Many big brands are jumping head first into social media. They started a Facebook Page, got a few guys to run a couple of blogs, provide a huge marketing budget to come up with quirky, funny videos or contest and call it social media marketing.

However, there is one area of social media which most big brands missed, that is listening. I believe listening is the most important and fundamental principle of social media. You can have interesting contest and quirky videos added into the mix, but without a proper listening program, all the money spent will just be for promotional purposes.

So What Is Listening?

Listening is about monitoring the social web for mentions of your brand or your industry. You want to know what people are talking about you, are there more negative or positive comments? Are there mentions that need attention and response to? Most importantly, you must have the mentality that listening provides great intelligence gathering value. At the end of the day, it boils down to: How are these information useful for my business?

Five Conversations Brands Should Care About

In order to make it easier for brands to filter the right kind of conversations to response to, here are my 5 conversations they should be concern about.

1. Customers talking to you – Call it social CRM, customer service,  or just meeting your customer’s needs – if she is trying to reach you via social media, make sure you are there. Establishing your bases in various popular social channels will ensure that you are been reach as soon as your customer have something they want from you.
2. People talking about you – Everyone who call themselves social media ‘experts’ will talk about this. If your customers are relaying an experience they have with you on the social web and they are making it easy for you by using your brand, then you should pay attention.
3. People talking about your competitors – They say ‘know your enemy and know yourself, victory is assured’. Well, in this digital age, it is easier to know your competitors by listening to what others are saying about them.
4. People are talking about your customers, suppliers and partners – No business can exist in a vacuum – Who is critical to your success? If you are operating a B2B business, then your customers are businesses. What can you learn by listening to their customers? What issues in the supply chain will affect you?
5. People talking about your market without mentioning names – Tom O’Brien point out that most people don’t mention brands. If you are looking for insights and not just complains, you might want to follow these conversations too.

Let’s keep our heads to the ground. As much as we want to have fun with social media (promotions, campaigns, communities), there is an untapped potential in listening to your customers.

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1. 5 Areas You Should Monitor In The Social Web
2. Customer Service in the Digital Age
3. Faces Behind The Brand – Cathay Pacific
4. Study: There is a Link Between Brand’s Social Media Effort and Revenue Growth
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