Ready, set, go! Deploying the social listening stoplight activity to teach marketing analytics using qualitative techniques

Analytical skills are in high demand across business sectors and various positions. Therefore, it is pivotal for marketing students to have exposure and practice leveraging analytical methods and tools before graduation and entering the job market. However, qualitative techniques to gather marketing analytics and insights are rarely taught as an approach. As a result, the authors created the Social Listening Stoplight Activity to teach students how to qualitatively gather marketing analytics insights for actionable recommendations that can be used to adjust social media strategies for increased engagement. By leveraging data from the Social Listening Stoplight Activity, the authors qualitatively analyze undergraduate and graduate student assignment submissions to assess the activity as a method to teach students qualitative social listening, a growing industry skill. This research finds that students exhibit more difficulty with qualitative versus quantitative strategic social media marketing analysis skills, further justifying the need for an activity like this in marketing analytics and social media courses. Students must not only be able to assess numerical data, but they also must be able to interpret and communicate recommendations to truly contribute to organizations.