Guest post by Danny Brown
Social media listening.
Social media monitoring.
Social media tracking.
Social media intelligence.
There are many descriptions of how we can use social media as a listening tool, to complement (or replace) our more interactive approach where we converse too.
While the idea behind social media listening is cool – after all, who doesn’t want to know what’s being said about them, by who and when? – the current tools don’t easily offer the kind of listening that would be really useful.
Curious? Read on.
Listening data are still keyword driven
Whether it’s free tools (Twitter Search or Google Alerts) or premium offerings, the main issue with social media listening is that it’s still (primarily) driven by keywords.
So, for example, if you wanted to know about your brand, you’d type in something like “brand name”, or – if you want to filter a bit – “brand name + brand service + brand product reviews.”
The latter filter means you can narrow down the keywords to include the types of products or services you sell directly, or just the industry you’re in. This helps you keep tabs on competitors as well as customer pain points.
But it’s this approach where things fall down.
People are not scripted robots
In an ideal world, we’d be able to search for these keywords in social conversations, and they’d lead us to the Holy Grail of sales. After all, it works for Google on Search, right?
The problem is, people are not conducive when it comes to creating an ideal world for brands to operate in. We’re too human, for a start.
That means we don’t play nicely with scripted conversations and perfect keywords.
Instead, we talk naturally the same way we do offline, and in conversations that – at first glance – have nothing to do with the keywords that we may have keyed into our listening tools filter.
For instance, say my furnace breaks. If I wanted to find someone on search, I’d type in “HVAC companies in my hometown.” That would help me find the right people to get my issue fixed.
However, I’m not necessarily going to go onto Twitter and ask, since my followers probably don’t live in my town, so would struggle to advise me of a reputable company near me.
So, if I’m an HVAC company using listening tools to find new customers, a search for “broken furnace” may or may not be productive for me.
However, if I was smart and could look for natural conversations, I’d be much more likely to gain the lead.
Speaking comes naturally
Using the HVAC example, let’s say instead of using the term “my furnace is broken” on Facebook, we’re (as in my friends and I) having a conversation around the topic, but not coming out directly and saying it.
Instead, all I’m saying is “I hate having a cold house, I’m going to have to wear extra long johns!” (or words to that effect).
Having a cold house immediately suggests a heating issue: do I have heaters, can I not afford to switch them on, is my window broken, is my furnace broken (a-ha, the furnace!)?
By filtering a social search for these natural conversations, I’m zoning in on the real issue, versus what I’m hoping someone will be talking about.
I can then reach out and say, “Hi, USER X, we hate cold houses too! Anything we can help with (we’re out of blankets though!)?”
It’s a gentle way to join the conversation, and immediately asking for the sale if there’s a potential sale there.
By ignoring the obvious and scripted keywords, and instead being more intelligent and tracking the natural conversations, we can access so much more information (maybe even the Big Data that everyone is swooning over at the minute).
Additionally, we’re not limiting ourselves to one pain point.
Looking at the results, it could be an opportunity to provide heaters in the first place (retailer), help manage finances better (financial advisor/bank), or fix the window (glazier).
Four opportunities to get involved from one search? Yes please!
Is it this simple?
It can be. Even without the advanced algorithms that these types of natural searches need to really decipher the content, you can put the legwork in to start identifying the true conversation behind the words.
The trouble with legwork is that many companies and business owners don’t have the resources for that. Nor do they have the finances to pay a solution provider the kind of money these smart algorithms would cost.
But this could be a wake-up call for vendors. After all, if you can provide this kind of smart learning that really benefits all sides (and not just those doing the listening)? Well, that’s the gold right there.
Challenge on.
Image: daniel duende via Flickr, CC 2.0
Danny Brown is the VP of Partner Strategy at Jugnoo, Inc., whose social media dashboard JugnooMe is currently in open beta. Offering an all-in-one option to consolidate your social media accounts and create campaigns, videos and promotions, as well as track success and brand sentiment, JugnooMe aims to make the social web simple, accessible and monetizable for all. You can read more from Danny at his award-winning marketing blog, or follow him on Twitter at @DannyBrown.
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Can I concur w/ Gini? Although I probably won’t screen grab anything…..
How does it look when you were long johns under your kilt; is that like a new fashion statement or something?
