Reema Sharma

Let’s start simple. Who are you, and what do you do with social data that others might not expect?

I’m Reema Sharma, Global Social Media Tools & Platforms Manager at Continental Tires. My approach to social data is rooted in actionable insight and consumer intelligence. I don’t just track products rather analyze how they surface in broader conversations, videos, and influencer content, using metadata and cluster analysis to uncover hidden narratives. By mapping sentiment shifts and audience temperament, I enable predictive analysis and foresight for business decisions. Social data becomes a storytelling engine: it’s not about chasing every trend, but about connecting real-time conversations to strategic actions for example refining product messaging, identifying emerging customer pain points, brand associations or new market opportunities, and challenging internal assumptions before they become blind spots. My approach is holistic: social data isn’t just limited to benefit marketing or social media teams, but a strategic asset for the entire organization.

‍

What’s something in our industry we pretend to understand, but don’t?

In social media intelligence, we often claim to “know our audience,” but intent and context remain elusive. The industry is awash in metrics, yet we rarely interrogate the silent majority or the cultural nuances behind engagement. Too often, we’re seduced by big numbers without examining the mechanics: audience composition, context, and variance. The fix: blend multimodal listening, audience panels, and market context, and re-anchor reporting to decisions, not vanity KPIs. Curiosity over certainty; signal over noise.
There’s also a persistent myth that AI can “solve” social listening, when in fact, human expertise is still essential to interpret nuance and cultural context. AI and analytics are only as good as the questions we ask and the context we provide. The real solution? Invest not only in the best AI-enabled tools but also in experts who can decode complexity and turn data into relevant actionable insight.

‍

What’s a moment this year where social data helped your team do something bolder, faster, or better?

We’re still formalizing social intelligence at Continental, but we already use listening to test the impact of high-budget campaigns tracking not just reach, but the quality of conversations and direction of awareness in key markets. We’re piloting audience panels and cultural insights to ensure our paid strategies resonate with the right segments. Dashboards categorize sentiment by usage, product segments, purchase intent, and price-performance, delivering actionable insights for cross-functional teams.

‍

What’s one belief about your audience that social data completely upended for your teams?

It’s been interesting to deepen into threads of sustainability conversations. Sustainability in tires is complex, and the conversation is nuanced. We initially expected limited discussions on social channels, but instead, we’re finding active engagement across different audiences and platforms. It’s particularly valuable to explore the surge in positive sentiment associated with eco tires and material innovation, often driven by competitor activity. This makes social media listening a key platform for further exploration and insight on the topic.

‍

If you could build your dream social intelligence team from scratch, with no legacy and no limits, what roles would you include?

If I get to build a team that turns raw data into foresight, actionable insight, and business storytelling, I would include the below roles

• Social Media Data Scientist: advanced modeling, anomaly detection, trend/signals extraction that feed decisions (not vanity metrics).
• Social Intelligence Consultant: decodes context, metadata, audience signals; turns noise into narrative and surfaces culturally credible insights.
• Product Expert: connects insight to innovation, features, feasibility, and go‑to‑market impact.
• Platform & AICI Lead: owns tools, integrations, data governance, taxonomy, and AI stack; ensures the stack is secure, compliant, and scalable.
• Storytelling Strategist: converts insights into compelling narratives, content briefs, and executive reporting that move stakeholders to act.
• Influencer Analyst: maps creator ecosystems, audience clusters, and partnership ROI; plugs findings into paid/earned strategies.
• Change Agent: drives awareness & adoption across business units
• Tool Success Manager / Team: ensures the tool is best used; helps map org use cases to the platform’s technical capabilities and lands value at pace.
• Data Quality Expert: owns tagging, taxonomy, metadata hygiene, consent/privacy controls, and cross‑tool data reliability so insights stay audit‑ready and decision‑grade.

‍

When do you feel like you’re doing your best work?

My best work happens at the intersection of collaboration and curiosity connecting silos, challenging assumptions, and sparking bold, new ideas. I thrive in environments that value experimentation, learning, and innovation. For me, success means transforming social insight from a standalone function into a unified intelligence layer, one that empowers product, marketing, brand and operations to make fast, data-driven decisions with impact and shared accountability.

‍

What’s your browser history giving away about you this week?

Apart from global politics (because macro shifts change micro behavior), my recent browsing has centered on how AI, especially agentic AI, can transform every segment of social listening. I’m exploring how to build cross-functional workflow automation and architect fast processing structures, enabling teams to leverage AI agents to synthesize signals and recommend actions. Ultimately, my goal is to build elements of the dream team mentioned above through the evolving AI landscape, ensuring leaders get the right narrative at the right moment with the right next step, governed, auditable, and built for impact.

‍

‍