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Monitoring online conversations is quickly becoming a go-to service for many companies as they strive to better understand what people are thinking and how they feel about their brands. But, make no mistake, there are many different reasons why it’s just good business sense to keep an ear out for what people are saying when they publish, comment, discuss or share their true feelings across the web.
So, why monitor online conversations?
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To understand what people are thinking in near real-time
More and more every day, the web is becoming a data-rich library of real-time information as people air their true feelings about the world in general and your brand in particular. Scrap the focus group and the cost to collect information in a real-life setting. Online, people are being brutally honest about what they believe and have no fear publishing their thoughts.
This means you can continually gauge what people are thinking “right now” and collect information that’s always relevant. Once armed with this insight, you can apply it to your business in different ways, either by using it as pure business intelligence or to develop creative responses, programs and initiatives.
To gain insights you can apply to your branding and messaging
The web has turned the megaphone around, giving customers a voice they never enjoyed before. Now, instead of companies screaming out their words into the wilderness, a world full of people are screaming to be heard. And they are expecting you to listen.
By monitoring online conversations, you can learn the lingo being used, issues being raised and real concerns people have. Then, with all this in mind, you can go back to your existing marketing material, be it online or offline, and adjust it to reflect the way people are discussing your brand and the issues that face it. And it goes without saying that you can develop new materials with these insights as well.
To plan your online communications strategy
Once you start monitoring online conversations, you’ll be armed with a wide range of information that will help you design your online communications strategy. To start, you’ll have to decide how you will respond to people who are calling you out and the best way to initiate your own conversations too.
What’s this entail? For one, it means you’ll have to prepare. First by thinking about what you want to say and then by training yourself on the Web 2.0 tools and sites you’ll have to use to connect with the people you want to reach. Put another way, you’ll want to think it through strategically and then go ahead and prepare yourself to take on the challenge of starting a public social media program.
To measure the effectiveness of your marketing campaigns
You’re in business to move needles and see real results from your marketing campaigns, whether you’re going through traditional channels or new media to share your message. Using social media monitoring, you can measure buzz related to your campaign and, in fact, conduct pre-testing to see what your starting point is and post-testing to learn if the buzz has lasted or created any long-term impact.
This is a great way to know how well you’re spending your money, if your message is resonating, whether people view your campaign positively or negatively or if they’re just indifferent. Then you can go back and tweak or change course, as the case may be.
To manage your reputation
When it comes to your reputation, you can think of social media monitoring in two ways:
Use it to be seen as the nice guy
Identify conversations where you can contribute, add value and help others – whether they’re related to your brand or not. By doing so, you’ll humanize your brand and become a credible resource for people when they need your help or are looking for what you’re selling.
And defend your honour
By participating on social networks and establishing yourself as the “nice guy” in the room, you’ll have credibility when you need to defend your reputation. Maybe people are talking trash or simply spreading false information. If so, you’ll want to be monitoring so you can step in, add your two cents and curtail the potential damage.
To gain business intelligence
There are many reasons to use social media monitoring from a pure business intelligence standpoint. For instance, you may want to:
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• Generate leads
• Keep an eye on your competitors
• Feel out the issues facing your industry
• And gain key product development insights |
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All of this is possible when you define the information you want to collect, target the right keywords, set up searches and interpret your findings.
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