1. Understanding the Consumer:
Social Media Listening and
Online Decision Paths
CPG – Healthcare – Technology – Automotive
Travel - Financial Services – Call Center

2. When a man walks into a
room, he brings his whole
life with him. He has a
million reasons for being
anywhere, just ask him.
If you listen,
he'll tell you
how he got there.

3. “To listen well
is as powerful a
means of influence
as to talk well.”
– John Marshall,
Chief Justice of the United States

4. Direct Marketers
have always been
listening…
- To response rates - With creative testing
- To call center conversations – With research
- With audience segmentation

5. Traditional listening through quantifiable
data was done through traditional
analytics…
DATABASE
ANALYTICS
BEHAVIORS
PRIMARY
RESEARCH
ATTITUDES

6. And then along came the interwebs…
6

7. Which required that we add digital
analytics to the mix…
DIGITAL
ANALYTICS
TRADITIONAL
DATABASE
ANALYTICS
BEHAVIORS
PRIMARY
RESEARCH
ATTITUDES

8. And then people began talking…
- 1 Billion Users on
- 460,000 new accounts per day on
- The average site visit on is 80 minutes
- 400,000,000 users on
Sources: Facebook, Twitter, RICG, Mashable
8

9. And listening became crucial to marketers….
“Listening is perhaps the most
essential neglected skill in
business. Part of the reason is
that it’s always been so hard.
But in the [new] era, listening is
easy. Not listening, on the other
hand, is criminal.”
- Li and Bernoff, Groundswell, 2008

10. And we had so much more to listen
to…
DIGITAL
ANALYTICS
TRADITIONAL
DATABASE
ANALYTICS
BEHAVIORS
“SPOKEN”
INTERACTIONS
SM
CONVERSATIONS
SEARCH
INTENTIONS PRIMARY
RESEARCH
ATTITUDES

11. and so much more to gain…
DIGITAL
ANALYTICS
DO
WHY
TRADITIONAL
DATABASE SAY
ANALYTICS
BEHAVIORS
“SPOKEN”
INTERACTIONS
THINK
SM
CONVERSATIONS
SEARCH
INTENTIONS PRIMARY
RESEARCH
ATTITUDES

12. But marketers struggled to make
sense of it all…

13. There is a lot of technology…

15. What’s needed is a strategic
approach to answer the most
important question:
WHY?

16. “I keep six honest serving-
men
(They taught me all I
knew);
Their names are What
and Why and When
And How and Where and
Who”
Rudyard Kipling

17. The Five “W’s” of Listening
Who What Where When Why
Trends and
Content
Triggers
Domains and Analysis
Influencers
Platforms
Actionable
Insights

18. And most importantly…
So What?

19. A Strategic Listening Process
LISTENING PLATFORM CLIENT BRIEF
REPORTS & DASHBOARDS BUSINESS & MARKETING OBJECTIVES
1
Objectives
Action Plan Creation IMPLICATIONS PLANNING Hypotheses
Alignment
between objectives and
6 recommendations
WHAT
Topics
Topic Relationships 2
Data Filter Definition
HOW TOPIC & SOURCE DATA Geo /Language Filters
Sentiment/Polarity ANALYSIS COLLECTION* Data Collection
WHERE Data Extraction
Domains 5
WHO 4 3 Loading
Influencers De-duplication
CONTENT DATA LOADING & SPAM Removal
WHAT’S NEW Taxonomy
Creation CATEGORIZATION HYGIENE Tokenization
Momentum Word/Phrase Analysis
Scoring
3rd Party Listening Platform
Social/Search/Voice Tools & Processes
Recognition Technologies
19

20. Moving beyond social
media and text…

21. Listening Outputs to Drive to the “Why”
Topic Group Trends Topic Trends Top Domains and Domain Focus
Topic Map Positive and Negative Language Twitter Drill-down
Momentum Drivers Consumer Language Share of Voice Polarity
21

22. By analyzing thousands of chat
sessions between a client sales team
and their resellers….
We were able to quantify the frustration
the partners felt in obtaining the info their
customers needed
And could justify the cost of online resources and
partner training to address those needs

23. Chat Analysis – How topics cluster

24. While looking at 87,000 social media
conversations around dieting and
portion control for a CPG brand
We found the right emotional language to
connect with women
Which then guided our creative brief and
execution, differentiating the brand from a
crowded competitive landscape