[…] http://www.waxingunlyrical.com – Today, 6:57 AM Rescoop […]
I am totally screen grabbing this and using it in the presentation I give to business leaders. I love the example you use of how to insert yourself into the conversation without being a creep. Love.
@ginidietrich Wait – I did something that you want to use? Well now tonight I eat!
@Danny Brown @ginidietrich creep
Great post, Danny. I was scrolling through Twitter this morning on the way to work and saw so many people tweeting about similar topics or issues and I thought “wow, what a lot of white noise.” Of course, part of that is my fault (I should follow a more diverse array of people), but at some point there’s only so many blog posts, news articles, and hilarious GIFs I can really take in, you know?
The catch is that, in this industry, you’re usually judged for not listening, unless you’re on vacation. Being on alert 24/7 can be exhausting!
@annedreshfield Oh, you definitely need to get these Twitter Lists on the go, miss!
Yep, it’s definitely one of these Catch 22 situations – damned if you do, damned if you don’t. Though, I gotta say, you livefyre guys seem to have it locked down just fine. :)
@Danny Brown livefyre I know, I’m so horrible with lists! I really need to do that.
We certainly do try. :)
Honestly, listening is hard, Danny. I think a lot of us feel we have so much to add to the noise–I mean music–that we can’t concentrate on finding the keys to being relevant. So this has as much to do with showing restraint from “talking” as it does taking the time to listen.
@ShakirahDawud I hear you, Shakirah (no pun intended!). Listening *is* hard – and yet if we really listen and act smartly on the information gathered, it makes our outgoing message afterward much more effective.
If you can go to your CFO (or bank manager for a small business owner) and say you can pretty much guarantee X amount of return for Y amount of investment, because you know exactly what’s needed through your listening, then that’s a pretty compelling argument. :)
Back in the “Dark Ages” (pre-Internet/social media) when I was in Hawaii, my boss would start our conversations almost every day with “What are they saying about us?”
She was savvy enough to understand that our continuing success was predicated on our listening to our many communities and responding appropriately to their expressed (or not-) concerns, wishes, desires…
I would love to be in that same position…and same location!…today with the social media resources at my disposal to even more accurately monitor those conversations.
@KirkHazlett I immediately love your old boss, Kirk! How can you possibly expect to meet your customer needs if you’re not aware of them in the first place?
It doesn’t mean you need to act on every specific one – hell, that would make any brand marketer crazy! But knowing which ones will place you above your competitors? I’ll buy that for a dollar! ;-)
@Danny Brown She was, and is, one of my truly great friends…and she taught me more about the “service” side of business than anyone in my 35-plus years.
And you’re right…we “picked and chose” who we were going after at any particular time. Couldn’t possibly satisfy everyone at once…but we COULD address everyone’s needs and concerns over time.
God I miss those days! :-)
Hi Mr Brown. Great post. I just blogged yesterday about some of this stuff. There are 30 trillion emails sent each year that we can not listen in on. There technically is no Facebook listening that I know of since so many accounts are 100% private (as best as they can be). We can’t listen in on phone calls, in person chats or SMS Text. So we are left with the Twitter and Blogs/Online Publishing and a few other platforms. Very small segment. BUT there is still a huge amount of insights to gain from what is public.
Secondly if you have a robust social presence you have a ton of personal interactions to learn from. I bashed recently on a study using Skittles to show the power or Likes. 22mil fans of skittles. But they only average about 2000 to 3000 people a day coming to the brand page and commenting, sharing or liking. I think that was 0.06% of fans and like 0.006% of yearly customers. BUT I am pretty sure that is an immense focus group vs in the past when you got 20 people in a room to talk Skittles. And less inhibited.
Basic listening if done right will impact your business positively and possibly give you a competitive edge big time.
@HowieSPM 30 trillion? How many of these do you send?? ;-)
That’s another thing – monitoring measures public facing platforms, and only those that don’t have their privacy accounts locked down.
We’re working with forums and membership areas, since that’s where the real gold of information and feedback is happening for businesses of all sizes. Of course, the trick is to get buy-in from both moderator and member, but if positioned properly so it’s a win for everyone?
Trust me, mate, the information we’re gleaning at the moment is very enlightening.
