The Importance of Demographics in Social Media Analysis

When generating leads, the most important activity a marketer can do is reach out to as many people and companies as possible. This is typically done through strategically planned marketing campaigns designed to capture the attention of specific industries or functional needs. Marketing campaigns generally consist of email marketing as well as mail distributions such as postcards and invitations to events created to introduce companies and products to potential customers. It also includes social media activity on Twitter, Facebook and, of course, blogs. The intention is often to drive website visits to provide a more in-depth profile of your business and products.

In one of my blogs, Web Analytics Produces Campaign Awareness and Incremental Sales, I point out that web analytics delivers tangible information that is changing the approach to marketing, particularly in campaign awareness. Without the ability to analyze the effectiveness of marketing activities it is impossible to know who has been touched and who has not. In order to broaden the regional sweep of promotional information, one must be able to visually understand the current reach.

This Google map, derived from the professional web presence and social media optimizer Alaras, is an example of website activity from the United States. Clearly there is uncharted territory. On this map, both the East and West coasts indicate the audience range. But there seems to be a lack of interest in the Midwest.

If we didn’t look any further, it would not be hard to determine the next step. This poses a question on the effectiveness of targeting audiences in the geographical region desired. Why hasn’t there been activity in the Midwest states?

The secret to expanding the geographical range of your audience reach may just be from the knowledge where the marketing (and sales) activities have fallen short. Here are some important questions to ask:

• Is there a sales or marketing individual specifically dedicated to the mid-west region with a focus on its regional needs?
• When gathering a lead generation contact list, is there a sufficient representation of companies and individuals from the region?
• As part of the social media networking initiation, has a plan been developed to reach out to contacts to develop relationships and brand awareness in the region?

The availability of map charts give organizations insight into how far their message travels. It also provides the tools to identify a new frontier.

By Cindy Balon Harder, EPM Contributor,  from: http://www.visualdatagroup.com/node/161

Throughout her 20+ year career, Cindy Balon Harder has had extensive experience in Marketing, Wholesale & Distribution, Supply Chain, and in developing Sales and Operations Planning processes. She is particularly familiar with the Consumer Products industry where she has participated in all aspects of the supply chain, from demand planning to warehouse distribution. Cindy is a Principal at Visual Data Group. Her main focus is Marketing, PR and Social Media, and Supply Chain consulting.