How is social data used for research?

Social data is used to conduct both quantitative and qualitative social media research - with a number of tools and methods used to extract and analyse data from various social channels, web forums, news sites and blogs. In order to understand audiences better, social data is aggregated relative to specific topics or events within a specific audience group.

Traditional research methods are incapable of providing the insights that social data can provide. Mining social data opens new and previously unexplored avenues to understanding consumers - often on a far more holistic level.

Data collected from social media and other sources gives insight into the feelings and opinions of the wider online population - something that, without social data, would have to be collected through surveys or focus groups.

Segmenting audiences using social data

Social media is a vast space that offers huge amounts of data and potential insights into the preferences, feelings and behaviours of audiences. In order for researchers to make the most of social data - they need to be able to segment it.

Social listening research tools are designed to segment social data so that brands can hone in on a specific target audience and find out who’s engaging with industry-specific topics.

At Pulsar we help you collect insights from social data through advanced research tools such as TRAC, CORE and TRENDS. Pulsar TRAC includes more than 50 specific filters that help you segment the data based on demographics, behaviors and affinities.