Business Intelligence and Data Visualization in Social Media: Beyond Buying Things | by Adelina | #RTA402 | Mar, 2023

In today’s digital age, social media has become a powerful tool for businesses to connect with their target audience, promote their brand, and increase sales. However, social media is much more than just a marketing tool. With the right data collection, analysis, and visualization approach, businesses can use social media to gain valuable insights into their customers’ preferences, behaviours, and needs. In this blog post, we will explore how business intelligence and data visualization can help you use social media differently than before, and how social media can influence more than just buying things.

Data is a crucial element of business intelligence, and social media platforms generate a vast amount of it every day. By tracking metrics such as engagement, reach, and impressions, businesses can better understand their audience’s behaviour and preferences. With the help of data visualization tools, businesses can transform this raw data into visual representations that are easy to understand and interpret. This enables businesses to make informed decisions based on data-driven insights rather than intuition or guesswork.

One of the most significant ways in which social media can influence behaviour beyond just buying things is by shaping public opinion and driving social change. Social media platforms like Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram have become powerful tools for activists, politicians, and social justice advocates to connect with a global audience, share their messages, and mobilize support. For example, the Black Lives Matter movement gained traction and momentum largely due to social media, with the hashtag #BlackLivesMatter being used over 28 million times on Twitter alone. Similarly, the #MeToo movement used social media to raise awareness about sexual harassment and assault and create a platform for survivors to share their stories.

If social media is a reflection of society, what does it tell us about ourselves? Social media has become a mirror that reflects our likes, dislikes, values, and aspirations. By analyzing social media data, businesses and researchers can gain insights into trends and patterns that reveal our collective preferences and behaviours. For example, a study of Twitter data found that people tend to tweet more positively when the weather is good, and more negatively when it is bad. Another study found that social media users tend to be more active and engaged during the weekdays than on weekends.

Personally, I get a lot out of social media. It is a source of news, entertainment, and inspiration, and it allows me to connect with friends and family around the world. However, social media has also changed the way I consume information and interact with others. It has become a double-edged sword, where the benefits are accompanied by drawbacks such as information overload, echo chambers, and the proliferation of fake news.

In conclusion, social media is much more than just a platform for buying and selling goods. With the right approach to business intelligence and data visualization, businesses can use social media to gain valuable insights into their customers’ behaviour and preferences and make informed decisions based on data-driven insights. Moreover, social media can influence people beyond just buying things and has become a powerful tool for driving social change and shaping public opinion. However, social media is also a reflection of society, and it tells us a lot about ourselves, our values, and our collective behaviour.