Social Listening PART 1: Insider Tips to Get the Most Out of an Evolving World
Allison Westhoven, Public Relations Specialist
Many companies believe that monitoring their owned social media channels is enough to keep a pulse on customer sentiment. However – at anytime, anywhere in the world – someone could be talking about your brand somewhere you aren’t monitoring. A negative review, politically charged tweet or damaging blog post is all it takes for a PR nightmare to unfold. As noted in Hart’s 4 Tips to Fuel Your 2021 Social Media Strategy, to keep brand reputations intact, companies need to consider implementing a social listening program. Beyond keeping crises at bay, social listening also can be used to gather consumer insights, industry trends and competitor research, and identify potential influencers.
Hart has partnered with Digimind, a leader in social listening software, to provide clients with the full picture of how their brand is being discussed in the social landscape. We spoke with Tony Calega, Digimind senior customer success manager, strategic accounts, about the importance of adding social listening to your 2021 strategy. Here we reflect on some of his insights.
What Is Social Listening?
There is still some confusion about the differences between social media management and social listening. Think of it this way: social media management is looking at conversations on your owned social channels; social listening expands beyond that to include not just your audience, but anyone who is talking about your brand and your industry in the digital environment. That includes people mentioning your brand in a tweet but not tagging you, news about your competitors, or someone complaining about your products in a Reddit thread. Social listening can provide data-driven insights on not only your brand, but your competitors and industry, as well.
It’s Not Just Facebook Anymore
Not too long ago, Facebook was the social media channel for data and information on your customers and brand. However, following several data breaches and the Cambridge Analytica scandal, Facebook and Instagram have started to fiercely protect people’s information and data. These changing APIs mean the information you can find today is not as robust as it once was.
While Digimind can pull a great deal of data from Facebook and Instagram, it also can pull information from Reddit, Tumblr and web and news pages that provide a complete picture of a brand’s standing in the media landscape.
“What’s outside the ‘normal’ social channels is important, as it ends up informing a lot of social conversations,” said Digimind’s Calega.
If you are not engaged in social listening, now is the time to start. For a social media audit or discussion on this topic and others that impact your brand, contact:
