Social Media Research

Publicly-available social media data is a treasure trove of intelligence on public sentiment and opinion. Making use of this unstructured data, however, requires specialized analytical tools and methods. KI Design’s data science team includes researchers experienced in conducting in-depth analysis of social conversations and public sentiment. Our research engagements for public-sector clients have included:

  • An analysis of public sentiment regarding the legalization of cannabis
  • An analysis of public perceptions of electric vehicles
  • A survey of vaping advertising on social media platforms and evaluation of the potential for web monitoring

KI Design data scientists define research questions informed by existing public opinion research, and sample publicly-available social media data based on demographics, topics, authors, locations, sources/platforms, and time periods of interest. Using both AI tools and manual analysis, we can report in detail on:

  • Prevalence and driving factors of positive, negative and neutral sentiment
  • Regional patterns of sentiment and opinion
  • Demographic patterns of sentiment and opinion
  • Themes and subtopics of conversation and commentary
  • Impact of campaigns and policy changes on public sentiment and opinion

Our research has enabled clients to fine-tune their communications strategies better to respond to public questions and concerns, and has informed policy development.