The Critical Importance of Social Listening & Reputation Management

Ever run into those people who don’t stop talking? Sure you have, haven’t we all? But before you freak out and say something rude, think about their social media platforms.

All this non-stop talking, what do these people do when they are alone? They post and update social media platforms. Think of how many people see every post, no matter how minute they might be. Now imagine them including your company in those posts, and all the people who see that post. Now you’re rethinking this person, right? Now what could this do for your company? Exposure my friends, and more importantly, increase your social listening and reputation.

However inconvenient it might be, people talk. It’s human nature! And this is extremely important to your business. Having good social listening practices really lets you get the most out of you’re social media marketing campaign, and allows you to take advantage of all that social media marketing has to offer. You’ve always wanted to know who’s saying what about you, as well as where and why they are saying it. So why not apply this to your business? Social listening answers all these problems, and allows you to see everything going on out there that’s about your business. This post will help you to learn how to improve your social listening, and also how to manage your reputation on social media platforms.

Contact IMPACT today and learn how we can help strengthen your social media marketing!

Why You Should Improve Your Social Listening & Reputation

Most companies make the mistake of creating a bunch of social media platforms and saying, “okay I’ve established a social media reputation”. No. Wrong. The purpose of social media is to engage with your potential customers and attract them to your business! And just as importantly, social listening lets you see who’s saying what about your brand, and it gives you the information you need to make educated social media moves.

Let’s take our friend Dave for example. Dave just had a horrible meal thanks to a new waiter at your restaurant. He’s upset! Understandable yes, but for your social media, no. He is going to tweet and post about your restaurant, and complain about the food being cold, the horrible service, and the outrageously long wait. Say Dave has 75 followers on Twitter (although if Dave were to complain about a restaurant on Twitter he would probably have more than this, but for points-sake, let’s say 75). That is 75 people reading and seeing the complaints about your company.

So now you, being the marketing mastermind that you are, know that word of mouth is one of the most important methods of building a good reputation in your area. These complaints are obviously bad for your company, and without a proper social listening platform, this could go unnoticed by your social media expert! Now you have 75 more customers that probably aren’t going to be visiting your restaurant any time soon.

Now let’s imagine what would happen if your restaurant saw this unhappy tweet with a proper social listening campaign. Your business would be notified as soon as Dave posted this complaint, giving you the ability to act appropriately. You could then offer to pay the bill of his meal, give him a free lunch, even just an apology shows just how important Dave’s business is to you. You could even name a sandwich after him! Having this positive reaction to the issue is seen by all of Dave’s followers, and you show that you are not some conceited business owner that only wants money. This is vital, and it is all possible with a good social listening platform.