Beyond likes and shares: Mastering social media market research

Every social media marketer searches for a way to quantify their results. “Likes” and “shares” are great, but tying your work to a return on investment (ROI) makes an impact your boss can’t ignore. 

Market research is the secret to making a bigger impact with your social media. With it, you can discover your customers’ behaviors and preferences to uncover potential trends and contribute to strategic decisions about your ad campaigns and workflows. 

"The aim of marketing is to know and understand the customer so well the product or service fits him and sells itself."

- Peter F. Drucker

When you understand your customers, you add more wins — for both yourself and your company. Let’s dive into what makes effective social media market research so you can spot trends, get feedback on ad concepts, scale campaigns and do great work.

Cracking social media market research is a little like discovering a dragon’s horde of glittering treasure – without the dragon. The right tools help you collect and interpret gems of data that contribute to more strategic decision-making. 

For example, say a popular coffee chain wanted to test new types of caffeinated drinks. Market research for social media lets you test these ideas before pursuing product development. 

Some questions you might ask to better understand what’s working and what’s not may include: 

• Which posts attracted the most engagement? 

• Which ones drove the most traffic to your site?

• What’s the pulse of consumer sentiment? 

• How is consumer behavior shifting? 

• Which influencer partnerships are worth pursuing? 

• Which campaigns should scale? 

Effective social media market research helps you answer these and other questions to improve your brand’s understanding of your customers. And in combination, whether you want to ask about potential new flavors or celebrity preferences for a celebrity endorsement, market research can deliver immediate feedback. 

Of course, like every research method, there are some benefits and challenges to conducting social media research. Let’s find out more about them and how to conduct social media market research.

Social media market research has the power to deliver some powerful consumer data for your brand. With it, you can track, analyze and pivot as needed in real time. Social media market research can help protect your brand from PR disasters, give you an early jump on trends and join online conversations. 

The chief benefits of market research for social media include: 

1. Speed to market

Timing and customer sentiment are critical before you launch a new product or ad campaign. Social media market research provides real-time access to consumer reactions to gauge sentiment early and often before your brand’s launch goes splat.

By tapping into this feedback, you can pivot, refine messaging, positioning and ensure your ad lands the right way with your customers. 

2. Saving time and money 

Traditional marketing focus groups are time-consuming, expensive and limited in scope. Social media market research flips the script and gives you instant access to real-life conversations from global users. With the right tools, you can use these insights to shape effective ad campaigns and make smarter decisions. Bianca Johnston, Integrated Campaigns Lead at Shopify, highlights this strategy:

“I think there’s a perception that research takes too long and is super expensive. And it’s not true, especially if we compare the cost of producing an ad that ends up being quite subpar and the media spend on top of that. So the cost of an extra round of research, it’s nothing.”  

3. Scalability 

When your campaign starts racking up clicks and comments, hitting the gas and scaling is tempting. Not so fast. First, you want to monitor the ROI to ensure the numbers delivered, because engagement doesn’t always equal impact. The last thing you want to do is pour additional budget into clicks that don’t convert. 

4. On trend marketing 

Social media monitoring identifies emerging trends so you can spot shifts in consumer sentiment. One example is the controversial 2019 Peloton ad entitled “The Gift That Keeps On Giving,” where “Grace from Boston” narrates her spin classes throughout the year for her partner who gave her the bike. 

Peloton faced so much backlash from the ad the brand’s stock dropped by 9% in one day.

Peloton’s misstep was another brand’s gain. 

Aviation Gin saw an opportunity from Peloton’s flop, hiring the same actress and shot an ad showing her sipping martinis with friends. The brand titled it “The Gift That Doesn’t Keep On Giving” in a clear wink at the Peloton ad. Consumers who got the joke felt part of an inside club.  

Social media market research offers speed and scale, yet it does have challenges. For example, brands may face privacy concerns and unreliable data, so they need to be strategic. Here are some of the biggest hurdles and how to overcome them.

1. Data privacy concerns 

Government regulations like GDPR and CPRA require brands to be transparent about data usage and require consumer consent. The U.S. doesn’t have comprehensive federal laws about data privacy but instead relies on a collage of federal and state legislation. 

