In the post, ‘Ten examples of extracting value from social media using big data’, Dion Hinchcliffe shares diverse industry cases that all benefitted from culling actionable business insights from a strategic application of big data and social media analysis. Bookmark this if you’re on the look-out for examples of how big data is serving business goals, or proof of the business value, and even ROI, of social media. Below are some of my favourite cases:
Still doubting the ROI value of social media? Look at the case of Bloomberg and WiseWindow that “…use social media and big data to improve investment returns. Wise Window showed social media sentiment correlated with stock returns. Their social data analysis was found to boost investment returns by over 30% annually.”
Automotive Industry: How can the automotive industry benefit from social media? Not just from promotion, brand-building, or crisis management, but more importantly, quality assurance. Research shows that big data analysis of social media comments on safety and performance defects can predict automotive equipment failures.
I found the case cited for the education sector quite inspiring. DoSomething.org engaged 200,000 people worldwide using a Facebook app to track and combat bullying in schools; and then analysed teens’ sentiments on bullying. The insights that can be culled (on an on-going basis) from this app drove the organisation to take in more staff to be able to effectively and proactively address the issues that were raised. But I can imagine that school administrators, teachers and parents would also be able to take away very relevant insights and help guide them in taking concrete steps in addressing the issues at hand.
The case for global health was also compelling. HealthMap.org, an automated social data gathering platform for emerging diseases, was used to track the 2010 cholera outbreaks in Haiti more accurately and faster than official data.
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