4 Things I Learned from Real-Time Marketing Data in Less than an Hour

I work in marketing, you might work in marketing, or you might work in biology. I don’t know (or do I?) but the point is, we all do something different. Even if two people occupy jobs with the exact same title, at the same company, they’re not going to care about exactly the same thing.

Let me explain. While we all have our jobs to be done, we are all unique. And that means what we glean from data is also unique. Therefore, as the provider of the medium for that data, we need to give our customers as much flexibility as possible so they can ask the right answers.

We released two new Vizia features this week that give our users greater flexibility when it comes to the data that’s important to them.

These features were our brand new Word Cloud that visualizes data in 6 key and different ways: emojis, hashtags, locations, organizations, people, and keywords. The second was our improved functionality to the charting components, which now allows you to visualize multiple queries across any given time frame.

I used these new features to uncover some insights I wouldn’t have previously known:

1. Competitor benchmarking

Competitor intelligence isn’t what it used to be. You can’t passively rely on research and intel any more. You need to maintain a continuous view on your competitors and their activities. One way of doing this is to monitor the real-time activity and brand mention volume of the group.

What: Looking at a month’s worth of data, we can see that on average McDonald’s garners the most volume online. But then we see a Wendy’s spike on May 9th. By the end of the month, Wendy’s are in the top spot.

Why:  Wendy’s unique, and often adventurous, social media team put out this response to a Burger King tweet:

Ok, but don’t get handsy and we have to be home by 10. https://t.co/tQunlsqecG

— Wendy's (@Wendys) May 9, 2018

Burger King rolled the dice but Wendy’s came out on top.

Who: While there is not a considerable increase in volume, this kind of information can be useful for marketing teams and beyond. Are there any agile activities that can be launched in order to bump brand conversation or, from Wendy’s point of view, is there any way the team can capitalize on this increased volume.

2. Social media management

It’s more important than ever to keep your ear to the ground when it comes to your brand’s social media as opportunities and threats lie at every turn. There is a lot of chatter but, with the right data and a switched on team, you can cut through the noise.

You want to keep an always-on approach to who is talking about your brand, and how. In the following example we look at the people that were trending in relation to Burger King online.

What: Tim Hortons appears front and center in relation to Burger King’s trending people.

Why: Tim Horton’s have announced they’re planning on releasing a new breakfast menu. This is an area that Burger King competes in so this is an important insight.

Who: Could the social media teams do a quick turnaround campaign to promote the Burger King Breakfast menu and steal some of the spotlight from Tim Horton?

3. Influencer marketing

A recent Gartner study showed that 60-70% of companies have now added influencers as part of their marketing plan. This is a big business but it can be hard to get right, especially considering the level of investment required for some of the elite influencers. Given that one sponsored post can cost in excess of 50k, brands are keen to try alternatives. This is compounded by the fact that as an influencer’s follower count rises, the rate of engagement with followers decreases. This has lead to the rise of ‘micro-influencers’.

What: Wendy’s brand mention volume over the past 24 hours has increased and actually surpassed McDonalds’.

Why: A tweet about the brand’s strawberry lemonade was retweeted over 2k times. This wasn’t the only reason for increased volume, but it does present the brand with a potential engagement opportunity.

Wendy’s strawberry lemonade is addicting .

— VICKIE SLAY (@vickie_slay) May 30, 2018

Who: Obviously, this is an opportunity for the brand’s social media team to engage, but it might also be a reason for the advertising team to launch highly targeted and timely ads promoting the drink or the wider beverage menu. Finally, don’t underestimate the value of the rest of the organization seeing organic and positive feedback.

4. Reputation management

As a global brand, you need to maintain a global view on your data and activity. With the new Word Cloud component, you can drill down into the specific locations being talked about in relation to your brand. Some good, some bad.  

What: Looking at the location data around McDonald’s over the past two days, North Korea stands out amongst the locations. As a brand manager, this will immediately set off alarm bells.

Why: An online debate has surfaced over recent talks between Trump and Kim Jong-Un as to which fast food retailer will be served in North Korea; McDonald’s or Burger King. While this topic is mostly out of the brands’ control it’s important to monitor the conversation and manage it as best as possible. In the meantime, McDonald’s can look to doing some targeted campaigns around the other locations that are trending in relation to the brand.

Will it be @Wendys, @McDonalds, or @BurgerKing flipping the first burger in North Korea? https://t.co/HS8VIYKViy

— Newsy (@Newsy) May 30, 2018

Who: Given the nature of this insight, multiple teams within your organization will need visibility: Press and comms teams, social media, leadership, customer service.

Vizia

This is a quick look at what can be learned from a brand’s real-time marketing data in an hour, but it barely scratches the surface of what’s possible with Vizia. There are countless other visualizations that give even greater context to the data.

What’s more is that you don’t have to rely on just social data. You can compare this data from other sources like Google Analytics, Buzzsumo, Salesforce, and more. Vizia offers 10+ out-of-the-box integrations designed to give you a greater understanding of your marketing world.

Finally, you can share these insights with anyone in the organization by seamlessly distributing dashboards and reports to any screen in your network.