The importance of tuning in to your social audiences

Picture this: You’re at a crowded party, and amidst the chatter and music, someone is trying to tell you something important. If you’re not fully tuned in, you might miss the punchline, the heart of the story, or worse, offend them by responding inappropriately. Right? Well, the same goes for brands in the digital realm.

In the noisy digital world, social media listening is imperative to understand how your audience perceives brand offerings like products or services.

What is Social Listening?

Social media listening, also known as social media intelligence, is a strategic research method that involves searching for comments, mentions and conversations on social media platforms based on specific topics, keywords or industries. Listening goes beyond simply tracking keyword mentions; it delves deeper into understanding sentiment, trends and customer preferences.

How is Social Listening Performed?

Social listening is conducted manually via search in social platforms or with the help of social software. These tools – like Meltwater, Sprout, Hootsuite, etc. – allow you to sift through vast amounts of social media data in real-time.

They also allow marketers to track conversations across various platforms such as Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, LinkedIn and more. With access to this data, marketers can gain valuable insights into customer opinions, preferences and behaviors.

Why it Matters: An Example Scenario

For example, imagine you work at a syrup company looking to understand how people feel about the product and possibly develop new syrup offerings. Social media listening can help you find comments like, “I love this syrup. It tastes natural and I trust the company it comes from,” or “I think this syrup is actually just high fructose corn syrup. I’m not buying this again.”

Comments and sentiments like these can help advertisers and brands identify trends and patterns in customer feedback. You may find several comments expressing positive sentiment, indicating people enjoy the product and trust the company. Conversely, you may find others expressing negative sentiments, revealing concerns about product ingredients or authenticity.

I’m Listening … Now What?

More often than not, a clear sentiment emerges from social media conversations, helping brands and advertisers strategize effectively.

Going back to our syrup example, if you find most comments and feelings toward the syrup brand are positive, you can capitalize on that sentiment by creating content (blog posts, social media posts, videos, white papers, infographics, etc.) highlighting the product’s natural ingredients and trustworthiness.

On the other hand, if you uncover widespread negative sentiment, you can address customer concerns via tailored content and improve your product sentiment through appropriate messaging. 

Listen To Your Audience, Empower Your Brand

While the key to social listening success is near your fingertips, if you’re feeling unsure about where to start or how to leverage social listening insights in a strategic way, Bozell can help!

In essence, social listening empowers brands to understand their audience better, anticipate their needs and tailor their marketing strategies to resonate with them. It provides valuable insights that inform product development, content creation, customer service and overall brand positioning.

The main point: customers shouldn’t have to shout to be heard. So the next time you’re tempted to treat social media as just another megaphone for your message, pause. Take a moment to listen. Because amidst the noise, there’s a symphony of insights waiting to be heard.