A Guide to Social Listening with Free and Paid Tools: Find Your Audience

By July 23, 2024Uncategorized
social listening

Social media isn’t just a platform for sharing funny cat videos anymore (though those are still great). It’s a goldmine of customer insights waiting to be uncovered through social listening. But what exactly is social listening, and how can you use it to benefit your brand?

What is Social Listening?

Social listening—also referred to as social intelligence— is the practice of monitoring online conversations to gain insights into your audience, brand perception, and industry trends. It’s like having a virtual ear to the ground, noticing what people are saying about you, your competitors, and your niche.

Why is Social Listening Important?

Social listening helps you:

  • Understand your audience: Discover their interests, pain points, and how they discuss your brand.
  • Address concerns: Respond promptly and effectively to negative feedback.
  • Measure brand sentiment: See how people feel about your brand overall.
  • Identify opportunities: Spot trends and capitalize on them to stay ahead.

Free vs. Paid Social Listening Tools

Tools are available for every budget. Here’s a comparison:

Free Tools:

  • Limited data: You might only be able to access recent mentions or data from a single platform.
  • Basic features: Includes metrics, mention context, and basic analytics; suitable for short-term projects or small businesses.

Paid Tools:

  • Extensive data: Access historical data, analyze conversations across multiple platforms, and monitor mentions in different languages.
  • Advanced features: Includes in-depth sentiment analysis, campaign management tools, and competitor insights; ideal for businesses seeking comprehensive audience understanding and strategic planning.

Popular Paid Tools include:

  • Brandwatch: One of the most comprehensive social intelligence tools on the market today having merged with Crimson Hexagon in 2018. It includes competitor benchmarking and mentions from 1000M+ sources over the last 12 years.
  • Meltwater: Comprehensive platform analyzing data from social media, news outlets, and blogs, with AI-driven trend identification and real-time crisis tracking.
  • Mentionlytics: Provides brand monitoring, social listening, influencer marketing, and competitor analysis in one tool.
  • Sprout Social: Manages social media scheduling, publishing sentiment analysis, brand mention tracking, and influencer identification in a unified platform.

Additional Tools to Consider:

  • Hootsuite
  • Cyfe
  • Talkwater
  • Digimind Social
  • Barnd24
  • Agorapulse
  • Synthesio
  • TweetDeck
  • Mention
  • Awario
  • Beffer Analyze
  • Keyhole
  • Emplifi
  • Sendible
  • Falcon.io
  • BuzzSumo
  • YouScan

Getting Started with Social Listening

Monitoring social media conversations is crucial for understanding your audience, responding to concerns, measuring brand sentiment, and identifying opportunities.

  • Choose relevant platforms: Focus on where your target audience and industry discussions occur.
  • Define keywords and hashtags: Monitor your brand name, competitor names, relevant industry terms and trending topics.
  • Track insights and trends: Analyze sentiment, engagement, and topics to understand overall brand sentiment and areas for improvement.
  • Utilize social listening tools: Choose tools based on your budget and needs.
  • Set up alerts: Stay informed about urgent mentions, negative comments, or significant competitor activities.
  • Evaluate campaign performance: Monitor events and industry trends to inform strategic decisions.
  • Manage your brand’s reputation: Prevent negative comments from gaining traction.

How to respond:

  • Define your brand voice: Establish communication guidelines and response times for different scenarios.
  • Show authenticity and empathy: Address concerns sincerely and resolve issues promptly.
  • Personalize your responses: Use customer names and individualized replies.
  • Provide helpful information: Answer questions directly and offer resources.
  • Engage with positive feedback: Thank customers for their support.
  • Proactively find customers: Screen relevant conversations to find prospective clients and customers who may need your service or product.
  • Establish thought leadership: Participate in online conversations and share valuable content.

By implementing social listening, you can transform social media into a platform for meaningful conversations and brand growth. So, start listening—your audience has valuable insights to share!

Contact us if we can be of help. Our team at Burgie MediaFusion is ready to work with you.