Imagine you’re talking to a friend.
And.. you just say “Pizza” and boom!
There’s a pizza ad.
Ridiculous, right?
(I bet I’m going to see a Pizza ad as soon as I’m done writing this blog post)
Why do you think that happens?
It’s because the algorithms are listening to you. (Controversial)
Now, of course, we don’t have that power.
What we do have?
A human mind… that can do something similar that would give a feeling of WOW to your target customers.
They’d feel like you’re listening to them.
Which you’d be.
Through social listening.
What is social listening?
Basically, it’s monitoring and analyzing conversations, mentions, and feedback related to a brand, product, or industry.
That too across various social media platforms, forums, blogs, and online communities.
It’s basically being like that neighborhood aunt that knows all the gossip.
Now, you must be wondering…
Why do you do it?
It’s pretty simple.
The goal is to gain valuable insights into customers’ needs, preferences, opinions, and attitudes toward a brand, product, or service.
And use this information in
- Marketing strategies
- Product development
- Customer service,
- And brand reputation management.
Pretty cool, right?
Now, on to the meaty part.
How do you do social listening?
I have my 4 favorite ways (these are the most important ones anyway) ↓
1// Using social media monitoring tools
There are many tools such as Hootsuite, Sprout Social, etc.
They allow you to monitor and track brand mentions, hashtags, and conversations across multiple social media platforms.
2// Google Alerts or Mention
You can also use Google Alerts or Mention (it’s a tool!) to track specific keywords and hashtags related to your brand, products, or industry.
Here’s a detailed article that would help you with this.
3// Forums, FB Groups, Subreddits, communities
Penetrate the community.
Blend in.
Listen to the conversations.
Collect information.
(I know it sounds like a military strategy!)
4// Review mining
Continuously monitor reviews on Amazon, own website, and other review websites.
The goal?
Collect feedback about the product, service, or brand.
Once, you have all this information…
What do you do with all the information?
Sentiment analysis.
Analyze the tone of the information and see if it’s positive, negative, or neutral.
Look for the patterns.
The more you do it, the better you get at it.
But know one thing.
Do this for both yourself and your competitors.
Why?
Because it’d help you optimize and make your marketing decisions accordingly and stay one step ahead of the competition.
You do want to stay ahead, don’t you?
Also read: How to influence your target customers to take action (in a constructive way)
Final Thoughts
Social listening is a great way to know what’s happening in your industry and what people are saying about your brand or competitors.
4 Ways to do it:
- Use tools such as Hootsuite, Sprout Social, etc. to monitor and track brand mentions, hashtags, and conversations across multiple social media platforms.
- Use tools like Google Alerts, Mention, etc. to track specific keywords and hashtags related to your brand, products, or industry.
- Hang out in forums, subReddits, FB groups, Communities, etc.
- Review mining – look at the reviews on your own website and other platforms.
Do this for both yourself and your competitors.
Analyze the sentiment of the conversations and optimize your marketing efforts accordingly.
And voila!
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