These regulations mean researchers must carefully track user behavior and audience profiling. You should ask for user consent when appropriate, track aggregated insights and stay informed about changing privacy regulations. 

2. Algorithm changes 

Every marketer knows the pain of an algorithm shake-up. One day, your content gets all the love; and the next, you wonder if you remembered to hit publish. You could take to social media professional groups and complain or be proactive and take control. Algorithms will always change, so try experimenting with different channels to stay in contact with your customers, regardless of the algorithm.

3. Data accuracy 

Bots are rampant on social media. These automated accounts skew engagement and sentiment analysis, making it tough to separate real consumer insights from the noise. What’s a marketer to do? Verify user data, use multiple data sources and focus on consistent engagement trends rather than chasing engagement spikes.

As a social media marketer, you know your brand’s feeds offer plenty of valuable insights. You also know all metrics aren’t created equal. Let’s break down the key types of data you need to shape your marketing decisions.

Overall, when handling data for market research, it’s always a good idea to cross-reference multiple types of data points to create well-rounded consumer profiles. Here are five types of marketing data to fuel your marketing insights. 

1. Demographics 

Understanding your customer is Marketing 101. The real question is, how can you understand them better? That’s the role of market research. It helps identify age groups, genders, locations, finances, job types and more — all of which helps you improve your ad campaigns and targeting. Knowing the demographics of your customer is key to understanding their wants, needs, likes or dislikes. 

2. Engagement 

Reach, impressions, likes and shares are useful metrics, but they don’t paint the entire picture. The internet is filled with brands that get tons of engagement but have few buyers. Track the ROI of your engagement and tie it to bottom-line results as often as possible.

3. Sentiment analysis 

New followers are great. Loyal customers are better. Social media research tools can help you track your mentions and what your customers say about your brand. If you’re not getting a lot of brand mentions, you might consider a strategic partnership or other creative ways to get in front of your customers. 

4. Trend analysis 

Analytics tools can examine historical and current data to identify shifts in consumer behavior or preferences. These insights guide brands in being aware of consumer shifts and adapting accordingly. 

For example, a 2024 Talker Research study found FinTok (financial TikTok) Gen Z users averaged 49 pieces of financial content on the platform ranging from  “crypto investing” to “side hustles.” As a result, financial institutions recognized TikTok as a way to reach younger audiences. 

5. Competitor analysis 

Smart brands keep track of what their competitors are doing. Their successes can give you ideas for future campaigns. For example, beauty brand Laneige tracked nine other beauty brands across social media. They wanted to know which social media channels were most popular, the positioning of the other brands, channel-by-channel metrics, the worst and best-performing content and other data. 

Market research tools can gather and analyze such data for you, delivering strategic insights that help you know what step to take next. 

Social media can offer insightful gems and help shape your work from product development to brand reputation. Here’s how to move beyond your assumptions and drive smart business decisions through multiple areas of the business.

Product development 

Social media excels at telling you what customers want. You can analyze conversations, reviews, competitor analysis and trending topics to spot market gaps and develop new products. 

For example, Starbucks noticed the popularity of iced coffee drinks on social media, inspiring them to launch their Pumpkin Cream Cold Brew.

Marketing strategy 

The best marketing is in response to your customers. When you understand what they want, it’s much easier to deliver. Social media marketing research helps brands spot what their audience likes.

Take Duolingo’s approach. Their humorous marketing drives engagement across social media channels and resonates extremely well with their audience, which keeps them coming back for more. 

Better customer experience 

Every comment and DM gives brands a clue as to how their customers feel. By actively monitoring feedback, brands can spot potential pain points early and even turn complaints into wins. For example, annoyed or stranded customers regularly take to Twitter/X to voice their concerns.

As a result, businesses like Delta Airlines actively monitor these channels and respond to customer service tweets within minutes. Such real-time engagement can improve the customer experience. 

Brand reputation management 

There’s a lot of room for brand damage on social media. When Peloton’s 2019 ad went viral, it wasn’t in the way they hoped. The exercise brand had miscalculated how people would interpret the ad and scrambled to regain control of the narrative. 

