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Ready to dip your toe in the ocean of social media-generated data but don’t know where to begin? While doing some backgrounding for future articles, I found a helpful slide deck on slideshare.net of a presentation on social media research delivered by Paul Banas of Kraft Foods at an AMA Chicago event.

One slide, titled “Social research begins with key words,” contained the following:

Brand

• Your brands, business units or product offerings

• Names of specialized services you offer

• Names or terms around specific campaigns

• Key stakeholders in your organization

• Nicknames, abbreviations or misspellings of any of the above

Category/Industry

• Terms related to verticals you specialize in

• Phrases that define the markets you serve

• Larger industry keywords or categories

• Professional organizations you belong to or that fit your business profile

• Names of thought-leaders in the industry you serve

Competitors

• Names of competitive companies, brands, products and services

• Stakeholders in those companies

• Buzz around competitive campaigns or promotions

That’s a good start. For those of you who are already in the thick of it, do you have any other tips to toss out for your peers?