Research is extremely crucial for brands and marketers, as it is more than just a social media platform to share what you had for lunch or hunting down the naysayers. When used the right way, it can prove to be a great tool for discovery and research to be used for improving your brands. Here are five ways you can use Twitter as a research tool.
Polls
Since a large portion of users are active on Twitter, marketers and businesses can utilise polls and surveys to grab meaningful insights. It is also helpful when you are looking for the next big trend in your industry. Keep the polls simple enough so more people can contribute; include up to four options as an answer. Opting in for replies to the survey can further enhance their effectiveness as people could discuss each option, which only offers more insights.
Interviews Via DMs
Sure you can always send an email for an interview, but since more people are active on Twitter, it’s much easier to reach out to influencers, brands, and public figures. Use your DMs to introduce yourself and offer the idea of interviewing the person. This is especially helpful when you cannot set up a meeting face-to-face.
Hashtags
Hashtags are a great tool to streamline your ideas and tweets on the platform. But it can also be used to enhance your search capabilities. If you are looking for information and opinions on a topic, including the hashtag in your search can offer detailed insights from users and experts alike. For example, if you need to search for SEO tips, including #SEO will filter out most of the results, which can then be sorted by the top or latest tweets.
Old Content
If you are researching for ideas and opinions about an upcoming event, using the platform to find tweets from past events can offer more insights than discovering it through search engines. You can include dates to after your keyword to refine your search terms. For example, if you need information for the last Christmas events, just include Christmas “since:[date], until:[date]” and it will show tweets from within that time period. If you are looking for old tweets from an account on Twitter, just include their username and the date.
Social Listening
Social listening is an excellent practice for internet marketers to discover the right set of audience for their brands. Understanding what your potential audience is talking about can help you curate more refined content and services.
Just include the common keywords or search terms that are relevant to your business when researching on Twitter. For example, if your brand offers online education resources, including relevant keywords to your products can help provide meaningful insights from your target audience.
Further, you can utilise ‘mentions’ on the platform to receive feedback or identify challenges customers might face with products and services from your industry. This can help you improve your brand’s own services. Tools like Hootsuite etc. are great, but not compulsory, for social listening.
Closing
With the right set of ideas and strategies, Twitter can prove to be an excellent research tool for marketers. Utilise the tips we shared above and up your research game on the platform to discover meaningful insights from your audience.
