How to use Social Listening to Get Customers
How to use Social Listening to Get Customers
We all know that social media is an essential part of of the daily lives for many Gen X, Gen Y (Millennials) and Gen Z. Even if you are a baby boomer, then you at least have a Facebook account. Have you looked at Facebook's numbers recently? One billion active users, making it one of the largest sites on the internet and almost the size of a big country. I've been telling you how to get new customers via social media for the last 60 some posts now, but have you been listening to your potential customers through these platforms? Social listening is one of the most powerful digital marketing tools out there for many small businesses and it's one tool that a lot of people aren't using effectively.
Look In the Hashtags
A lot, and I mean, a lot of companies are way too focused on what content they are putting out there and not actually engaging or really reading what is actually being said on these hashtags. A great example is #flight3411, if you don't know what that is it's the now infamous hashtag associated with United Airlines scandal where a passenger was forcibly removed. If United Airlines paid attention to the hashtags earlier on, and made a statement and/or apologized, none of this would've happened. Their silence early on costed them their reputation and trust from the customers. It will take a long time for them to get back to the level they once were.
Use LinkedIn
This is a site I use a lot to find new clients. The best thing about LinkedIn is that you have access to all these CEOs that you normally wouldn't have in real life. Most people would know that getting a meeting with a CEO is almost slim to none, but sending a message on LinkedIn? It's a much higher open rate than a cold email which may or may not go straight to spam. Even if you are not making contact with the CEO, you can still create a lot of relationships with other prominent decision makers within the company.
Stalking Your Competitors
Many of your competitors may have the same tools you do (because it's the internet) but that shouldn't stop you from looking at their posts. What you shouldn't do is copy them. Don't create the same posts, even though it might be tempting. Take inspiration from their posts all you want, make sure to never duplicate them. Stealing content is never a good thing no matter how much engagement you might get. Besides, you can always re-post content, just give them the credit!
Networking Through Facebook Groups
This is such a great way to go, especially if you are a new business. Facebook groups are a great networking opportunity and you can get many good leads out of it if you know how to use it correctly. Most Facebook groups do not like self promotion, and the way to get around that is to read and follow all the rules to a T. Many Facebook groups will want you to contribute in some way, whether it's helping out another member of the group via tips or just offering advice. You can befriend people later on and then just talk to them, get them to like your page, and then picking their brain.
Confused? SPB Productions Can Help!
Social listening can be a very confusing and hard task for many business owners who just want to do what they do best, which is sell their product or service to their customers. Take the burden off managing your social media pages and hand it off to experts like SPB Productions, who has made it their career managing not only social media pages, but all aspects of digital marketing strategy. Want to learn more? Schedule a discovery call with us today!