Businesses can no longer ignore the facts that social media has provided a distinct way of communicating with all user groups connected to a business entity. Back in the early 2000’s during the infancy stages of social media, business managers were faced with the question of whether or not to incorporate social media channels in their business strategy. The typical response early on was “We can’t afford to” because of the amount of time that was needed and little data available to determine value. As social media rapidly grew, within a few years the business response progressed to “We can’t afford NOT to”. Social media is not easily understood nor is it easy to interpret the massive amounts of data that these sites accumulate and how that translates to a business strategy. This is one example of how “Big Data” poses the question that businesses are continuously trying to answer on an ongoing basis.