We have a couple of small local businesses around here that are really good at this. One is a roofer (client) and another is an insurance agent. Both use Twitter very well for listening and gaining clients. One of the keys to listening to natural conversation is be involved on Twitter in the same way. They are active participants in the local Twitter community and they are a part of the natural convo that takes place on a daily basis.
@KenMueller Part of me thinks the issue is the training and hand-holding larger corporations get (or don’t). Some of the feedback we’ve heard from both beta users of our product, and agencies we’re working with to lock down natural search, is the tools can be intimidating, and there’s no real training given. Or, there is training, but it’s standard for all.
Small businesses, on the other hand, can be more fluid and take the time to sit down and learn, adapt and be more natural. Which is where your point plays out perfectly.
@Danny Brown You’re probably right (Don’t tell Gini Dietrich I said that.). I’ve always thought that smaller businesses are better equipped for the social web by nature of how they do business in the “real world”.
@KenMueller In theory I agree with you, but sometimes small businesses suffer from a lack of resources (man power) so it takes a bit more work to integrate social media listening into their daily routine.
@TheJackB @KenMueller Agreed, it can definitely be tougher – yet it can also wield bigger rewards because of this. This is where you’d get smart on listening for sales leads and negative impact only, receive ping alerts as they come through, then leave the reply to the positive stuff for when you have more time.
@Danny Brown @TheJackB I work with some incredibly small businesses, and I have yet to find one that lacks resources, especially manpower. Locally we have some great people who understand the importance and make the time. The reason I think it’s easier for them, is because they understand the idea of being themselves and letting their own voice shine through. They are less worried about having a “corporate” voice.
And I’ll say that most of the businesses I work with *think* they don’t have the resources financially or personnel wise, but part of what I do is show them how to make it work.
The biggest factor I see for small businesses, as to whether they can pull it off, is more of a mindset issue as opposed to a resources issue.
@KenMueller That’s exactly it! We’re working with a large corporate client and every day, I ask them to keep it conversational. “Would you say that in real life.” By the time things get filtered through the approval process, it’s filled with words that their customers would never use. So if they are monitoring those words because they are the “key messages,” their missing out on the conversation, to be sure.
@Lisa Gerber Sounds so familiar. One of my first clients was a local jeweler, and every time the woman in charge of social media sat down to post a status update on FB, she froze. She was used to writing ad copy, and all of her updates sounded like ad copy. Took a long time to break her of that.
I completely agree with you and your right the legwork is what most people either don’t have the time for or they think it’s a waste of time. Especially at a smaller company, where it’s often one or two people doing all the PR/SM/Mktg activities. Are there any tips you could offer to help an employee/team/company to start making baby steps in this direction? For example, instead of just looking at your Google Alerts every morning, what else could/should you start doing as well to find more natural conversations?
@rachaelseda Hi there Rachael,
Great question – and one that can really help with those on a budget, either from a financial or time aspect.
What you can do is set up other alerts that tie into your Google ones, and complement the information. For example:
– RSS Reader: What blogs talk about the topic you have set up on Google Alerts? What verbiage is used by both the blogger and their commenters? Are there any specific phrases or terms that both parties use when talking to each other?
– Twitter: Again, what’s the verbiage the Twitter users use for the keywords you’re interested in? What are the hashtags they use the most? Does the hashtag relate to your niche or industry? If so, can you start to dissect hashtags and conversations around that, with top phrases or keywords in the tweet with the hashtag?
These are just a couple of examples – but, they do take legwork. However, how much time are you willing to invest to make your business more effective? That will answer your legwork question. ;-)
@Danny Brown I especially appreciate this pointer about the time we’re willing to invest. Takes the pressure down a notch… Thank you.
@Danny Brown Thanks! Great tips!
@rachaelseda @Danny Brown @ShakirahDawud one other thing I would add is that once you start to really build a community, particularly on Twitter, your friends will look out for you. Both the roofer and the insurance guy I mentioned up top will get business because someone went on Twitter or FB and mentioned a need for insurance, or that they had a leaky roof. Others in the community would respond to them by saying, “Hey, did you check with so and so?” and then tags them in that post. Boom. The two are connected. If you build a community in a truly organic way, everyone in that community becomes a set of ears for you. But of course that doesn’t happen up front.