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SALT LAKE CITY — Marketers are using new kinds of software to attempt to understand what their customers are really trying to say online, but some analysts say they shouldn’t put too much weight behind what the software can do.
When it comes to expanding audiences through social media, many marketers go about it the wrong way.
“We go for quantity of followers other than quality of people connected to us,” said Shahar Boyayan with BuzzBooster Marketing Advisors.
Plus, when it comes to what people say online, Boyayan says business owners don’t always understand what their customers want. This could be because posters aren’t always completely honest about what they want.
“On social media, we create what we think is a desirable image to our followers and we start posting according to that image, which is not necessarily really happening or what we are really feeling,” Boyayan said.
She says the same thing happens in focus groups, where people say what they believe they’re expected to say, not what they truly believe.
But software programs from companies like Poptip and BehaviorMatrix are trying to change that. The Wall Street Journal said these programs scan through tweets and other online messages, break down the literal definition of the words used, then determine the mood in which that item was posted. It’s a process called sentiment analysis.
We need to understand that 85 percent of all purchasing decisions are made on a (subconscious) level first. So marketers really need to be (targeting) the part of the brain where we hold our values and emotions.
–Shahar Boyayan
Boyayan says programs like this can be helpful, but business owners should not solely rely on them while planning their social media campaigns. Marketers can gain valuable information from these data-miners, especially if they can determine a person’s online emotions.
“We need to understand that 85 percent of all purchasing decisions are made on a (subconscious) level first,” she said. “So marketers really need to be (targeting) the part of the brain where we hold our values and emotions.”
But she stresses that won’t replace actual interaction with that customer — it’s not enough for a business owner to just announce who they’re trying to reach out to.
“Every time somebody really reaches out to me or I reach out to them, we will get better results,” Boyayan said.
She believes companies like GoPro are putting together effective social media campaigns that hit people on an emotional level.
