Table of Contents
Introduction
Social media monitoring is a crucial aspect of any successful social media marketing strategy. It allows brands to listen and respond to conversations happening online, ensuring they have control over their brand image and can address customer feedback in a timely manner. In this article, we will explore the concept of social media monitoring, how it is performed, and why it is necessary for businesses. We will also discuss common misconceptions and provide recommendations for tools that can help with social media monitoring.
What is Social Media Monitoring?
Social media monitoring is the process of using tools to track and analyze content published with your brand or product names. It involves “listening” and “looking” for mentions of your brand on various social media platforms and the wider internet. By monitoring social media, brands can gain valuable insights into customer sentiment, track trends, and manage their reputation effectively.
Why is Social Media Monitoring Necessary?
In today’s fast-paced digital landscape, where anyone can voice their opinions online, social media monitoring is necessary for brands to protect and enhance their brand image. By monitoring social media, brands can catch both positive and negative mentions and respond to them before they escalate and cause damage. It also allows brands to track customer sentiment and feedback in real-time, enabling them to improve their products and services based on customer needs.
For example, in 2016, Elon Musk, the CEO of Tesla, caught a customer complaint on Twitter. The customer raised an issue about superchargers being occupied by drivers whose vehicles had already charged for a long time. Musk acknowledged the complaint and addressed the issue by implementing an idle fee. This example highlights how social media monitoring can help businesses identify and resolve customer complaints effectively.
How to Perform Social Media Monitoring
Performing social media monitoring is made easier with the use of various tools available in the market. These tools are designed to scan the web for keywords and brand mentions, providing comprehensive coverage and timely alerts. Here are three recommended tools for social media monitoring:
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Brandmentions: Founded in 2015, Brandmentions supports businesses of all sizes. It goes beyond scanning social media and searches the entire web for brand mentions. It also offers features such as sentiment analysis, competitive analysis, and reputation management. Pricing starts at $49 per month.
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Brand24: Founded in 2011, Brand24 is another popular brand monitoring tool used by well-known companies like Intel and Panasonic. It allows businesses to track campaigns, analyze sentiment, and export data for further analysis. Pricing starts at $49 per month.
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Buzzsumo: Buzzsumo is a comprehensive content marketing tool that also offers brand monitoring features. It helps brands track mentions, discover trending content, and analyze competitor strategies. Pricing starts at $79 per month.
These tools provide businesses with the ability to track brand mentions, measure sentiment, and gain valuable insights into their brand’s online presence. By utilizing these tools, brands can stay updated on what people are saying about their brand and make informed decisions based on the data they receive.
How Frequently Should You Monitor Your Brand?
Social media monitoring should be conducted on a daily basis to stay on top of brand mentions and customer feedback. The internet and social media platforms are constantly evolving, and news spreads rapidly. By monitoring your brand daily, you can respond promptly to any mentions or complaints and prevent potential damage to your brand reputation.
Monitoring tools often offer email alerts that can be triggered based on specific keywords or brand mentions. These alerts allow you to stay informed without constantly checking the monitoring tool manually. By setting up alerts, you can focus on other important tasks while still staying updated on what’s happening around your brand.
What to Look for During Social Media Monitoring
During social media monitoring, it is essential to look for both positive and negative mentions of your brand. This includes tracking sentiment and analyzing customer feedback. Most monitoring tools offer sentiment analysis features that categorize mentions as positive, negative, or neutral.
It is crucial to pay attention to neutral sentiment as well, as it provides valuable insights into how customers perceive your brand. By understanding customer sentiment, brands can identify areas for improvement and make necessary changes to enhance their products, services, and overall customer experience.
For example, if a brand launches a new product and receives mostly neutral comments, it may indicate a need to rethink the promotion strategy. On the other hand, if the sentiment is overwhelmingly positive, the brand can focus on amplifying its promotional tactics to reach more potential customers. Negative sentiment requires a change in approach to address customer concerns and improve the brand’s image.
Using Monitoring Results in Your Business
To derive meaningful insights from social media monitoring results, brands need to have a well-defined process in place. Here are steps to effectively use monitoring results in your business:
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Understand the data: Take the time to analyze and understand the data you receive from social media monitoring. This includes sentiment analysis, trends, and customer feedback.
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Track and measure over time: Continuously track and measure the data over time to identify trends and patterns. This will help you gain a deeper understanding of how your brand is perceived and how customer sentiment evolves.
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Associate a monetary value: Assign a monetary value to the data you receive to understand its impact on your business. For example, track how social media mentions correlate with sales or customer acquisition.
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Make positive changes: Use the insights gained from social media monitoring to make positive changes to your marketing strategies, products, and services. This could involve addressing customer concerns, improving communication, or enhancing the overall customer experience.
By following these steps, brands can use social media monitoring as a powerful tool to improve their marketing efforts, better serve their customers, and strengthen their brand reputation.
Conclusion
Social media monitoring plays a crucial role in brand management and customer engagement. It allows brands to stay informed about conversations happening online and respond effectively to customer feedback. By using the right tools and following a well-defined process, brands can gain valuable insights from social media monitoring and make informed decisions to enhance their products, services, and brand experience. Regular monitoring, comprehensive coverage, and timely response are key to successful social media monitoring.
