How to Create a Social Media Listening Strategy to Build & Protect Your Brand

A Social Media Listening Strategy To

Build & Protect Your Brand

FocusOn: Social Media – a Virtual EventSeptember 12, 2016

Christine B. Whittemore

What does it mean to have a true social media listening strategy to build and protect your brand?• More than looking at a few tweets or some Google alerts

It’s a Systematic Approach to Monitoring What’s Being Said• About you, your company, your brand, your industry• On social networks• By real people

And Carefully Listening• From the perspective of your customers• To make your business better informed about what matters to them

Monitoring vs. Listening

Important Because• People are talking about you.• You can’t stop them.• If you listen, you can do

something about what you hear.

A Social Media Listening Strategy Means You Can….• Gain context for reviews and complaints• Refine buyer personas• Gather marketing insights• Validate content ideas• Identify & connect with thought leaders, including journalists• Be part of the conversation• Be social vs. just doing social

What You Need for Your Listening Strategy• Determine your goal• Find relevant conversations• Decide what to do when you find them• Prepare for the unexpected• Develop a routine• Establish a listening process• Identify tools for listening & monitoring

What Is Your Goal?• Thought leadership?• Customer service?• Engage a specific audience?

Find Relevant Conversations • Two elements• Where do your constituents hang out online?• What are the right terms for finding conversations

Where Do Your Constituents Hang Out Online?

• Facebook Groups• LinkedIn Groups• Forums• SlideShare• Quora• YouTube• Twitter• Google+• ?

Finding the Right Conversation Terms Can be difficult depending how ‘noisy’ the industry is• Search category/industry• Search for #s, chats• List important trade shows or organizations #s• Terms competitors use• Identify influencers

12/42

What Search Terms Do They Use?• Broad terms• Product categories• Problems

• Specific terms• Company name• Brand names

They know you!

Be Aware of• Multiple meanings: steam vs. STEAM vs. steampunk vs. ….• Steam engines• Steam showers• Steam ovens• ???

• Terms to exclude• Job(s)• ???

What To Do When You Find Conversations?

• Follow the profiles• Favorite the updates• Add profiles to a list or create search streams• Listen• Engage

Prepare for the Unexpected• Will you engage or just monitor?• Anticipate the worst so you are prepared• Plan for trolls• Take it offline whenever possible

• Remember your goals

How the Air Force Does It

http://www.globalnerdy.com/2008/12/30/the-air-forces-rules-of-engagement-for-blogging/

Can You Involve Others in Your Organization?• It’s more social• Better insights• Makes you more nimble

Include Social Media in Your Employee Guidelines

The Listening Process• Pick search terms – single words vs. tight combinations of words

• Greywater vs. grey water

• General search to find:• Influencers• Relevant hashtags & terms

• Create streams to monitor • Twitter lists• Search terms• Specific profiles • #hashtags

• Interact as appropriate

Social Search Tools• Explore the networks (i.e., Twitter,

Facebook, Instagram, etc.)• General social search:• Social Mention• Twazzup

• FollowerWonk search Twitter bios• Tagboard for hashtags• Board Reader for Forums• (Calibrate your search tools)

21/42

Social Mention

Forums May Be Important

Search Within Networks

LinkedIn

Twitter

Twitter Chats

Facebook

Google+

YouTube

Check Social Referrals in Google Analytics

34/42

Calibrate Your Resources

Bonus Tip: Benchmark Your Company on Google Search• Do review sites appear?• G+: acknowledge publicly• Yelp: acknowledge privately• Get to the bottom of bad reviews; learn from them

• Unclaimed directory listings?Claim themAdd photosInclude consistent profiles Look like someone lives there

What Do You Do Next?• Create search streams for • Keywords• #s• Influencers

• Use Twitter Lists• Tools such as Hootsuite to monitor

multiple networks• Paid versions of the free tools• Follow, like, +

Hootsuite

HubSpot Social Media Monitoring Tool

After Creating a BaselineDevelop a routine & schedule to regularly monitor, observe, listen, participate • Engage, • Learn from, • Create content To completely delight your prospects, customers and fans

Recap• Conversations are happening online. Why not listen & learn?• To create a social media listening strategy, you’ll need to:• Find relevant conversations• Take next steps including be prepared for the unexpected• Develop a listening process and routine• Identify the best tools to use

• Be sure to identify your goals.

Contact Information• Christine B. Whittemore• Chief Simplifier, Simple Marketing Now

• cbwhittemore@simplemarketingnow.com• @cbwhittemore

• www.simplemarketingnow.com