Data collection from online users is still a contentious issue. It is not an issue of customers privacy, but rather a means to help businesses succeed. It is still unclear where or how data collection fits into this picture.

Skynova’s new survey shows that 64 percent of businesses collect data via social media. Facebook accounts for 72 percent and Instagram, which is owned by Facebook, comes in at second with 59 percent. Based on the number of page views, likes and shares they received, they were the most used social media platform for collecting data about customers.

Twitter and LinkedIn were both reviewed quite often. The study found that companies collected data about page views, likes and shares. “Social media data collection plays an especially important role in optimizing a company’s marketing strategy – from it, you can better optimize your social content, update your SEO strategies (which are crucial in the social media world), monitor your brand image, and start targeting influencers to help promote your offering.”

According to 23% of respondents, the most valuable data for business owners was their purchase history and interactions with businesses websites. While many businesses conducted their data research, 34% of respondents also hired a third party to help with data integration and data collection.

Skynova found that nearly half of respondents to their survey said they collected data on a weekly basis. The more employees a company had, the greater the likelihood that data would be collected regularly. Numerous companies used their social media channels to collect valuable data. This included data from their websites and databases.

Joe Mercurio who is Skynova’s project manager, stated that “Facebook was the most used source of customer data,” and that it has been followed by site visits and Amazon.

Mercurio, via email: “Engagement was the most collected data kind while attitudinal information was the least gathered.” When looking at social media platforms in general, Facebook and Instagram are most popular. Twitter, LinkedIn, Twitter and Twitter also rank high. While a third of businesses do all the work themselves, 34% prefer to hire a company for data integration and other labor. Even if additional resources are required, data collection can be clearly beneficial. Research shows that 43% of businesses use data to make business decisions.

Customer data collection is as old as the business. It is how they are being collected today.

The company has always kept track of which customers bought what – this information can be used to generate invoices and tax returns. Roger Entner, a technology analyst at Recon Analytics said that the webpage interaction statistics can be collected through Google Analytics and Facebook and are cheap, if not completely free. There is nothing to lose by allowing companies to do so.”

Entner said, “I’d venture that most small businesses have captured the data and never look at it. Even fewer take action on it.” It’s easy to send an email and ask your customers about their satisfaction and usage.

Privacy concerns must still be addressed.

Entner stated that companies can request information from customers to find out what they’re comfortable sharing. According to GDPR in the European Union, businesses are now required to inquire about which webpages they have collected.