Final answer:
The social media team should start by gathering information, formulating a research question, and planning methods for data collection, leading to the analysis of social media data for furniture design inspiration.
Step-by-step explanation:
The first step the social media team should take when starting to mine social media data for a furniture design company is to gather information. This process involves collecting relevant data, which will further enable the team to identify patterns and trends in consumer preferences and industry developments that can inspire new product designs. The team needs to formulate a research question, outline what they already know, determine what information is missing, and decide on the methods for data collection, such as social media analytics tools or observing consumer interactions.
Subsequent steps include analyzing the social media data, identifying design trends, and synthesizing this information to guide engineers in creating innovative furniture designs. Interviews, surveys, and direct observation on social media platforms might be employed as methods. Additionally, the team should consider the privacy and ethical implications of using social media data, ensuring they comply with legal standards and social media platform policies.