You can choose to be part of the online conversation and contribute to steering it. Or, you can let conversation go on without you, letting others control what is said about your business brand. Learn what social listening tools can help you achieve small business online marketing success.
Small business + social listening = online marketing success!
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image credit: practicalowl | flickr[/caption]
So you start your business, you get a website, and sign up for Facebook and maybe one or two other social networks. Your online marketing plans are set, right? No! One thing you forgot is social listening tools...
There are now many options - Both free and paid.
This is meant as a social listening tools review. Those that will benefit the most are just beginning to calculate winning customers online by connecting the puzzle pieces of their:
- Website
- Social Networking
- SEO efforts.
Outlined are mainly social listening tools free for you. :)
The Importance Of Social Listening
Social media has changed the business landscape. People are talking every day about the business brands they discover and experience. The language is both positive and negative.
As a small business owner, you can choose to be part of the online conversation and contribute to steering it. Or, you can let the conversation go on without you, and let others control what is said about your business brand, your professional niche, and your industry.
If you want to succeed with online marketing, you are going to need to know where your target market hangs out online -- But more: what they like to talk about when they are there.
In short: You must be aware of online conversation and what is trending online, or your competition will win.
Where should you listen?
- The global Internet
- The social space
- Your small business niche
- Your location
Lets take a tour - A social listening tools comparison. A big to small, top-down approach...
Listening To The Global Internet
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image via steamfeed.com[/caption]
Another way to look at it this is getting a general picture of what is happening on the web as a whole. News headlines, popular topics in entertainment -- In other words, what interests the world.
The world is a big space, so you want to find ways to "grab news" in a way that brings you hot topics that would interest your target market. Suggested social listening tools:
- Google Alerts - Tracking preferred topics you customize; Via email or RSS.
- Guzzle.it - Categorized feeds getting you the news you care about.
- List.ly - What the world is talking about in list form; Generated by people.
Note that Guzzle.it updates every second and can be very customized. They guide you through how to use their platform with a short video. On List.ly, you can create your own lists and subscribe to others. It could be used as a collaborative tool for special interest groups.
As the computer is only as good as the programmer, the same is true for curating news. Begin with key words, edit and adjust, and continue to re-adjust over time.
Listening To The Social Space
The "social space" refers to anything influenced by social media. So, social networks, social listening tools, social media news, blogs, social startups and betas, etc. Any portal for online communication.
As small business owners with a goal of online marketing success, your goal is to understand online conversation and the way it evolves. Suggested social listening tools:
- Social Mention - Real-time search of most social networks, "Google Alert" style.
- Twitter Lists - Arranged by user, key words, or hashtags.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8QevIEWJlJ0&feature=share&list=UUMv8fKww9YOY-rR0lo49BCg
(video guide to using Twitter Lists with views on Hootsuite)
The above is a short list of social media listening tools, if you will.
There are many out there. The options immediately above give you a place to start, see what you like, and at some point in the future graduate up to more advanced or paying programs if you wish.
Listening To Your Niche
Consider this like viewing the Internet and the social space relative to you in your profession, and observing the conversation about your industry, your competition, and your business brand.
Suggested social listening tools:
- Facebook Interests Lists - Friends, Pages, News Sources; Create or subscribe (as of 2017, Interest lists were discontinued, unless you kept the links to your created lists - Then you can still access).
- Twitter Lists - By competitor IDs, hashtags (can be public or private).
- Google Alerts - By industry, competitors, and location.
- LinkedIn Publishing - Topics professional circles are talking about.
Here, you will find that these tools will also let you listen to conversations on a greater scale - The social space and Internet.
Listening To Your Location
The tools listed above will also allow you to listen to online conversation in your geographic area. Simply plug in local or regional location information to drill down and listen to nearby trends.
Social listening tools for Facebook usually include other networks or additional bells and whistles. To really listen to your specific audience, regularly examine and interpret insights on your Facebook Page. This gives you feedback related to your location, and more specifically engagement of your fans, themselves.
Not usually considered in the list of social listening tools:
Location based marketing! A small business can create a profile page as part of an online marketing strategy. It includes:
- A map.
- Photos of your business.
- Descriptions of products & services.
