ere are some e/cellent social media engagement campaigns w$ic$ were launc$ed in &0%&.
W<ll t9e ?o7l; see an IPO f7oC T?<tte7? W$en Face'ook was going to announce its ( , last year* e!eryone was e/pecting t$at t$is will start a wa!e of ( ,s 'y ot$er (nternet giants. But as t$e ( , was announced it tum'led from R3= to R&0. #$is of course forced t$e we' companies to put t$eir plans on $old.
65

But Eust imagine* w$at will $appen if twitter announces its ( ,0 #$e 'usiness model of twitter is more relia'le and ro'ust as compared to t$at of Face'ook as it doesnt rely on t$ird parties. Wit$ twitter ad re!enues reac$ing new $eig$ts since its launc$* its
predicted t$at twitter will sweep of nearly %3L of total social ad re!enue of KS. VSee t$e grap$W But* t$e top 'rass of twitter is denying any possi'ility of an ( ,* 'ut it looks like t$at 'y t$e end of &0%3 t$e most acti!e online community of t$e world will 'e all set to get listed. L<n@e;In + T9e (n;e7;oA Social Media Jurus across t$e glo'e agree to t$e statement t$at 9inked(n is t$e real social network. Wit$ new features like personal endorsements* news feed and a more classical new look of user profileN 9inked(n is all set to win $earts. VMust 8eadW Wit$ its ac+uisition of Slides$are it $as certainly 'ecome t$e engine for generating top +uality professional content of t$e world. So* wit$ its growing rele!ance amongst t$e students and Eo' seekers it wont 'e wrong to say t$at &0%3 mig$t witness some surprising and unprecedented announcements from 9inked(n. P<nte7est ?<ll t7> to ta: t9e Cale ;eCoA7a:9<8 interest in a !ery s$ort time $as e/perienced e/ponential growt$ and it $as reported $ig$est increase in uni+ue users across 1* mo'iles and apps. But* t$ere is one t$ing w$ic$ is worrisome for interests growt$ plans and it is t$at t$e social platform $asnt 'een a'le to entice male users and it is 'eing seen as t$e maEor c$allenge t$e !irtual pin 'oard pro!ider faces.
66

Wit$ more t$an <5L of interest users 'eing female* it will 'e definitely 'e a up$ill task for t$e interest team.
ossi'ilities of tying up wit$ mens 'rands appear to 'e realistic in &0%3 as it will encourage male demograp$ic to start pinning. So* t$e world awaits a stunning launc$ from interest and so do (. Jo t$roug$ t$is Social Media 8eport for &0%& 'y Dielsen for knowing a'out w$at $appened in &0%& and predicting t$at w$o will 'e leading t$e social media army in &0%3. W<ll So8<al !e;<a f7ate7n<t> see a 7e=olBt<ona7> :latfo7C <n .&%3? Wit$ emp$asis on customer ser!ice t$roug$ digital platforms increasing like ne!er 'efore and t$e e!er growing demand of personali)ation and locali)ation* t$ere is a $uge scope for a new product w$ic$ will re!olutioni)e t$e way people engage online. "nd after seeing t$e great response an inno!ati!e social platform gets from t$e online community ( can surely say t$e de!elopment process is already under pipeline.
6<

Fo7 !o7e Info7Cat<on4 1ontact: contactMsimplify360.com We'site: www.simplify360.com So8<al Net?o7@ #witter: Msimplify360 Face'ook: $ttp:AAwww.face'ook.comAsimplify360 Slides$are: $ttp:AAwww.slides$are.netA'e/deep Scri'd: $ttp:AAwww.scri'd.comASimplify360 @outu'e: $ttp:AAwww.youtu'e.comAsimplify360 interest: $ttp:AApinterest.comAsimplify360 If >oB a7e <nte7este; <n t9e so8<al Ca7@et<nA sB<t) :lease 7eIBest fo7 DE!O $ttp:AAtinyurl.comAs3604demo #$ank @ou I
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