25. Sentiment and Language Correlation
Low High
Volume, Positive Volume, Positive
Mean Sentiment
Sentiment Sentiment
Low High
Volume, Negativ Volume, Negativ
e Sentiment e Sentiment
Volume Index

26. And while creating win-probability data
models based on analysis of 25,000
inbound health insurance sales calls
We learned that the client was losing a high
percentage of sales to one specific
competitor
Resulting in customized scripting for calls in which
that competitor was mentioned

27. Probability of Sale vs. Competitors
Competitor 1
Competitor 2
Competitor 3
Competitor 4
Competitor 5
Competitor 6
Competitor 7
Competitor 8
Competitor 9 WINS
Competitor 10 LOSSES
Competitor 11
Competitor 12
Competitor 13
Competitor 14
Competitor 15
Competitor 16
0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100%

28. Global Considerations
LANGUAGE
PRIVACY
CULTURE
DOMAINS

29. What’s Next?

30. Stanley Milgram’s
E x p e r i me n t
17

31. So if…
what people SAY
and what people DO
can be very different things,
we need to look at both.

32. What Customers Do
SITE-SIDE
ANALYTICS DIGITAL DO
PATHWAYS
WHY
BEHAVIOR BASED
DATABASE
ANALYTICS SAY
SPOKEN
INTERACTIONS
THINK
SOCIAL MEDIA
CONVERSATIONS
SEARCH
ATTITUDES
INTENTIONS
NEEDS
SURVEY BASED

33. Research Limits
Marketers have struggled to answer the questions around
decision making process, as sources have limits
Personal Primary
Focus Groups
Experience Research
NOT BASED ON ACTUAL OBSERVED BEHAVIOR
UNRELIABLE/HIGH LEVEL
SELF REPORTED

34. Rapid changes in technology, mobility
and connectivity have transformed the
decision making process
Latent Brand Awareness
Decide
Investigate
Buy
Moment Decision Predisposed
Set of Brands Absorb
of Truth to Act Consume
Integrate Advocate

35. “Getting information off the
Internet is like taking a drink from
a fire hydrant.”
- Mitchell Kapor, Founder of the Lotus Corporation

36. Decision Tracking
A SINGLE SOURCE CONSUMER VIEW COUPLED WITH PATHWAY AND
TARGETING ALGORITHMS RESULTING IN UNPRECEDENTED ABILITY TO
INFORM AND IMPLEMENT CROSS-CHANNEL STRATEGY

37. SAY WHAT?

38. The Five “W’s” of Online Behavior
WHO: WHAT: WHERE: WHEN: WHY:
Customers and Clickstream EVERYWHERE! Actions Surrounding Insights and
Prospects behavior a Brand Interaction Implementation

39. “The Internet is really about highly
specialized information, highly
specialized targeting.”
- Eric Schmidt, Google

40. Data strategy

41. LET ME SHOW YOU

42. Chocolate Lovers
RETAIL

43. Chocolate Lovers, Holiday fast approaching
Who is a chocolate lover?
How many brands do they shop?
Is there anything else standing in the way of a
chocolate purchase?
How do I reach them online?
What makes this population unique?

44. Optimizing Reach with
Online Video
Sample Data for Model Build Custom Model & Campaign Target
Inputs Deploy Audience Audience
 Identify chocolate lovers based  Build model to find ideal  Serve video ads to target
on their online behavior prospects based on input data audience
Brand
Loyalists Holiday
Buyers
Chocolate
Lovers

45. Defining Chocolate Lovers
Search Keywords Websites
Industry Brands
Chocolate Hershey hersheys.com
Milk Chocolate Dove Chocolate ghirardelli.com
Dark Chocolate Cadbury godiva.com
White Chocolate Godiva sees.com
Brownie Lindt dovechocolate.com
Brownies Lindor harryanddavid.com
Truffle Sharffen Berger fanniemay.com
Chocolate truffle Vosges dovechocolate.com
Cadbury Easter egg Edible arrangements lindtusa.com
Easter eggs Nestle ediblearrangements.com/fruit-
Easter bunnies Harry & David baskets.aspx

46. A Look at Age, Income and Gender
$160
A
v $140
e Brand A Loyalists
r Female Index: 132
a $120
g
e
$100
Holiday Buyers
I Female Index: 117
n $80
c
o Chocolate Lovers
$60 Female Index: 110
m
e
$40
44.0 45.0 46.0 47.0 48.0 49.0 50.0 51.0 52.0 53.0 54.0
Average Age

