5 Reasons Why Social Listening Matters

Should your company be investing in social listening? Social media listening, also known as social media monitoring, is identifying and assessing what is being said about a company, individual, product or brand online. We share our opinions and views on social platforms. Listening in on those conversations can help brands in numerous ways. Here are five ways your company could benefit from social listening.

Competitive Analysis


With social listening, we now have access to greater competitive intelligence. In addition to telling us what is happening or the opinions on the market overall, social listening can provide clear insights into who your competitors are and what they are doing. You can see what frustrations consumers have with competitors, what services your competitors are launching or having difficulties with and what exactly the market is willing to pay for your service/product.

Customer Sentiment


Social listening provides the fastest insights into your customers sentiment around your brand. Filter the content to see the various areas that surround negative and positive comments. Social listening is an amazing focus group. After a big product launch or update, track to see who’s sharing info around it. You can then reach out to those influencers and build stronger relationships to keep your sentiment high.

Purchase Signals


We know that consumers turn to referrals and recommendations before making an important decision. This typically plays out on social media -- and this is where you can influence decisions. You can really see what your audience is looking for and needs. Then, you're able to create an organic conversation with the consumer. When you join the conversation, it creates a more authentic relationship with your audience, and they remember that. You could even take it a step further and send consumers who do sign up or purchase your product from these conversations a personalised email. Social listening gives you an edge and the opportunity for real interactions with your base.

Customer Service and Retention


While this benefit seems obvious, it can be overlooked. Social listening gives your teams the ability to listen to your own channels, as well as shared channels to really see what your consumers need. Customer acquisition is six times more expensive than retention, social listening gives you the opportunity to ensure you're keeping your customers happy. Satisfied customers are one of your greatest marketing resources.

Find Top Talent


Social listening doesn't just benefit your marketing team. HR can use social listening to track down top talent. By monitoring conversations in forums, in social groups or on blogs, your HR team can identify key candidates with remarkable skill sets.

Social listening goes beyond these five benefits, providing great ROI for any brand engaging in it.

Published on 2015-08-19 19:23:12