Importance of Social Media Listening

You have to be an effective listener on the social media channels. Listening is an important skill in the legacy communication system and it holds true even in the digital world. Be proactive in the listening process. Let the news that you are interested in come to you. The insights from the social listening process will assist you change the direction of your social media strategy, towards your business destination.

The Social Media Listening Process – is analogous to the traditional listening system. It can be best described by the pyramid shown below.

Start Media Listening – Use the tools available to start the listening process. Some of the techniques are:
- RSS Feeds – Follow the news and topics that interest you by subscribing to the RSS feeds of the urls. This is a fairly simple process wherein you need to write a small script or download an RSS reader plugin (available for wordpress) and mention the URL whose feed you would like to follow. The most important and latest news will come to you on your web pages.
- Google Alerts – Subscribe to the Google alert facility by entering keywords of your choice and you will get emails (periodicity based on your preference) regularly with the latest news on the keywords chosen. Trust the Google algorithm to get you the news that you will find interesting.
Optimize Social Media Listening – There is so much information available online that would like to get a consolidated view of the search as well as some analysis on the online mention of the searched keywords. You can use free tools like Social Mention and Board Reader for optimizing your social media listening process.

Categories of Social Media Listening – There are three categories of social listening. All tools and techniques will be part of one of the three categories.

By Keywords – It is the traditional approach based on keywords, search parameters and filters that help you find information that you are looking for. It is mainly used when the prime objective of listening is PERFORMANCE MONITORING. It allows you to monitor the effect and the impact of the particular search keyword in the online world.
By Channels – It is the process of monitoring the social media channels like facebook, twitter, youtube etc for conversations on the topics of your interest. It is mainly used when the prime objective of listening is ENGAGEMENT ANALYSIS. The amount of clicks, shares and likes is a good indication on how the users are engaged with the subject.
By People (as Audience) – It is the process of being part of a community and contributing in the conversation by listening to the experts and the influencers on the subject of discussion. It is mainly used when the prime objective of listening is IMPACT ANALYSIS. The intensity of the discussion is a precursor to the reach and influencing capability of the subject in discussion.

Use Cases of Social Media Listening – Social Media listening finds its application in a variety of uses cases, more particularly in the below mentioned five cases.

Insight and Learning – Know what is being said about you and your organization. It will help you plan your marketing activities to either reinforce your positioning or to change it.
Engagement – Helps drive people engagement with the platforms you are active on. After all, people engagement leads to conversions and sales.
Customer Support – Support your customers through social media. If you are listening to them effectively, now is the time to make them feel special. Support provided through social media can go a long way in establishing your brand to the global community. You may soon find customers seeking your product/ service, those who you never considered your target market.
Decision Support – Social Media listening can help you take decisions for your business. It allows you to feel the pulse of your target market sitting right in your office. Optimize your marketing and business decisions to create a meaningful impact on your customers.
Performance Management –The objective of every business is customer satisfaction. Social Media is your customer’s voice. Hence what you hear through social media can help you evaluate your product, marketing, sales and aftersales teams. Social media listening can be the best tool to judge the performance of your employee and reward/ punish them with actionable customer data.

Final Takeaway – Social Media Listening serves as an important steps in establishing your business online. If you listen to your customers attentively through the social media, you can make changes to keep them happy, satisfied and loyal. Effective Social Media Listening is an important business function for any organization today.

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