In recent years there has been a shift in the way organisations market to consumers – previously consumers were told what they need, & when they need it.
Now it is really the consumers telling brands what they want to see next.
The key to adapting as a brand is through social listening.
Social listening means analysing the conversation & trends happening in your industry, and using those insights to help guide your marketing decisions.
It helps you better connect with your audience and is a strategy to combat issues of disconnect.
Social listening is important because it allows you to make tactical moves instead of guessing.
Don’t you wish you understood the WHY behind the issues your customers care about? So you could develop tools that will solve your consumers problems.
Today being successful on social media is more complicated than selling the product you are promoting.
Consumers are calling for businesses to be ethically sourced, culturally sensitive and actively using their platform to speak out for what they believe in.
Social listening allows you to be proactive in your business – you can anticipate upcoming market changes based on what your target audience is discussing and figure out ways to implement these messages into your marketing.
You cannot help or influence your audience if you are not listening to them.
If you are not using ‘social listening’ as a strategy, you may be unknowingly offending & turning people against you. This is damaging the reputation of your brand & your employees!
The views of an organisation often have a reflection on employees – so if your brand has a reputation for ignoring customers then so will your employees.
It is often assumed that the brand and their employees share the same views/values so be mindful of what you and your employees are doing on social media.
The smartest brands use social listening to:
1. Gauge public perception
You can assess the health of your brand by researching to see what people are saying about you online.
This gives you insights on what people like/dislike about your brand, common queries & specific features/content that gain attention/spark conversation.
2. Analyse discussions or hashtags
Monitoring, & engaging with relevant discussions/hashtags helps you identify industry trends & become proactive in your marketing.
Knowing what is coming next gives you time to position your brand as an industry authority, whilst the trend begins to gain popularity.
3. Analyse Competitors
Monitor what people are saying about a competing brand or product to assess how you can improve your product to give it a leading edge.
Monitoring competitors helps you discover where you are positioned in the market, find inspiration for improvement, & learn what is missing from the market. You can leverage your findings into your marketing campaigns to gain a competitive edge.
4. Analyse how your campaign is performing
Research to see how your audience is responding to your campaign.
Social listening allows you to track engagement, impressions, gather general sentiment, identify influencers, understand what demographic is responding best, & discover key themes from the campaign so you can identify where improvements are needed.
5. Event monitoring
Monitor your audiences response to a conference or event.
This is usually done through a # but it is important to look for posts that haven’t used this #. Look at the profiles of speakers, location tag, & other associated key terms.
Setting up a feedback booth at the event also helps you to maximise return on insights – as it gives you the opportunity to ask specific questions that will help you learn if the goal of your event was achieved.
It’s time to get out there and connect with your audience. The ways in which your business social listens are limitless – so think outside the box! Hang out with your customers where they already are, build relationships & learn how your business can improve directly from the source.
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