Today we are focusing on Social Media Marketing ( SMM ) and how to use it for Market Research.
Main objective
To begin with, what is the meaning of social media marketing? SMM or Social Media Marketing is a smart form of Internet marketing that uses social networking websites as a marketing tool. It works straightforwardly: the main objective is to achieve marketing and branding goals by creating and sharing content on social media networks. For instance, updating text and image posts, videos, and basically, all kinds of content that drive the audience.
Having that in mind, you have to use social media as a tool, because it improves the user's experience when browsing on a website. Another plus is that you collect information from that experience and use it in the future.
Plan ahead
Have you heard the saying - “A goal without a plan is just a wish.”? Well, when talking about Social Media Marketing it is essential to have a plan. Before starting your social media marketing campaign, determine your business’s goals. The success of your business will depend on the social strategy you are using. Ask yourself: who is your target audience? What message do you want to send them?
Meet your marketing goals
Moreover, Social Media Marketing can help you in achieving your goals by raising brand awareness, increasing website traffic, and building connections. Social media serves the purpose of advertising in a better way compared with traditional media. It is the best way to reach customers globally and instantly receive their valuable feedback. It helps both big andsmall-sizedd organizations to introduce and advertise their products or services at very affordable prices. It can be vital for economic recovery.
Balanced budget
One of the reasons, people chose SMM is because it’s not necessary to spend a big fortunetoo run a profitable marketing campaign which helps you by offering you a balanced budget. Being creative and knowing your audience is enough. Even though, it all comes down to your social strategy and devotion.
How to start?
Start by setting your goals and expectations – Each of your goals should be specific, measurable,e and relevant. Remember to set expectations that is reasonable.
Plan a Social Media Marketing strategy – As previously mentioned, this part is crucial. You can try keyword searches and search engines.
( You can read more about SEO Myths on our blog https://yclas.com/blog/seo-myths.html )
Consistency – After setting your goals and plan of action, now you have to be persistent. Daily posting is one of the requirements. The information you post should be truly valuable and engaging. Where you share it is not as important as long as it reaches your audience.
Set a brand image – Social Media will help you in setting a brand image across various social media platforms. For example, the fashion brand ASOS asks IG followers to use a specific hashtag when they are wearing their latest outfit. In return, they have the opportunity to be featured on the ASOS Instagram feed which gives them plenty of exposure. Whereas every platform has different features and offers a variety of opportunities, your business should keep its own significance. Perhaps, you can check out our tips on how to increase the engagement. https://yclas.com/blog/5-tips-to-increase-the-engagement.html
Checking out the competition – Don’t forget to research and check the competitors. If a social marketing strategy is working for the competition, it would likely work for you. Always remember to improve and try to come up with even better techniques.
Data tracking
Data tracking is of great importance when it comes to social media marketing. Here are just some examples of questions you can answer while using an analytic tool of your choice.
- Which product generated the most interest?
- Which topics were the most discussed?
- What were the most popular videos today?
- Which of the promoted restaurants is most often viewed?
Of course, you can use Google Analytics as a marketing tool. Firstly, attach tracking tags to your social media marketing campaigns and you will be able to monitor them at any time. You can link your accounts so that you can share data between them and have a better understanding of how your marketing efforts drive user behavior on your sites or apps. You can read some great tips about using Google Analytics on our blog - https://yclas.com/blog/tips-to-succeed-with-google-analytics.html
How to use Social Media Marketing for Market Research?
When it comes to marketing research, the opportunity of creating a brand through a community of customers whose behavior and comments within the platform can constitute valuable is presented.
My advice is to focus on platforms with the strongest following. While SMM might not be the perfect solution for small businesses when it comes to market research, it is essential for larger organizations.
Research methods
Starting with the first research method - Qualitative content analysis (likes, comments, shares). The number of Likes or Shares can review the engagement rate of users on social media by indicating the appeal of a marketing product or service.
Social listening and awareness – Inactively gather feedback from your customers and monitor statements about your brand or website. Don’t forget to keep an eye on the competition.
Questions and Polls – Don’t hesitate to ask your customers any questions on social media. This way you encourage your audience to share their thoughts and ideas. For example, on Facebook, posts that ask questions receive more Likes than any other posts.
Social media research in 2026: where your audience is and what data you can still get
The research methods above still work, but two things have changed since this post was first written: which platforms people actually use, and how much data you can get out of them for free.
1. Pick platforms by reach, not by hype. Pew Research Center's latest social media fact sheet (published November 20, 2025, survey of U.S. adults run February 5 to June 18, 2025) gives this picture of the share of adults who say they ever use each platform:
| Platform | U.S. adults who use it (Pew, 2025) | Good for research on... |
|---|---|---|
| YouTube | 84% | Search demand for how-to and review content, comment sentiment |
| 71% | Local groups, community questions, polls | |
| 50% | Visual products, hashtag and creator trends | |
| 37% | Early buying intent and seasonal planning (home, fashion, events) | |
| TikTok | 32% | Fast-moving trends and younger audiences |
| 25% | B2B audiences, job and industry topics |
Pew notes that YouTube and Facebook are the most widely used platforms and that use varies strongly by age, income and location, so check the breakdown for your own target group before you commit your posting time.
2. Free social-listening data has shrunk. Meta shut down CrowdTangle, the free tool many marketers used to monitor public Facebook and Instagram posts, on August 14, 2024. Its replacement, the Meta Content Library, is limited to researchers at academic or not-for-profit institutions with research as a core purpose, so businesses cannot use it for market research. In practice that leaves you with each platform's own analytics for your accounts (insights on your posts, followers and ads), manual searches of public posts and groups, and paid listening tools if your budget allows.
3. Tracking now means GA4. If you measure campaign traffic with Google Analytics, note that standard Universal Analytics properties stopped processing data on July 1, 2023 and Google Analytics 4 replaced it. Add UTM tags (source, medium, campaign) to every link you share on social media so GA4 can show which platform and which post brought visitors who went on to sign up or buy.
A simple research routine that still works with free tools:
- Write down one question you want answered, for example "Which product category do people in my city ask about most?"
- Choose the one or two platforms from the table where that audience is largest.
- Collect evidence for two to four weeks: poll results, the questions people ask in comments and groups, and which posts get saved or shared rather than just liked.
- Check the result against GA4: did the topic that got social engagement also bring visitors who converted? Only then put budget behind it.
In conclusion
Though social media starts as a means of entertainment at the first, now it became the most recent marketing strategy because of its huge advantages in the business field. Social media is used because it has many advantages, for example, it saves time, gathers a bigger audience, balanced budget, etc. Use this information and research methods for your next campaign.
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