Finding a reputable social media lookup service

February 1, 2019 9:17 AM

I work for an ad agency and they tasked me with finding the social media accounts of people who've used this very new, specialized product. I have email, name, phone number, address, city and state, but I'm really struggling to find their social media accounts.

There are a lot of sketchy services out there, has anyone used a reputable one that actually works? I'd like to input all the emails and get a report if possible. Paying won't really be a problem. Thanks.

posted by OnTheLastCastle to Technology (3 answers total)

I think what you’re asking for is potentially a real breach of privacy that could alienate the people using the product enough to backfire - especially if it’s a niche product. If you have their contact info already (presumably because they opted in and shared it), your best bet would be to do a targeted direct email that asks for them to opt in and share their social media with you. This may require offering a compelling reward (though if they love your product, then regular updates about special offers or upgrades may be enough for that).

The other way to do this is to find out who already follows the product on social media and target ads at them (most platforms already have ways to let you do this). You may not get all the specific customers you’re looking for, but you’ll reach a much more receptive audience than if you snare their social media accounts without their permission.
posted by Mchelly at 1:20 PM on February 1, 2019 [1 favorite]

If you did to me what I think your agency is trying to do to the users of this product, I would be quite irritated. I think the best way you can find out what these users' social media accounts is would be to ask them, given that you already have all the rest of their contact information. What you seem to be proposing to do sounds awfully creepy to me, even though I'm sure it's done all the time.
posted by Anticipation Of A New Lover's Arrival, The at 2:08 PM on February 1, 2019 [1 favorite]

I don't know a lot about it, or even what the product is called, but I know that Facebook sells a service where you can upload your customer contact list to Facebook and they will match up with those customers' Facebook profiles so that you can serve them targeted ads. It's quite creepy indeed. If that's what you're after, I'd simply get ahold of the Facebook advertising team and ask.

I also just found Facebook Customer Matching, which seems to be Messenger-specific. It might be closest to what your company is asking.

BRB, going to delete my Facebook account now.
posted by tybstar at 11:05 PM on February 1, 2019