The best way a business can grow or know what to change and implement is to interact and listen to what customers, competitors, and potential clients say about the business or its services and products.
Social media is the one place where everybody is at, and businesses should use social media listening to know people’s opinions about them and what they offer.
What Is Social Media Listening
Social media listening means tracking the internet for brand mentions, competitor mentions, and keywords related to the business. The business then analyzes the information to understand why clients respond or react the way they do and develop a long-term strategy to improve their competitive advantage.
Some information businesses might get from social listening include:
- Whether people love their products or services.
- Why they like or dislike it.
- What they would like the company to change and how.
- Whether they would choose a competitor over the business.
- What competitors are doing better.
- Industry trends around the product or service the company provides.
Social Media Listening Vs. Social Media Monitoring
While these terms are similar, they are different and help the business in different ways. Social listening answers the question ‘why,’ while monitoring answers ‘what.’
Like social listening, social media monitoring also helps identify what people are saying about a brand by looking at mentions of the brand, products, services, and competitors. However, instead of analyzing why people said what they said and looking for long-term solutions, the company might respond to the mentions, but it’s not mandatory.
Benefits of Social Media Listening
It helps avoid crises before they happen
This is one of the main advantages of social listening. By tracking your clients’ comments in real-time, you can identify an issue immediately after it happens. It gives you time to develop a strategy to prevent the situation from worsening.
If you notice that you are getting more engagement from clients than usual, ensure you determine why. Clients’ comments, even though negative, carry a lot of information you can use to improve your competitive position.
This mainly helps PR issues because if, for example, your website is down, you can identify that immediately, give an apology post, and work on it as soon as possible.
Improves customer satisfaction
Customers love brands that consider their opinions. Therefore, if you notice clients complain about a particular feature of your product or service and give suggestions, implementing a change around their suggestion gives them a higher chance of returning.
Helps understand competitive positions
Keeping up with clients helps you understand what they say about your competitors and how they compare you with other businesses. This lets you know your company’s position, and you can take ideas from what clients are saying to increase your competitive advantage.
Companies identify collaboration opportunities
People on social media might know more about the current trends in your industry and some creators in that field. With this information, it’s easier to look for collaborations, for example, with social media influencers to promote your brands.
Helps create better campaigns
When you have a promotion campaign, clients will take onto social media to talk about everything they loved and did not love. This information will help you have a better campaign the next time you hold one.
Social Media Listening Tips
- Know what to listen for- There are many things people say, but you have to determine what you want to learn from social listening. This will help guide you to the relevant information to listen for.
- Use keywords- Keywords will filter the conversations for you and bring you the information relevant to your search.
- Use a social listening tool- These make it easier and faster to find relevant information, leaving you with enough time to design and implement a good strategy for your business.
NetbaseQuid is one of the tools available that gives you a holistic approach to help you build, grow and protect your brand. They allow you to achieve your business goal, whether it’s developing better campaigns, improving your brand health, or competitive advantage.