Is Social Learning the Future of Marketing?

Much of what happens with social learning is beneath the surface. It has a great deal to do with automation and machine learning. In basic terms, it involves all the social data you can possibly gather from a variety of digital sources, that you then use to make business decisions.

If you’ve ever done a Google search and then saw those same company ads on your Facebook timeline, this is an example of social learning. That’s because Facebook integrates online behavior (mainly search activity) to increase the integrity and specificity of their ad campaigns. So, Facebook is watching what you do so they can better advertise to you.

Social learning is not about spying or eavesdropping, however, it’s simply about studying human behavior online and then using that to personalize offers. Social learning provides a multitude of benefits to organizations that actively gather data. Here are just a few:

Structuring Content

Copywriters only have the data their company gives them to craft campaigns and marketing documents that speak to an audience. Social learning takes much of the guesswork out of who is listening to what you put out there. Sentiment Analysis identifies natural language processing in content all over the web that writers can then use to craft the tone and voice of your content. No more “just take an educated guess.”

Produces Outcomes in Real-time

Comparing the old ways of marketing vs. the new ways is like asking to juxtapose a carrier pigeon vs. a text. They don’t even live in the same category. With the digital age came responsivity from marketers that was instant. Which, in turn, made consumers expect everything NOW. Social learning allows an organization to almost predict exactly what an audience wants through deep analysis of big social data.

Facebook retargeting ads are a prime example of how social learning produces real-time results.

Visit a website and you won’t wait long to see ads popping up for that exact brand or product. Consumer behavior creates an endless repository of data that can guide social learning and lead to real-time outcomes.

Marketing Prophecy

Also called predictive analytics, social learning allows you to collect data that is so precise, you may be able to predict the future. Another word for it is “demand forecasting” and it means marketers can now forecast future consumer behavior by studying current trends and patterns from their social interactions online. The overwhelming possibility to give customers what they want before they know they do is something investors and stakeholders love. It’s almost like assured ROI.

Less Marketing Waste

Social learning also leads to less waste in the marketing department. People can adapt quickly to challenges and rely on automation over additional labor. In the past, campaigns have often adopted a “trial and error” approach to success. Social learning allows marketers to drill down to focus groups with the highest interest. Behavioral data enables marketers to target like never before and it shows in revenue.

Social learning is the future of marketing because it’s the only channel in which you’ll float. Your competition should easily tell you that the digital arena is where they play. From structured content to real-time outcomes, the results are viable. Acknowledging your audience and the behavioral data they produce should be the defining factor in your success.