47. Chocolate lovers interests and
buying behaviors
Interests Buying Behavior

48. Food, gift and cooking sites see lifts
vs. previous week activity
Shopping
for
Chocolate
Begins
291% Food Shopping
52% Cooking
48% Food Products
4% Flowers

49. Results
Customer UP UP
Purchasing 13% Brand Favorability 13%
Direct / Loyalty UP UP
Purchasing 20% Sales Growth 10%
Online Ad UP Loyalty UP
Awareness 75% Membership 5%

50. Luxury Sedan Buyer
AUTOMOTIVE

51. Auto Manufacturer, New Vehicle Launch
Who is shopping the competitive set?
Do they shop multiple brands or only one?
Where do they shop for cars?
Where else do they go online?
What makes this population unique?

52. Who Is a Luxury Sedan
Buyer?
White Collar 65% Male
56% between 50-59
36% between 40-49
Apple Device Tennis
Athletic Home&Garden
College Graduate Running/Jogging
Military/Government College
Sailing Wine Appreciation
Do-It-Yourself
Jewelry Real Estate
Smart Phone Frequent Flier AMEX
Snow Skiing Satellite Radio

53. 57% visit 3 or less auto sites
within a 60 day period
Duration
30%
57% engaged
1-60 days
17%
10% 9%
7% 7% 6%
5%
3% 2% 2% 2% 1%
1 1-30 31-60 61-90 91-120 121-150 151-180 181-210 211-240 241-270 271-300 301-330 331-360
Day Engaged
Frequency
30%
60% visit
1-3 sites
18%
12% 13%
8%
6%
4% 3% 2% 2% 2%
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11+
Number of Category Visits

54. Top online content implies a
well-connected male audience
Top 10 Domain Categories
News & Media - Sports 407
Blogging - Business & Finance 388
Automotive Dealers 377
Science & Technology 337
Wireless Manufacturers 336
Automotive Manufacturers 331
Government 329
Business Magazines 327
Travel 307
Golf 287
0 100 200 300 400 500

55. Newspaper sites top visits and time spent
Time on Site Index
Visitation Index *Sized by Percent of Visitors

56. Distinct Web Segments Result
Competitor Ready to Buy
Sedan 11%
Brand C
12%
Competitor
Sedan
Brand A
16%
Research Only
Competitor
39%
Sedan Brand B
22%

57. Actions Predict Conversion
Search/”Brand C” - Moniker #1
Search/”Brand C” - Moniker #2

58. Hotel Guests
HOSPITALITY

59. Hotel Guests
Where do my customers go to select a
property?
Do they go to third party travel sites, blogs, or
direct to the corporate site?
What other content do they consume online?
What makes this population unique?

60. Guest Online Journey
Appreciation for Everyday Living
Quality, Substance, Permeated by
and Style Technology
Hotel
Guests
Expert Travelers
Seeking Ideas that who look for
Matter Credible Peers

61. Connecting Mindset and
Opportunity

62. Identify consumers with target
mindset and high potential value

63. Networked Experiences
SHOP & CONSIDER PLAN & PREPARE STAY & ENJOY RE-LIVE & SHARE
Paid
search Retargeted Retargeted
EARNED
Display Display
Display media media
media
Partner
Email
Customer Hotel Blog
Service Property &
Reservations Guest Services
Sitelets
OWNED
SEO Hotel
Website
Hotel
Website Email
Mobile
3rd party WOM
BOUGHT
review 3rd party
Tumblr Twitter
review Facebook
Facebook You 3rd party
Tube Pinterest review
Instagram
Pinterest Foursquare
OBJECTIVE
REINFORCE OBTAIN KNOWLEDGE MAXIMIZE ON-PROPERTY DRIVE LOYALTY
DIFFERENTIATION OF PREFERENCES EXPERIENCE AND REFERRAL

64. Key Takeaways
Quantifiable
Remember Don’t Limit
Insights
the Listening to
Drive
Why Social Media
Action
It’s about the Today, target Cross-channel
approach, not the audiences can be strategy is easier to
defined by online implement today
technology
behavior than ever before
Different segments Remember
Online media buying
identified online can be
treated differently options continue to the
whether they come to be more targeted Why
your domain or not

65. In Closing
“whoever does not
recognize the
personal, individual
drama of man cannot
lead them.” [or sell to
them, for that matter]
- Anais Nin