Turning social media data into insight, strategy, and impact.
The K-State Social Media Listening Lab is a university-wide social media research and advocacy think tank that generates knowledge and thought leadership around social media trends, themes, and conversations. Powered by Meltwater, a leading media intelligence and social analytics platform, the Lab uses cutting-edge technology to identify, monitor, and analyze digital conversations across platforms.
The Listening Lab creates a collaborative space where new solutions, new partnerships, and new perspectives around social media are possible - and where creative and innovative activity can thrive. It is designed to help K-State harness the inherent opportunities of social media for 21st-century teaching, research, and engagement by transforming large-scale social data into actionable intelligence.
What We Offer
The Listening Lab empowers students and faculty from across the university to leverage social media intelligence to meet research, business, and organizational goals and objectives. Through hands-on access to Meltwater’s listening and intelligence tools, users learn to act as media analysts - creating, managing, and exploring datasets to discover opportunities, anticipate emerging trends, and support evidence-based strategy.
Key Services and Capabilities:
- Social Listening & Media Intelligence
Analyze brands, keywords, topics, and conversations to uncover trends, sentiment, and emerging issues.
- Audience & Community Insights
Explore audience-specific data to understand shifts in demographics, interests, and behaviors.
- Applied Learning & Research Support
Hands-on undergraduate and graduate experiences in social media research and data analysis.
- Strategic Insight for Units and Partners
Data-driven support for campus units, community partners, and industry collaborators.
- Thought Leadership & Knowledge Generation
Produce research-informed insights that advance understanding of social media’s role in organizations, communities, and public discourse.
Example Applications:
For Students
- Monitor media and fan mentions of a professional brand and assess sentiment.
- Analyze social media conversations around a topic, brand, or product and produce an intelligence report.
- Benchmark brand social media presence against peer and competitor brands.
For Faculty & Researchers
- Identify thought leaders and networks in a field for collaboration.
- Examine social media and online forum discourse around a research topic to surface gaps and emerging themes.
- Integrate real-world social data into coursework and experiential learning.
Why It Matters
The Social Media Listening Lab advances K-State’s leadership in data-informed teaching, research, and engagement by translating social media metrics into meaningful insight - revealing patterns in conversation and equipping stakeholders to communicate findings clearly and strategically.
Partner With The Lab
Partnering with the K-State Social Media Listening Lab provides students, faculty, academic units, and campus partners with a direct pathway to launch data-informed projects and explore strategic questions related to social media, digital engagement, and media intelligence. Whether you are seeking support for a research initiative, course assignment, assessment of social media presence, or exploratory inquiry, the Lab offers collaborative consultation and access to professional social listening and analytics tools to help scope objectives, define research questions, and translate insights into actionable outcomes. To discuss a potential project or submit an inquiry, contact Professor of Practice in the A.Q. Miller School, Jana Thomas, at janamthomas@ksu.edu.