Maintaining your business’ social media presence is incredibly important. You need to respond to people talking about your brand and understand how people view your company.

But do you understand why you should monitor, who should be monitoring, how to listen and respond to feedback, how to set your goals, how to prep a new routine, we cover all this and more below.

In the latest episode of the Marketing Strategy Show I was joined by Anna Kotchetkova of Good Social Only to discuss Social Media Strategy.

Why Monitoring Matters?

The fundamental reason why monitoring your social media is important is because it puts the social back in social media.

Brands and individuals who publish social media content without listening and responding are just screaming through a megaphone hoping to reach someone.

You have to know your audience and be sensitive to their needs and what they actually want from your brand otherwise you could head in the opposite direction of what your key demographic wants.

Monitoring on social media is also a fantastic outlet for crowdsourcing questions.

When you are listening to your prospects or customers thoughts and feelings about your brand, you will be able to craft better marketing campaigns, close more deals and improve your products and services.

If you need help with your social media check out our How to Monitor Social Media in 10 minutes guide in the button below.

Who Should Monitor? 

1. Marketing

Beyond brand image, marketers need to think about generating visits, leads, and customers daily.

Growing the top of the funnel and bringing in a new audience on social media month over month helps to hit key numbers throughout the entire funnel.

Your marketing team should create streams that specifically monitor;

• The activity of your different leads based on what product or service they are interested in.
• The activity of thought leaders in your industry when they mention certain terms on Twitter
• The conversation around the world and phrases that are core to your brand

2. Sales

Social selling is the process of researching, connecting and interacting with prospects and customers on social media networks.

Through commenting on, liking, and sharing prospects’ and customers’ posts, salespeople create relationships with buyers and boost their credibility by taking an interest in the customers interests.

Salespeople have to be willing to put in the time and effort to engage with their target buyers on an ongoing basis, and even then, there’s no guarantee that their efforts will pay off.

Your sales people should create streams that monitor;

• Their open leads’ conversations, using the integration with contact lists
• Their “closed lost” leads mentions of certain terms, using the integration with contact lists
• Their “closed won” leads to check in with them after the sale, using the integration with contact lists 

3. Customer Service 

Oftentimes a brand will have designated social media accounts for related issues or questions.

Having two separate accounts owned by two separate teams helps to provide customers with the immediate help and attention that they deserve.

Your support team should create streams that monitor;

• Questions or concerns people have about your products or services
• Conversations your customers and leads are having about your products or services
• Positive and negative feedback for your products or services

4. Executives

The days where chief executives can hide behind the boardroom doors are gone.

There is a growing expectation from consumers and employees alike that the leaders of companies, large and small, should embody the brands they represent — and demonstrate that commitment by being visible and accessible on social media.

Top social CEOs not only use social media as yet another platform for communication, but also leverage social networks like Twitter as an unfiltered news source. Being able to see and hear the conversation happening in real time is invaluable.

Additionally, even though social media may still feel optional for CEOs today, it won’t be optional in a few years. As more millennials enter the workforce and consumer market, the expectation of transparency will only go up — leaving CEOs to play significant catch-up.

Executives should create streams that specifically monitor;

• Conversations people are having about you and your executive team
• Conversations your customers and leads are having about your products or services vs. competitors’ products and services
• The activity of other executives in your industry when they mention certain terms on Twitter

 

Listening and Responding

When reaching out and responding, you may find the number of mentions overwhelming. 

You only have 10 allotted minutes a day which means you can’t respond to everyone so who do you choose? The trick is to find the influencers, folks who have the greatest potential and reach.

When responding, make sure you;

• Respond promptly and accurately
• Show gratitude and respect. Never respond in an offensive or defensive way.
• Include facts instead of opinions and link to factual reference materials to support your case
• Respond in a tone/voice that reflects the company’s culture and values
• Let the person know how you’re connected to the company

Then to help you decide immediately whether you should listen or respond, use these formulas: 

• Positive + False = Respond
• Positive + True = Listen or Respond
• Negative + Troll = Listen
• Negative + Not a Troll + Rant/Joke = Listen
• Negative + Not a Troll + Not a Rant/Joke + Erroneous Information = Respond

Negative + Not a Troll + Not a Rant/Joke + Not Erroneous Information + Unhappy = Respond

• Negative + Not a Troll + Not a Rant/Joke + Not Erroneous Information + Not Unhappy = Listen

Setting Goals

Now that you should understand why you should monitor, who should be monitoring and some basics for listening and responding, It’s time to determine the next steps for your efforts.

In anything you do, it’s important to set a goal for yourself and monitoring social media isn’t any different but make sure its is a SMART goal.

This means that the goal is; 

• S– Specific – Do set real numbers with real deadlines. Don’t say “I want more visitors”.
• M– Measurable – Do make sure that you can track your goal. Don’t hide behind buzzwords like “brand engagement” or “social influence”
• A– Attainable – Do work toward a goal that is challenging but possible. Don’t try to take over the world in one night
• R– Realistic – Do be honest with yourself, because you know what you and your team are capable of. Don’t forget any hurdles you might have to overcome.
• T– Time Bound – Do give yourself a deadline. Don’t keep pushing towards a goal you might hit someday.

Now that you know what a SMART goal is here are a few things that you can monitor on social media;

• Leads generated 
• Industry trend tracking 
• Thought leadership 
• Interactions from influencers 
• Interactions from detractors 
• Competitive intelligence 
• Revenue 
• Qualified opportunities 
• Opportunities won 
• Daily or weekly touchpoints 
• Brand mentions 
• Sentiment 
• Crisis management 
• Conversations 
• Response rate 
• Resolved issues 
• Customer happiness and delight 
• Product feedback  

Where to monitor on Different Social Media Platforms 

1. Facebook – There are a few ways people can interact on your Facebook Business Page that you should be monitoring (mostly timeline posts, comments, private messages and reviews)
2. Twitter – The main areas of twitter that you should be keeping track of are your mentions and searches as well as any relevant questions about your company
3. LinkedIn – The number one area of LinkedIn that you need to be paying attention to is your company page
4. Google Alerts – Setting up Google alerts can help you find all the other titbits or mentions of your website online. Anything from Quora questions to blog articles about your company and even comments and links on your posts.

Get Your How to Monitor Social Media in 10 Minutes Guide

Do you struggle managing all the different social media channels and finding the time to formulate, draft and schedule posts? Check out our How to Monitor Social Media in 10 Minutes Guide in the button below to get your copy.

Connect With Us

If you need any help with your social media strategy or with deciding on a social channel for your business don’t hesitate to call us on (02) 91250520 or visit our website themarketingstrategy.co and book in an obligation free consultation.