The Twitter developer API is a great way to start with social media data analysis. You get free access to masses of data (though a rate limited API, you get a lot of useful data). After the free tier, you can request access to their streaming API which can deliver tweets in real-time (or gain access to historical data since Twitter started).

This can enable a small business to get insights on customers talking about their products, or their competitors. It’s possible to access tags used in posts to get ideas for your own social media campaigns.

Personal experience

I developed software for searching through the data for specific keywords and tags, and could get focused result. I didn’t need advanced coding skills to get it up and running.

Use cases

When you need to analyse tweet data, and check tags in SEO tools like Semrush

Cons

Getting your API usage approved can take months