Engage and grow your social media presence
How social listening can help with customer feedback
Social media marketing is more than strategic content. Think of your favorite brand on social media: Have you ever seen them comment on another account? Like or reply to comments shared on their posts? This is the world of social listening, or as we like to call it, search and respond - a large piece of community management.
Community management is all about building and maintaining an engaged following across social media channels. We live in a digital world where consumers are receiving a constant influx of information and while consistently posting quality content can cut through the noise, there's no guarantee you'll make real connections. Practicing social listening can significantly broaden your brand's visibility and foster engagement while providing valuable insights to refine your marketing approach. There are a few moving parts, so let's jump in!
Social listening is a proactive way of monitoring and engaging with content related to your brand or industry across social media platforms. It’s a strategic piece of community management with two key parts:
The “search” part of social listening is the act of looking for posts to engage with through your brand's pages. The right posts involve mentions, hashtags or keywords, including your brand's name, industry-related terms, competitor names and other keywords that might bring up relevant discussions. The goal of "search" is to discover what users say about your business, products, services or related topics, even if they haven't directly tagged or mentioned your social media profiles.
t::tip: This is where a social media guidebook with examples of your brand voice and information about your business can be helpful (take a look at our 2024 Social Media Field Guide to learn more). Though social media guidebooks are a good idea for everyone, they’re particularly beneficial when multiple people are involved in community management, as you can use one to ensures the brand voice is consistent, no matter who’s behind the screen.
Consumers care! 46% of customers agree the best brands engage with their audience. Social media is, first and foremost, social; customers want to feel seen and heard by their favorite companies, and responding to your audience shows your brand is accessible and goes beyond what you offer. Think of it like a “soft” sell of who you are: community management helps your business stay top of mind for when a consumer is ready for you.
Additionally, search and respond keeps your ear to the ground so you can quickly identify potential issues. In the fast-paced digital landscape, a single mistake or customer complaint can escalate into a PR crisis that can take months or years to fix. By consistently monitoring social media and looking for mentions of your brand or industry, you can proactively address issues and avert a full-blown crisis.
Lastly, search and respond can clue you into potential growth opportunities. For example, suppose you’re a craft lemonade brand, and you see consistent posts from people wishing there was a spicy lemonde on the market. In that case, you’ve identified an area your business could expand -- hello, jalapeño!
There are several ways to go about search and respond, such as leveraging social listening tools like Brandwatch, which allow you to track brand mentions, hashtags and keywords in real-time. Other ways you can implement search and respond without third-party tools include:
An engaged social media presence doesn’t happen overnight – it takes consistent effort and strategy beyond a carefully curated feed. Consumers want authentic connections with the brands they follow and interacting with them through search and respond is a great way to build those relationships.
Social media marketing can be confusing and challenging to keep up with; our social media marketing experts are here to help. Whether you’re looking for someone to take over your community management or just need some guidance on where to get started, our team is ready for you! Let’s connect!
Community management is all about building and maintaining an engaged following across social media channels. We live in a digital world where consumers are receiving a constant influx of information and while consistently posting quality content can cut through the noise, there's no guarantee you'll make real connections. Practicing social listening can significantly broaden your brand's visibility and foster engagement while providing valuable insights to refine your marketing approach. There are a few moving parts, so let's jump in!
What is social listening?
Social listening is a proactive way of monitoring and engaging with content related to your brand or industry across social media platforms. It’s a strategic piece of community management with two key parts:
Search
The “search” part of social listening is the act of looking for posts to engage with through your brand's pages. The right posts involve mentions, hashtags or keywords, including your brand's name, industry-related terms, competitor names and other keywords that might bring up relevant discussions. The goal of "search" is to discover what users say about your business, products, services or related topics, even if they haven't directly tagged or mentioned your social media profiles.Respond
"Respond” comes in once you’ve found an ideal post or comment to engage with because after identifying relevant conversations, it’s time to respond appropriately. This action could mean addressing customer complaints, answering questions, thanking users for positive feedback or even joining discussions about your industry. The response should be timely, on brand and tailored to each situation to demonstrate how you value your online community and are attentive to its needs.t::tip: This is where a social media guidebook with examples of your brand voice and information about your business can be helpful (take a look at our 2024 Social Media Field Guide to learn more). Though social media guidebooks are a good idea for everyone, they’re particularly beneficial when multiple people are involved in community management, as you can use one to ensures the brand voice is consistent, no matter who’s behind the screen.
Who cares? Why does search and respond matter?
Consumers care! 46% of customers agree the best brands engage with their audience. Social media is, first and foremost, social; customers want to feel seen and heard by their favorite companies, and responding to your audience shows your brand is accessible and goes beyond what you offer. Think of it like a “soft” sell of who you are: community management helps your business stay top of mind for when a consumer is ready for you.
Additionally, search and respond keeps your ear to the ground so you can quickly identify potential issues. In the fast-paced digital landscape, a single mistake or customer complaint can escalate into a PR crisis that can take months or years to fix. By consistently monitoring social media and looking for mentions of your brand or industry, you can proactively address issues and avert a full-blown crisis.
Lastly, search and respond can clue you into potential growth opportunities. For example, suppose you’re a craft lemonade brand, and you see consistent posts from people wishing there was a spicy lemonde on the market. In that case, you’ve identified an area your business could expand -- hello, jalapeño!
Ok, but how do I do it?
There are several ways to go about search and respond, such as leveraging social listening tools like Brandwatch, which allow you to track brand mentions, hashtags and keywords in real-time. Other ways you can implement search and respond without third-party tools include:
- Choosing some hashtags. Hashtags for most social media platforms are a great way to find posts about your brand or relevant topics. Identify a few appropriate hashtags to keep tabs on and regularly search for posts using them.
- Knowing your keywords. Similar to hashtags, you can choose a few strategic keywords and topics to monitor. These can be industry buzzwords, product names or names of key people in your organization.
- Be sure to include common misspellings for both hashtags and keywords so you don’t miss valuable information!
- Searching the right platforms. Though you should focus on the channels where your company has a presence, don’t restrict your search to these alone. Looking beyond your usual channels can uncover opportunities and insights you might otherwise miss. Platforms like Reddit, X and Quora can unearth relevant commentary you need to see.
An engaged social media presence doesn’t happen overnight – it takes consistent effort and strategy beyond a carefully curated feed. Consumers want authentic connections with the brands they follow and interacting with them through search and respond is a great way to build those relationships.
Social media marketing can be confusing and challenging to keep up with; our social media marketing experts are here to help. Whether you’re looking for someone to take over your community management or just need some guidance on where to get started, our team is ready for you! Let’s connect!
About the Author
Gabriella Caldwell is a Digital Marketing Strategist at thunder::tech. Outside of the office she can be found in a ceramics studio sculpting away, or visiting local art galleries.