Original article from the Flevy business blog can be found here: http://flevy.com/blog/an-in-depth-qa-on-social-media/ Social media–it’s a hot topic. Much has been written about how important social media is, how to measure it, the pitfalls of doing it, and how it will transform marketing as we know it. What has been missing from these social media discussions is how companies can leverage social media to better understand consumers and use this insight to improve innovation, commercialisation, and performance. Never before have marketers been able to eavesdrop on what consumers actually say to their friends; however, with Twitter, Facebook, etc., it is now possible to glean information from authentic, real-time conversations that consumers have with one another. To better understand how Marketers can leverage social media to drive insight and develop more effective marketing programs, I talked to three senior marketing experts: I also talked to two research and consulting experts who are regularly using non-traditional methods to generate customer insight: Question: Why is social media a good place to mine for customer insight? Consumers are discussing brands, companies, and experiences on social media, according to Serendio’s Condamoor. “While some consumers will still pick up a phone to call a help line, the vast majority are now turning to blogs, Facebook, Twitter, etc., to provide real-time experience feedback,” he said. Optimal Strategix Group’s Sukumar added that consumers engaging in social media often do so in a more detailed and authentic manner. “As a result, the source of information is often faster and more accurate than traditional methods of generating consumer insight,” he said. Question: How does social media differ from traditional methods as a consumer insight tool?