No longer just a distribution channel, social media is an integral part of any company’s marketing strategy. The rise and rise of social media has made it possible for businesses of all sizes to create immediate customer connections and to do so on a global scale.
Customer communications aside, social media has also brought with it a new wave of priceless business intelligence. Social networks are a ready-made focus group of people already engaged with your brand or industry. This is marketing gold.
Social listening is the method through which your brand can access this valuable data, and more and more businesses are incorporating this as part of their marketing strategies.
What is Social Listening?
Social listening is the process of carefully monitoring mentions of your brand, product, competitors or in fact any phrases related to your business. More than just monitoring ‘@mentions’, social listening is about examining the wider conversation and using this data to gleam valuable customer insights.
For businesses, there’s a subtle, but important, difference between social listening and monitoring. Social monitoring requires constant tracking of mentions, follows, retweets or any action which requires an immediate reaction. Social listening means analysing the bigger picture, learning more about your customer, and using these findings in your marketing or customer service strategies.
In the past, insights like this would have been exceptionally difficult to acquire. However, today, finding out what people are saying about your business is more accessible than ever, though it still requires some know-how and commitment.
Why is it Important?
If your business is serious about creating and implementing a best-in-business marketing strategy, then social listening needs to play a core part of this. Building a marketing strategy without investigating your company’s online reputation is comparable to building a house without foundations.
Business Benefits
Product Improvements
One of the most obvious benefits of social listening is the instantaneous feedback it offers businesses. Examining customer feedback like this allows companies to monitor any positive or negative feedback and make product improvements accordingly.
Social listening is also a great source of inspiration, especially when it comes to product development. Customers often make suggestions for product improvements across social media. A cursory search of phrases like, “I wish they would make…”, can return lots of valuable insights for your business’s product team.
Sainsbury’s famously took this to the next level when it responded to a frustrated social media user who ranted about their new vegan cheese, made with coconut.
“CHEESE IS NOT MADE WITH COCONUTS. Call it Gary or something don’t call it Cheese because IT’S NOT CHEESE!!!!!!”
Expertly turning a negative into a positive, Sainsbury’s response won kudos all round.
Competitor Analysis
Aside from monitoring your business’s online reputation, social listening allows companies to learn more about their competitors’ marketing strategies. By monitoring competitors’ online interactions, you can learn more about their brand identity, tone of voice, as well as their target audience. Real-life intelligence like this gives businesses a competitive edge and distinct advantage as they’ll always be ready to respond to threats opportunities. In today’s market place, it’s vital that businesses use all the resources available to them to outperform direct competitors.
Content Ideation
The ability to produce quality online content, that is highly relevant to your target audience is central to any successful digital marketing strategy.
Social listening gives your business a greater understanding of the conversations happening about your brand. By analysing the meaning behind these conversations, your marketing team will be better equipped to create content that your customers want.
Improve Customer Service
As Warren Buffett famously said, “It takes twenty years to build a reputation and five minutes to ruin it”.
When it comes to business reputation, your level of customer service can make or break it. Efficient customer service equals happy customers and positive reviews, while slow or unhelpful support leads to disgruntled customers.
Now you can monitor what’s being said about your company, identify issues and respond quickly to customers. Timely replies and a highly engaged brand all equal a positive experience for customers and in turn loyal customers for your business.
When an ASOS customer discovered that the winter coat she wanted was sold out, despite being advertised as in stock, she took her frustration to Twitter. Her tweet was retweeted 30 times and liked almost 800 times.
While ASOS managed to react within 24 hours, there was still time for other users to respond first… by recommending ASOS competitors.
Surprise and Delight
Perhaps the best reason to undertake social listening is to give yourself the opportunity to surprise and delight your loyal customers.
Virgin Trains proved the value of social listening and taking meaningful action when it came to the rescue of a customer in need.
Virgin Trains’ response to a customer in need made headlines and added the kind of value to their brand image that could not be replicated in any other way.
Social Media Monitoring Tools
Now that we’ve outlined the many benefits of social listening, we’re sure you’re eager to start the process for yourself.
Below you’ll find a selection of our favourite social listening tools.
Olytico
Irish-owned company Olytico, has gone from strength-to-strength since its inception in 2009 and now counts some of Ireland’s top businesses as clients. Olytico’s monitoring service lets you review live conversations happening about your company, products or services.
All information is collated from a number of platforms and forums to give your business the most accurate results. Interested in seeing what Olytico can do for your business? Request a demo today.
Hootsuite
Boasting multiple functionalities in one, Hootsuite lets you monitor priority keywords and phrases across several networks including Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, WordPress and Google+. With Hootsuite, it’s possible to respond to conversations, as well as reach out directly to influencers and potential customers.
Google Alerts
Google Alerts is a free tool for businesses who want to monitor their business’s online reputation, without fully committing to investing in new software. Google Alerts lets users know when a specific keyword or phrase has been mentioned online. Easy to use and free, this is a great entry-level tool for businesses starting their social listening journey.
TweetDeck
Similar to Google Alerts, TweetDeck is a good starting point for social media novices and offers many of the same features as Hootsuite. With TweetDeck, you’ll be able to schedule tweets, monitor mentions, hashtags and manage multiple accounts.
Mention
Mention offers real-time media monitoring and web tracking across blogs, news, forums and social media. With Mention’s real-time analysis, you’ll know when your brand is being mentioned and what’s being said about your product.
Social listening is the key to better understanding your audience. By discovering the specific needs and wants of your customers, you’re automatically better positioned to succeed in today’s competitive business landscape.