Let’s face it, it’s the year 2022. Everyone uses some form of social media. It is one of the best ways to stay in touch with the people around you and to keep in the know of all the things going on in the world around you in an instant. And as it turns out, companies have figured out that social media can be more than useful when it comes to building campaigns and understanding what their customers want.

What Exactly is Social Media Listening?

Before we get into the details on what companies can do for Social Listening, we must understand what it is first. Social Media Listening, or Social Listening, is when companies use social media platforms to track what customers, or potential customers are saying about them. They track through mentions or keywords related to the brand. After that, the company analyzes what is said and finds the best way to put it into action. An example can be as simple as sending a reply to the customer. Fast food companies like Wendy’s have had some pretty funny remarks to customers through Twitter over the years. Another example, although major, can be to change the brand’s entire position.

How Does Social Media Listening Help a Business?

To put it bluntly, you as a business owner would be crazy to not use social media as a tool to help your business. As stated before, it’s the easiest way to stay in touch with almost anything. Here are some ways that companies use Social Listening strategies to help themselves:

Engage With Your Audience

As mentioned before, Wendy’s is a prime example of engaging with your audience. Below are a couple examples of their sheer brilliance:

This is a great way to show customers that you are always watching and paying attention. Another is when sports equipment companies show pictures of their partnered athletes wearing their equipment. This even goes for the people who purchase the product and mention the company with a picture of them wearing it.

Industry Intelligence

Industry intelligence is almost like scouting the field. It tells you where you fit inside the industry. It can also show you what your competitors are up to. Whether it is launching a new product, or even a new campaign. If you are careful enough, you may find a spot in the industry that is open for the taking.

Product Intelligence

Social media is a great platform for customer service. Instead of running to an online help desk from the company website, customers can directly mention a company with a problem or issue and get a response in real time. As a gamer myself, I see brands like Xbox and Electronic Arts (EA) always lurking to find a customer who is struggling with an issue on the company’s end. Here’s an example below:

Tools to Use

Here are just a few tools companies can use to make social listening much easier:

• Hootsuite
  • Hootsuite is a great way to keep track of all of your platforms without logging in and out of each individual one. It can be used to monitor conversations, mentions, hashtags, and keywords.
• Synthesio
  • Synthesio divides conversations into segments based on characteristics such as location, language, gender, and demographics.
• Netbase
  • Collects data from across social media platforms while listening in on key conversations. It also collects data from historical posts.
• Audiense
  • Identifies audiences no matter the size. Audiense also reports on what your customers like, and what they are discussing.

Social Listening Tips

Below are some tips companies use while performing social listening strategies:

• Listen for the correct words and topics
  • Look for keywords that apply to you company and industry some words include:
    • Brand name/handle
    • Product name
    • Industry keywords
    • Competitor names
    • Slogans, yours, or your competitor’s
    • Campaign names
    • Hashtags that are branded, yours, or your competitors and unbranded hashtags as well
• Listen in the right spots
  • Listen in the places where your company is talked about the most. Customers can talk about your company all day on Facebook, but possibly not at all on Instagram.  This is something all companies need to be aware of.
• Learn from the competition
  • What is being successful in the industry without learning from the mistakes from those around you? Their mess ups are your time to take advantage and move forward stronger.
• Always be alert for changes
  • Such as life, social media and your company’s reflection on other’s is always changing. Analyzing trends and patterns rather than individual comments is a good way to stay on top of the everchanging market.