Hello [Brand] — Are You Listening?

Social listening is one of the most powerful actions you can take as a brand. The purpose of this is not to build up your brand awareness, but to build deeper relationships with your audience, your employees, your customers, your partners, your haters, your ambassadors, and more. While brand awareness becomes a perk, it’s not the purpose.

Listening is more than paying attention to when your brand is being @mentioned in a post or receiving a DM in a social channel. It’s about identifying the deeper conversations hidden below the surface. And while many brands are hitting just the tip of the iceberg of the conversation, they have an opportunity to go deeper.

We know we’re preaching to the choir and it’s easier said than done, but it’s one of the most impactful things you can do as a social media manager. If you have access to a social media tool like Hootsuite, Sprout Social, Khoros or Sprinklr, you have the ability to go beyond the surface and find those moments that matter. 

Below are a few ideas to consider when planning your social listening strategy:

• If you have brand specific hashtags, make sure you’re following them at all times. Just because you’re not always using them, doesn’t mean someone else isn’t. 
• Check when someone is adding your company as a location to their posts. This is a work around if someone doesn’t feel the need or want to directly mention a brand or place. 
• If you know your brand name can be easily misspelled or is always mistaken for another name, track those words and see what you find. 
• As stated in the second bullet, not everyone will directly mention and tag your brand, so you’ll want to ensure you’re adding your brand name as a keyword to track. 

If that list got you as pumped up about social listening as it did us, then consider these ideas and go a little above and beyond:

• If you feel like you’re missing out on conversations that your brand is being referenced in, take note of those and see how you can get more involved with the content you post or the comments you share. 
• If there are topics your brand could be adding its voice to that it hasn’t done previously, then make a note and add them as keywords you want to track and insert yourself in the conversation appropriately. 
• If you see conversations that are mentioning your competitors but not you, see how you can appropriately respond to the conversation and add value.

Social strategist to social strategist, this is an initiative worth taking. We all know that social teams come in all sizes, but one thing remains the same, you can’t afford to not know what is being said about your brand. You don’t control the narrative, the people talking about your brand do, so why wouldn’t you want to listen and build relationships with those people?

Listen to what your audience is saying. Use those conversations to develop a narrative that tells impeccable stories. Build relationships across the board and beat your competition. Show your leadership how valuable social media is and why it’s worth the investment.