Social media provides a number of benefits for brands of all shapes and sizes across almost every industry, such as raising awareness of products and services, boosting website traffic and driving sales.

But it isn’t all about marketing, as this medium is also a fertile source for research, and brands are quickly catching on – a recent survey revealed that 65 percent of firms rated “marketplace insight” as one of social media’s top perks.

This infographic takes a closer look at how brands are using social media for customer research.

(Source: Pagemodo. Clipboard image via Shutterstock.)