Marketing & PR

What is Social Media Data Democratization?

Data Democratization

When you hear the phrase “data democratization,” the first thing that may come to mind is the ability to get information. Recently however, the term has acquired a new meaning. Data democratization has changed the way businesses around the world are organized, their effectiveness, and their ability to grow.

Yuliia Samsonova

Yuliia Samsonova

Content Marketing Manager

16 March 2023

What is data democratization? 

Data democratization is the process of giving every employee regardless of their technical skills access to all necessary data, so they may work with it comfortably, and as a result, make data-based decisions and create a customer experience based on data analysis. 

In simple terms, data democratization allows information to transfer safely between all employees of an organization, be that tens, hundreds or even thousands of people.   

Data democratization strategy

Basically, there is only one strategy that includes all best practices, and it consists of only a few steps. Companies that decide to democratize data should follow these three recommendations: 

  • Create a comfortable atmosphere for employees to ask data-related questions.

  • Implement all necessary tools to make data available to everyone. 

  • Encourage everyone in your organization to contribute to data projects. 

Although the strategy is straightforward and easy to explain in a few sentences, the implementation of it can be tricky. For many companies, it’s a complicated process full of challenges, and more importantly, the process is ongoing and never ends. 

Social media data democratization

One of the essential data layers used by B2C companies is social listening data which includes thousands of customer insights. According to The Social Intelligence Lab report 2022, only 9.7% of companies advocate for data democratization or insight democratization on social listening. However, 61.3% support hybrid data and insight democratiztion depending on needs.  

Usually, social media data is used by only a few people, like researchers or members of customer support teams. However, if this data is available for a wider audience, it can become a real game changer. Social media listening tools are able to bring your customer’s voice and opinion to every team in your company.

Social media data can be used by the following departments: 

  • Marketing

  • Public relations

  • Customer experience 

  • Quality assurance 

  • Research 

  • Growth 

  • Human resources (for employee brand development) 

  • Sales (for lead generation) 

  • Product

Making this data available to everyone within your company will open new horizons for improving processes, growth and better customer experience. 

To achieve this, you don’t need to give all employees access to your social listening tool nor teach them how to use it. There are several ways you can get them involved in analyzing social media data. 

1. Social listening dashboards. 

As a first option, you can create dashboards with all essential metrics and share the links with your employees. 

Below is an example of a dashboard dedicated to KFC’s customer experience created with YouScan, a social listening tool. You can choose one of the existing templates (General Analytics, Brand Health Tracking, Customer Experience, Competitor Analysis, Crisis management) or create your own from scratch. 

Social listening dashboardSocial listening dashboard

After that, you can share these dashboards with your employees and ask them to do several things: 

  • point out what was really useful and which data don’t deserve attention 

  • think about other data they need for their work and add it 

  • propose suggestions for changes inside the company based on this data 

Organizing this type of brainstorming regularly will help people inside your organization get used to working with data and think about continuous improvements. 

2. Mention wall 

With this tool, you can create your own wall that consists of social media mentions and show them on a big screen. It can help to get your employees involved in analyzing all the discussions relating to your brand. In addition, you can use this tool for events. 

Mention walls have several essential benefits: 

  • real-time coverage of all major social media 

  • The ability to filter the mentions that are displayed on the wall according to your needs 

  • The possibility to adjust the wall according to your style 

Mention wallMention wall

3. Integrations 

Social media platforms can be easily integrated into your work environment and workflow. You can share relevant data with all stakeholders using different tools. YouScan offers integrations with various CRM and HelpDesk systems as well as with messengers.

Integrations Integrations 

You can set notifications based on any filter, as well as send relevant posts to teams that should be involved in processing this data. Receiving alerts regarding significant upticks in negative mentions or posts from high-profile authors can be particularly beneficial.

Data democratization benefits 

Social media data democratization requires lots of effort and the ability to make this a continuous process. However, there are several benefits that a company can achieve from it. 

1. Easier data access 

Democratized data access empowers all employees in your organization to work with data and can lead to innovative solutions to problems and new ideas for growth. 

2. Build trust 

Share data that can be trusted because of its visible and measurable quality. 

3. Increase data understanding 

With data democratization, you can make data and numbers the second language at your company and teach everyone to speak it. 

4. Better productivity 

Intelligent data access enables ongoing improvements of your company’s processes, products and services. And, of course, it can significantly influence your customer’s experience.

Social media data democratization leads to better data literacy and can not only stimulate better data-driven decisions but also lead to the creation of new products based on collected insights. Social listening is a powerful tool that can help teams inside your organization understand your customers better and learn more about their expectations and needs. 

As a result, better data democratization and implementation of data-driven approaches will open new horizons for growth and drive continuous improvement of your business.

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