As the popular phrase suggests, “if you’re not online, then you don’t exist.”
With so many resources and conversations happening everywhere, there is a plethora of information on the web, and chances are some of it will be about your brand.
This is why it is vital for brands to listen to what is being said about them and use the information to inform their digital marketing. Social listening is about gathering the information being said by customers online. Through analysing the conversations you can start to draw conclusions an inform your marketing efforts.
Here are 10 ways to use the insights from social listening to improve your digital marketing.
1. Reputation management
Who is talking about you and what are they saying? When you listen to what is being said about your brand you are in a better position to respond to negative feedback.
2. Customer service
People commonly discuss brands on social media, they let their friends and followers know how they feel about a product or service, offer feedback and ask questions. By being in these spaces brands can involve themselves in the customer experience and offer support.
3. Learn from consumers
Consumers will often express their problems online in public forums and on social, these are great places to learn abut their pain points. You can then approach them with empathy and offer a solution in your product/service.
4. Find new customers
By now you should know that not all consumers hang out in the same places. This also means that there maybe potential leads in a different online space than the one that your brand frequents. Listening tools help you to find them.
5. Learn what your competition are doing/saying
Looking at the activity of your competitors can help you gauge the effectiveness of your own social media campaigns. How do you compare, what changes could you make to improve your messages? It can also be useful for finding gaps in the market and making improvements to your business.
6. Sentiment
Listening tools allow you to discover how people feel about your brand or a topic. Analysing the sentiment around your brand allows you to see if there are any negative areas existing in your business that you need to address.
7. Content ideas
By searching particular keywords related to your industry you are able to gain insights around what topics are popular and where there are gaps in information. You can then use the insights to generate content on popular and niche topics.
8. Inform your marketing strategy
Insights and data gained through using listening tools enable you to make informed decisions about your marketing strategy and improve social media campaigns. Tailoring posts for your audience will increase their engagement and benefit your business as a result.
9. Identify and connect with industry influencers
Social media has become a place where people go to for information. By connecting with influencers you can increase the reach of your brand. For example, bloggers and celebrity reviewers can help your brand gain exposure through their endorsements on their own profiles.
10. Join conversations
Being aware of the conversations people are having in forums and social spaces allows you to identify their expectations. By interacting with these potential customers in an authentic manner it is possible to generate new leads.
As well as Google Alerts there are some really useful tools you can use to gain insights into your audience. HootSuite, Social Mention, TweetReach all offer free basic accounts that allow you to see some great insights. Or, if you’re working on a larger scale and want something more complex Sprout Social and Brandwatch will provide you with deeper insights and report functionality.
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