Social listening is one of your company’s secret weapons in this volatile internet marketplace. The market changes every day; Knowing what your customer base is saying is important in order to keep up with the competition. The key to success? Your social media presence.
Social listening means keeping an eye on all of your social media platforms and reading the comments.
If people are asking the same question or request, you may be in a prime position to grab an unattended corner of the market. This can have a huge impact on SEO and your search engine ranking.
Monitoring your brand and industry
Social listening can be as simple as reading the comments and responding to them in person if you’re a sole proprietorship, and as complicated as running a social media team that is on duty 24/7. But at its core, it’s about understanding and managing your brand’s online presence.
There are many reasons why you should be concerned about what people are saying about your business and your market online.
- You want to make a great first impression. Often times, people googling your business before buying it and you want to know what the first thing they see is – and change it if it’s not ideal.
- This can give you a significant competitive advantage. If your company has a reputation for being the most responsive and solving complaints in person, you are likely your number one choice.
- This will increase your brand awareness. When you create a positive overall picture of your business online, you can focus on your content and your products.
- You don’t want your competitors to set the tone of the debate. There is a good chance your product will be compared unfavorably to their product in terms of content, and taking a proactive approach will allow you to ensure that your page is heard.
- Avoid the heckler’s veto! Suppose you are not actively involved in maintaining your company’s online reputation. In this case, it is possible that an angry dissident may be the dominant voice over your business in search results and deter potential buyers.
Your company can be mentioned in every corner of the internet, both in the areas that are easy to find via search and those that are more difficult. Fortunately, there are tools out there that can unlock those hidden corners of the internet. Click here for tips on finding unlinked brand mentions and a list of other tools that can help you manage your online branding presence.
Social listening for SEO
SEO is an important part of any branding strategy as it is about managing your brand image and aligning it with what people are looking for.
Social listening can help you see what people are looking for when they talk about your business and what is less of a priority.
Once you’ve found mentions for your brand, the next step should be to turn them into links. Make it as easy as possible for users to find what interests them. Start by placing interlinks on your most popular content or the first hit on Google.
After that, the goal should be to find backlink opportunities that will reach readers who may not have come to your website yet.
The best bet for backlinks is to have a successful business in a related field that is not a direct competitor. A partnership with a neighboring company that offers a different service can be mutually beneficial.
You’ll also want to maintain an active social media presence, whether you’re direct or your social media team.
If someone asks a question on one of your platforms, it should be answered as soon as possible by the official brand account. This is important in engaging a potential customer or buyer and creating a strong impression of interacting with passers-by.
This is especially important if there is a complaint or a problem with your product. Hardly anything is worse for a company than a disgruntled, committed ex-customer who wants everyone to know.
A responsive social media team can neutralize a potential threat to your company’s public image – and with a little luck even turn it into vocal supporters.
Listen carefully
An active social media presence provides daily advice on the next steps your company should take. Your customers point you in the direction they should be going. Social listening is the easiest way to keep your finger on the pulse of the market and take advantage of the benefits.
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