There’s no denying that social media is vital for any modern business. The vast majority of your customers use these still growing social platforms to not just communicate with their loved ones, but to get in touch with brands, learn about the latest trends, and stay informed. With more people joining the social hype, it has become pivotal for every business to stay active, and do their absolute best to create engaging content for their audience. However, what certain brands still haven’t realized is that your efforts shouldn’t end there.
As impressive as your social media content strategy may be, you also need to be in tune with what your audience is saying about you. This is where more brands are beginning to understand the underlying importance of social media listening, or monitoring, to fine-tune their social media approach. By keeping an eye on the impact on your social interactions and by understanding how your audience communicates about your brand, you can truly reach new heights in boosting your social presence, and thus your entire reputation.
Spot and work with brand advocates
Let’s face it, you’re most likely reading this with your Adblocker on, and you intend to keep doing that for every website that allows you the use of said technology. With almost half of consumers using this tech, brands are having a harder time to advertise their products and services via traditional means such as ads. An even more relevant number for monitoring, however, refers to our love for influencers. Data shows that around 92% of customers trust influencers more than they trust ads and celebrity endorsements – which is a staggering number you cannot ignore when crafting your social strategy.
With the right social listening tools, you can notice people, whether they are micro influencers or customers with a high number of followers and a great potential to give you a massive reach, who appreciate and talk about your products or services. Their posts about your brand can inspire greater trust and greater interest, hence the need to nurture those relationships for the long haul.
Understand and utilize brand mentions
Direct messages are certainly not the only way your customers want to talk about your brand or to your brand. While it’s relatively easy to track hashtags and similar posts where the customer directly addresses your brand, there are other mentions that you should keep in mind. Certain keywords that are linked to your brand and your industry are of great help, for example.
In fact, by using social mention monitoring as a part of your overarching strategy, you can spot mentions and respond to questions without delay. Tools that enable you to track various forms of mentions, your brand name, different keywords, and relevant industry questions let you join a live conversation at any time. You can then use these mentions to build more authority around your brand and educate your customers – both of which are vital in maintaining the reputation of a leader in your industry.
Get to know your competitors
Although the sky is the limit when it comes to utilizing social monitoring for the benefit of your brand, the beauty of these digital tools is that you can keep an eye on all kinds of relevant ideas in your market. That, of course, includes your competitors! In case you’re not a leader yourself, monitoring industry leaders through social media monitoring tools can help you learn and refine your strategy. After all, if they have already shown the world the best ways to conquer their industry, there’s no reason you shouldn’t follow in their footsteps.
Conversations that revolve around your competitors, for instance, can be useful for your brand to spot different creative ways they are solving customer issues. How they communicate with their audience can also be a learning tool for you to improve your own brand voice and spot discrepancies in your brand’s digital presentation. You may also spot an opportunity where your brand excels at certain aspects of customer interaction to get more people interested in your brand!
Improved customer service
On social media, everything has the potential to turn into “bad press”, much like everything has the potential to work in favor of your brand. For the former, a neutral question by your customer left unanswered may lead to a disgruntled complaint, and a very public one at that. As for the latter, a negative comment can be quickly transformed into an opportunity to bond with that customer if you respond in a timely and suitable manner.
In essence, your social platforms serve as customer service platforms to a great extent, and how you treat them can make all the difference for the success of your brand. By using social media monitoring tools, you can always be there when the customer needs you: to give an explanation, provide a discount, thank them for their loyalty, and simply keep them engaged. Even if they haven’t directly tagged you, social listening enables you to spot these communication opportunities to respond, clarify, and keep your customers feeling valued.
Although the value of a refined brand voice and spotless communication will never wane, the art of listening should be among your brand’s priorities as well. Make sure to use social media monitoring in various forms, and you’ll reap the rewards for years to come.
