Social Chain launches new research consultancy in Manchester
Social marketing agency Social Chain has established a social media-led market research consultancy. Manchester-based Social Chain Data will offer insights based on shared online data, as well as conducting traditional research into the emerging trends of consumers to support clients with their marketing strategies.
Launched in 2013, Social Chain is a marketing agency based in Manchester. With an average age of 21, the young staff work to help build online communities and pages. This presents the firm a huge asset, as it owns hundreds of leading accounts covering everything from students and football, to Harry Potter and Medieval humour. The social publishing division, Media Chain, gives it access to some 80 million user accounts on social media, a tactic that led to a £1.4 million turnover in the business’ year one, with aspirations of hitting £6 million in the near future.
As Social Chain looks to open itself up to new markets in the pursuit of this explosive growth, it has announced its entry into the consulting sector. Its new Social Chain Data practice will offer new insights based on shared online data. The new entity will interview people to get a clearer understanding of their consumer interests, while also working to conduct audits of a brand’s social landscape, listen to what its customers say online, track brand perceptions, monitor competitor activity, and track emerging consumer trends – a key commodity in the ever-changing world of digital marketing.
McVal Osborne, Head of Data at Social Chain, said of the news, “Gaining social-first insights has become integral to the decisions that we make and the data captured through social media is forever changing how brands operate, both online and offline. This is incredibly useful information, but few know how to gather it, process it, and put it into action. Which is why we’re launching Social Chain Data. As the agency continues to use data for our own decisions, we wanted to offer this to our clients and give them a better understanding of the customers.”
Global expenditure on advertising surpassed the $500 billion mark in 2015, and has consistently risen since. In this context, it has become increasingly important to craft sound marketing strategies, including a solid plan for executing them further down the line. As a result, demand for consulting services to help firms navigate this complex and quickly shifting environment is rising fast.
Earlier in 2019, the demand for such services similarly saw Gleam Futures enter the consulting arena. The agency behind some of the UK’s biggest social media influencers launched Gleam Solutions to offer clients strategy building and mechanisms to weigh up the effectiveness of influencer marketing campaigns.
