When marketers think of social media, they generally think of how to use it to increase engagement and marketing ROI.

Social media, however, is also a great way to discern what people are talking about – a point borne out by a 2010 Carnegie Mellon University study featured in the Mashable post, “Could Twitter Data Replace Opinion Polls?”

CMU researchers found that “people’s attitudes on consumer confidence and presidential job approval were similar to the results generated by well-reputed, telephone-conducted public opinion polls, such as those conducted by Reuters, Gallup and Pollster.com.”

Social media chatter isn’t limited to current events, of course. As you know, you can also see what people are talking about with regard to your company and its products and services.

By listening in – and soliciting feedback from – your network, you’ll learn about the challenges people are facing, the questions they have and the thoughts they hold about your industry / company / products / etc.

You can then use this information to create or fine-tune your marketing strategy.

How do you get started? It’s easy – just use the tools available with each social media platform.

Listen: Use search and curator functions

Every industry has its challenges. In financial services, for example, one of many conversations is about debit card interchange, which affects banks’ ability to fund debit card reward programs. As pointed out in the Mashable post, and also in a recent BusinessWeek article, “Most ‘Liked’ Silicon Valley Companies,” social media lets you take the temperature of people’s sentiments fairly quickly.

In order to learn about what’s being said by industry experts, your peers, and especially consumers, you could read lots of publications as well as spend hours searching the Internet.

Or you can use Twitter, LinkedIn, and Google Alerts / Google Reader to deliver this content to you. Here’s how the search function works for each platform:

Twitter: You don’t need an account to use Twitter’s search function – just go to the home page and type a phrase into the search box. If you do have a Twitter account, simply use Twitter’s “Save a Search” function to follow multiple searches. (Other Twitter applications, such as Hootsuite and TweetDeck, have similar search functions.)

LinkedIn: A very new application, LinkedIn “News” delivers the industry news that people in your network are talking about in real time, right to your “home” page. You can also click on the “News” tab to see the full scope of what’s being discussed.

Google Alerts / Google Reader – These two tools are “must haves” as they allow you to quickly skim through content that’s been curated for you automatically.

Use Google Alerts to follow specific topics, keywords, people and companies in your industry – including your own. Anytime anything is posted that pertains to your Alert, you’ll receive a notification. Tip: Set Google Alerts as RSS feeds and have them delivered to your Google Reader rather than email, otherwise your inbox will be inundated.

Use Google Reader to follow industry blogs and publications (and your Google Alerts). Each time your favorite blogger posts something new, you’ll see it right in your reader. You can easily click through to the actual post to leave a comment – as well as read comments that others (i.e. your peers) have left.

Ask: Use Polls, Answers, and Questions Functions

Want to do quick yet effective market research? Integrated and third-party tools make it super easy to ask your industry peers and consumers easy-to-answer questions.

Twitter: A third-party app, TwtPoll is easy to set up and use. Below is a screen shot of a Twtpoll I did asking people how often they open their direct mail.

Facebook: This new app works the same way as Twtpoll. American Express, for example, used Questions to ask its customers which rewards product they should offer at 50% off.

LinkedIn: LinkedIn has both a poll function and its very popular Answers feature. The Poll app works the same as Twtpoll and Facebook. Answers lets you ask questions – and get dozens of responses in very little time. To find the Poll app and Answers, click on “More” on the top navigation menu within LinkedIn.

Learn: Take Action

By listening to and asking for feedback from your audience, you gain the insight you need to make educated marketing decisions – especially those that can help create goodwill and reduce complaints:

  • A bank, for example, may learn from listening in on Twitter that its customers are complaining about the lack of ATMs in a specific metro area. While this is a customer service issue, the marketing department could create a campaign that includes a QR code that goes to a web page listing ATMs in the area.
  • According to the BusinessWeek article, Netflix learned from Facebook comments that its customers love watching movies and TV shows instantly over the Internet. I’m sure Netflix is using this data to further refine its offerings.
  • Cap’n Crunch, a consumer brand using Facebook and Twitter, routinely asks “fun” questions: “Do you eat your cereal out of the bowl or the box?” “What’s the strangest thing you’ve added to your Cap’n Crunch?” Think about what this data tells Quaker Oats about the cereal’s fans – and the product itself.

These are just a few ways you can use social media to aid you in your marketing planning. Do you have others? Leave your comments below.