The Four Stages of Social Media Research

Automated search and report delivery does not work – we have talked to all of our clients and have done our own cross comparison of results. There is no shortcut to good intelligence – human intervention is required to produce actionable results.…

The Four Stages of Social Media Investigations

Search and Positively Identify Data Collection and Capture Report Build Analysis

Social Discovery gets you right to analysis saving countless hours on the internet and giving our clients time to stay on task.

One of Our series on Social Media Investigations is Provided Here:

Data Collection: The Most Time Consuming and Intensive Part of a Social Media Investigation

Once a subject is positively identified and authenticated on potentially numerous Social Media accounts (no easy task in and of itself), the second challenge is proper, verifiable collection of the information that is found. This is not easy, particularly for cases where the individual is very active on social media and where every capture will need to be properly authenticated. We all know of people who post multiple times per day on Facebook or Instagram or Tweet out every thought. In the aggregate, these numbers are staggering. There are 17 billion location-tagged Facebook posts online today, with additional 350 million photos uploaded daily, translating to 243,055 new photos every minute. On a per user basis there are 127 photos uploaded annually per Facebook user and 1,500 posts that are eligible to appear in a Facebook user’s feed each day.

This is not just a phenomenon that applies to those under 30 years of age. The latest data shows that 30% of all US senior citizens currently use Facebook, and this number continues to grow daily. Now, imagine collecting this entire set of information for a designated period of time – say one year – in a usable and legally accepted format. Every relevant photo, video, post, comment and story, must be captured correctly with verifiable metadata and associated links, in order that it be admissible in court or for colleagues and clients to use as part of a case. These are skills that most of us lack, and even for those who have the skills, proper collation is still highly time consuming work that requires concentration and attention to details. Most professionals simply do not have the uninterrupted time to do this work properly every time it is required.

Based on our extensive experience and research, the average user requires 90-120 minutes to conduct a thorough social media search, without any data collection, and 45-75 minutes to build a complete report of findings. So how does an organization efficiently find and collect social media information without burning significant human capital, time, and resources? The obvious answer is to use an expert. With Social Discovery’s award winning interface, a Social Media report request can be ordered in minutes, and delivery of your report needs are fulfilled within 48 hours. Our experienced team delivers qualified and verifiable reports on each and every case our clients submit. Utilizing Social Discovery for social media investigations will not only save considerable time and money, but will result in consistently higher quality reports with more accurate information.