Social media monitoring for brands has never been more important. Since the pandemic hit, consumers have ramped up their online activities. This means that ecommerce now dominates retail, online food delivery services saved the food industry, and the most important conversations about your brand and your business happen online.
Social media monitoring for brands involves tracking your brand mentions online (ie.: what other people are saying about your company on social media and other websites). Ideally, it will also involve keeping track of this data and using it to inform your brand strategy going forward.
Let’s explore why and how to use social media monitoring for brands.
Social Media Monitoring For Brands: The ‘Why’
You likely already have a carefully curated brand, which means you (hopefully) also have a carefully curated social media presence. Not every company needs to be on every platform (which is why using advisory services to help you identify your business needs and goals can be helpful). But if you’re not on the right platforms, you’re missing out on opportunities to connect with existing and potential customers, and to keep your brand top-of-mind for their purchasing decisions.
But even if you’re not on social media, people are still going to talk. And you still want to know what they’re saying.
Social media monitoring for brands means first identifying keywords that relate to your business. This can be your business name, of course, but also keywords related to your products, services, industry, competitors, and other relevant items.
Next, you want to track your brand mentions across social media, and across the internet in general. This means that you track your brand mentions on all relevant social media platforms (whether you have an account on there or not). You can also track when your brand is being mentioned on blogs, news articles, and other websites.
Finally, you want to analyze and use this data in a meaningful way. You may want to use it to respond to customer feedback, both good and bad, which can be a great way to build trust and authority. You should also use it to understand your customers and your industry better.
Knowing what people about are saying about you and your competitors in real time can provide invaluable insights you can use to inform your strategy going forward.
Good social media monitoring analytics can also help you develop better marketing and PR, as well as do better competitor analysis and market research. Again, all invaluable tools for any brand.
Social Media Monitoring For Brands: The ‘How’
Social media monitoring is something we recommend for all brands, no matter how small. And there are lots of online tools and apps you can use to alert you to brand mentions.
That said, business owners are often (scratch that: always) busy, and in our experience, that means they’re usually unable to engage with social media monitoring in a meaningful way. It’s one thing to get alerted when your brand is mentioned. It’s another thing to be able to use your brand mentions to help grow your business.
Instead of the ‘DIY’ approach, our highly trained Social Media Response Team can monitor your entire social footprint, and help you analyze that data in a meaningful way. We can also help you quickly respond to critical social incidents. Our in-depth social media monitoring for your brand can ultimately help guide your brand growth in both the short and long-term.
If you’d like help monitoring and improving your social media, get in touch for a custom quote here.