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DATA ETHICS: GETTING THE MOST OUT OF YOUR SOCIAL DATA
THERE ARE ETHICAL CONSIDERATIONS IN PRESENTING DATA. Data is hugely powerful. Used well it can provide critical insight, which leads to smarter business strategy, higher customer retention, better campaign outcomes and more.
However, data can also be used to powerfully misinform. Either by misreading it or using it in ways to help prove an incorrect conclusion. These things can be massively damaging to an organisation, steering it the wrong direction and misleading stakeholders.
Data is used to provide insights. If it’s accurate it will drive efficiency, profitability and growth. Businesses that engage in data-driven decision making enjoy a 5% increase in output and productivity (MIT Sloan School of Business). As such, you want to ensure you’re making decisions off reliable. In this regard, quality is more important than quantity. You need to know that you can rely upon what you’re presented with before making any decisions.
Accuracy alone doesn’t solve the problem. Timeliness matters. Getting the right data is key, but getting it in time to make decisions that impact the bottom line is crucial. If it’s too late to act, it’s nowhere near as useful.
WHY DOES IT MATTER?
COMMON ERRORS01
THE MOST COMMON ERRORSKnowing the importance of data accuracy and timeliness, what are the most common errors in reporting and representation? We present the five most common errors and why they matter.
All data is valuable, even if it doesn’t reflect what you hoped for. While it’s tempting to leave out outliers or data that seems extraneous, the full context is very important. Only presenting positive data might seem like a good idea, but you won’t be basing decisions off key factors. Knowing why you didn’t hit a metric can be just as valuable as actually hitting the metric. When you isolate or omit data, you’re more prone to errors in interpretation or missing a key point.
OMITTING DATA.
NOT UNDERSTANDING IMPRESSIONS.
Impression and reach are real metrics and have a set definition. These can often be thrown out, but they do serve a purpose and are definable.
• Reach: the number of people who see your content. • Impressions: the number of times your content is displayed. • Engagement: the number of interactions people have with
your content
Social media is a form of marketing. That means your goal is the same as with other forms of marketing: to get people to see and interact with your brand. It’s easy to overlook impression for just engagement; however, the end goal of your marketing should always be in mind. And because of that, impressions count. Remember your goal is and which metric matters most to that goal.
FOCUSING ON DIPS.
While a drop in conversation seems scary, it doesn’t necessarily mean anything wrong. Don’t look to answer why conversation dropped; instead look at the cause of the peaks. You can learn more from why conversation spiked and what causes your audience to talk. In addition, if conversation peaked because of a crisis situation or something not handled properly, then you want the dip. Finally, sentiment can fluctuate for a number of reasons (for more on this, read our post here.) Context is everything.
An increase in social buzz is not always for a good reason. Quality matters. You want an audience that is receptive. And again, context matters. You want to understand why your metrics are increasing, not just see an increase.
Crises and poor customer service could be at the root of the issue, and that changes how you act on the data. Spam is another factor that could influence your data, which again changes how interesting and relevant this data point could be.
Context, context, context.
MEASURING TARGETS SOLELY ON QUANTITATIVE MEANS.
You want to compare apples to apples. So, you must use the same measures in your queries if you are going to use them as a benchmark against your competitor. So, what does this look like? This means using social accounts, product keywords and more for your competitors if you’ve done that for your brand. Conversely, if you’re only focusing on a product, use product names for both you and your competitor(s). When you aren’t using the same metrics, you can’t properly extrapolate the data and make insights.
CREATING DIFFERENT METRICS FOR COMPETITORS.
AVOIDING ERRORS02
DEFINE METRICS.Before beginning, it’s crucial that you and your team clearly define your metrics for success -- then keep them consistent in how you measure and evaluate everything. This ensures you are all working from the same data sets, with the same understanding and toward the same goal. Otherwise, things get confusing real quickly.
RESEARCH.You get out of social listening what you put in. The more you look into how social conversation exists arounds brands or topics of interest, the more on-topic data you will pull. This goes for any competitors, as much as your own brand. Getting accurate and useable data relies upon setting everything up as well as you can. So, take the time to research and understand what you’re searching for and measuring.
GLEANING INSIGHTS03
From the outside, numbers are meaningless unless they have context. Look to compare KPIs against previous data ranges / competitors. With benchmarks you can see actual growth and changes.
BENCHMARK YOUR DATA.
BE UPFRONT ABOUT CONTEXT.
Context changes how you interpret the data. List out caveats and any context that might influence your decisions. When you’re using the data appropriately, you can only improve.
LOOK FOR PATTERNS.
Patterns are what make the data relevant. When does your conversation spike? Who is generally in those conversations? What products tend to be included? Look at consistencies and then the context around them. From there, you can really glean business insights.
A BIT ABOUT BUZZ RADAR
BUZZ RADAR IS AN INDUSTRY LEADER IN CAPTURING AND VISUALISING REAL-TIME DATA AND CONTENT.
We make social data simple, engaging and powerful -- faster than anyone else. Real-time data helps you spot emerging trends and react quickly to feedback. Whether a brand, agency or event planner, we can help you unlock your data, quickly interpret it and broadcast it better.