Another brand, Spotify, faced backlash after signing a deal with podcast host Joe Rogan. The company noted user sentiment and adjusted its policies to regain trust. This is why brands should monitor online conversations and stay up-to-date with changing trends and views. Social media market research is powerful and it helps to have a process to do it well. 

As a marketer, you know the importance of useful insights. With millions of data points, you need a framework to filter out the noise and concentrate on the most meaningful data. Let’s break down a step-by-step framework for your social media market research. 

1. Define your objectives

It’s one thing to say your objective should be specific and measurable. It’s another thing to define what that means for your brand. You can start by asking the right questions: 

• Are you looking to create a new breakout flavor? 

• Do you want to increase foot traffic during slow times? 

• Do you want to measure the impact of an Instagram campaign? 

By defining your objective, you identify your target audience. 

2. Choose your platforms

Which social media platforms does your target audience use? Banks found FinTok was a good way to connect with younger consumers. Does it make sense for your brand to explore a newer social media platform? 

3. Name the metrics

What metrics align with your objectives? Typically, social media professionals compile engagement rates, click-through rates (CTR) and impressions. The right tools help you test early ideas and optimize existing campaigns. 

4. Analyze your data With AI-driven data analysis, there’s no need to build manual spreadsheets. Instead, an AI-driven consumer platform or social media monitoring platform can collect and analyze the data for you in a fraction of the time.

5. Report on results

Not only can you learn and iterate from the results, but you also have the opportunity for et leadership buy-in by summarizing insights into a simple format for their eyes. Visuals like charts and graphs can provide easy-to-grasp data for helpful discussions and help you introduce the data they need to make informed business decisions.

6. Iterate and keep monitoring Marketing is never static. Even if you have a blockbuster winner, using your insights to guide your next actions is useful. Audiences and market dynamics evolve and brands that continuously iterate stay competitive.

Brands use social media market research to gain strategic insights and fuel decision-making. The right platforms, monitoring metrics and iteration help brands stay ahead of trends. 

Of course, the digital world will always be evolving. But what can we predict the future may hold as of today? 

You know social media moves fast. What worked yesterday may not work today. As platforms and algorithms evolve, so does how we gather and use consumer insights. Today’s AI-driven analysis, personalization and privacy concerns redefine how brands approach social media market research. Here are some of the biggest trends in 2025 and beyond. 

Social media market research trends for 2025

Here’s several trends that brands can tap into to stay competitive: 

1. AI - Every marketer’s favorite topic and for good reason. AI-driven social media market research tools don’t just deliver useful data; they analyze it and give useful suggestions for the next steps, saving you time to insights.

2. Social commerce - Shoppers have become accustomed to shopping within platforms like Instagram and TikTok. Yet, consumers are wary of fake reviews and turn to forums like Reddit for trustworthy reviews. Brands are responding by monitoring for fake reviews and even building official brand subreddits.

3. Innovative customer experiences offline - Luxury brands are creating offline immersive experiences for customers such as Le Cafe Louis Vuitton in New York City. Visitors can shop, dine and envelope themselves in the brand’s luxury. Not to be outdone, Saks Fifth Avenue and Ralph Lauren have entered the restaurant scene, too. Customers are only too happy to snap, share and tag photos online when you deliver a beautiful experience. Ask yourself: How can you provide your customers with an on-brand experience online and offline? 

4. Enhanced data privacy Consumers recognize the value of their data, and thus, data privacy regulations have become stricter. Regulations like GDPR, CCPA and evolving consumer protections mean that brands must shift from third-party cookies to first-party data. Loyalty programs and surveys are two ways to collect valuable data about your customers ethically. 

Today’s top trends will no doubt continue into 2026. For example, privacy restrictions will continue to tighten at the state and federal levels. We also know AI will continue improving. Right now, AI excels at gathering and analyzing massive datasets and offering predictive analytics. By 2026, we expect to see heightened conversational AI that makes brand interactions feel like talking to a human. 

Brand partnerships will also continue to expand. Luxury fashion has already moved into dining; maybe they’ll start travel companies next? 

Innovations are also constant companions in the fast-paced social media marketing research world. It's the brands that stay alert to changing consumer trends that will have the advantage over their competition.