How to implement social listening into your digital marketing strategy

Social listening may have once been a ‘nice to have’ but, as of 2021, it’s absolutely essential for any business serious about digital marketing. There is so much more that you can do with social listening today than simply trawling for content ideas. Whether you’re keen to use this as research for new product lines, or to get a clearer idea of what your ideal customer is thinking and talking about, social listening is a very effective tool to integrate into your digital marketing strategy.

Defining social listening

At its most basic, social listening is what brands do when they monitor what customers are saying on social channels. This could be anything, from reading tagged content to looking at the comments that are being posted to see where customer sentiment might be, either in terms of your own brand or other businesses and wider events. Social listening is crucial because it offers a way for any brand to build a direct link with the ideal customer through establishing a brand presence that is aligned with what that customer thinks, wants, sees and appreciates. There are so many ways in which you can implement social listening into your digital marketing strategy, from using it to see what customers are saying about global events – to find a way into the conversation – to getting a sense of how recent product launches have been received.

How can you implement social listening into digital marketing strategy?

Social media offers a direct link to customers, a way to get feedback that is much more direct and current than any other type available. These are unfiltered opinions being directly expressed and that can be incredibly insightful. The idea is to use the access that you have to these customer ideas and thoughts to design campaigns that are fully aligned with them and which will feel familiar to customers – and as if their needs have been intuitively met. One example might be a paint company that produces exactly the shade of paint that many customers have been talking about on social media and saying that they just can’t find anywhere.

Ways that you can use social listening

• Notice what your customers are talking about, whether that’s a TV show, podcast or news item, and integrate this into the way that you communicate with them online.
• Use the conversations you observe to help inspire new product ideas or to validate those that are already part of your line.
• Design campaigns that seem to have the perfect timing thanks to the insight you have to where your customers’ heads are at.
• Apologise if the need arises. Customers might complain about your brand online but not to the business directly. If you pick this up while social listening it’s a great opportunity to apologise and convert a dissatisfied customer into a happy one.

Social listening offers a wide spectrum of opportunities for brands keen to get closer to customers. Whether you work with digital marketing specialists or use the range of social listening tools available it’s a great investment to make. To find out how Iconic Digital can help you with your social listening, get in touch today, call us on 020 7100 0726. Find out more about our Social Media Marketing Agency in London.