- Analytics for you to use in running your business.
There is also a social component that is very mobile friendly.
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@sugardaddys on Foursquare[/caption]
Foursquare allows people to converse with each other, but also lets patrons leave tips (feedback) for their friends. Paying attention to your local channel here could really pay off. Many business brands have not yet hopped on this social network and really put it to work! #gettherefirst
Social Listening Tools For Small Business Online Marketing Success
You now have several social listening tools options to explore in developing a social listening strategy. There is no one correct answer, as every business is different.
The key is creating accurate alerts feeds and knowing where your target market hangs out online so you can consistently evolve your strategies based on the feedback you get from listening.
Remember: You must be aware of online conversation and what is trending online, or your competition will win.
Now Listening To You
Are there social listening tools not on this list that should be?
How are you using the social listening tools above that might differ from the techniques noted?
Please let me know your thoughts and questions in the comments box below! :)
31 Replies
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thank you so much for you blog ,it will really help me in future
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Nita, We are glad to know that it will be beneficial for you in the future. We wish you good luck in your endeavors today and tomorrow. Feel free to explore our blogs to find more gems that can help you out further. Until then, talk to you soon! ~Jayne
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Keri, thank you so much for this insightful post. I appreciate the “reminder.” I’ve absorbed so many terms over the past few years, as I’ve worked toward social media literacy. None, as you point out, is more necessary for successful marketing than social listening. In fact, I hope you will do more on this. I’d like to hear from your tribe (more, please!) about which digital tools work best for their business. Again, your post is spot on as usual, and I want to thank you.
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Mary, Yes, we must be aware of the online conversation regarding our brand, our niche, and our industry. Without that knowledge, we are heading blindly into the unknown. When we can speak knowledgeably, we become looked to as the expert – Which is everyone’s goal, correct? 🙂 It has been awhile since we touched, well enough, on social listening. Perhaps I can get a helpful post out soon. Thank you for sharing your thoughts, ~Keri
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Many thanks for the article! It’s great that social listening helps to reach the target audience and to realize its wants.
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Reggie, Social listening is indeed helpful in reaching target audience, and also surpassing competitino. Thanks for your comment, ~Keri
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HI Keri Google alerts is really a great tool to keep yourself updated with latest news and other thing on the internet. Thanks for sharing these tools here. It would definitely help me out. 😀
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Lisa, Google Alerts, and similar alert tools are indeed helpful. I use them myself. This post was about social listening, and the goal was to showcase social tools that would help on the individual platforms. The social landscape has changed, and there are more social tools available. An update might be in order. Thank you for sharing your thoughts, ~Keri
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Interesting idea of providing a listening tool in every ad. And also when it comes to social media, it provides a full time browsing in the internet. Online marketing is one great job.
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BB Experts, Yes, working in online marketing can be fun and rewarding. Social media is indeed 24/7/365. Since this article was written the world of online marketing and social media has evolved and there are even new tools that allow for new digital marketing techniques and tracking. So, yes, it is possible to track ads, and re-targeting is a beautiful companion to any social media marketing campaign. Once we track our efforts, we can determine what is successful and do more of it! Thanks for your comment, ~Keri
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Pingback: 9 Social Listening Tools For Small Business Online Marketing Success
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Pingback: The 25 Best Media Monitoring & Measurement Articles of 2013 - Marketing News
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Pingback: Social Lists: 7 Secrets Revealed By Listly For Facebook Marketers
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A lot of good tools Keri – thanks for sharing. Another tool my company uses for online marketing success is OpinionAmp. When you have your customers giving a good review or sharing the product with someone else, it sells itself. My business uses OpinionAmp as a proactive way to market our product. Once you put the advertising in the hands of your clients, they’ll sell the product for you. You can’t beat online positive reviews – no better advertising than a happy client!
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Jill, I agree that positive reviews are key to social proof and inspiring people to share a brand message. An exact example of what great social media is all about! While this sounds like a great tool, I would want future readers to understand that it would not help them with social listening in the way that the other 9 would. It’s more a marketing tool for brand awareness. Thanks for sharing your findings, Jill! ~Keri
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Thanks Keri for sharing this interesting article. I am using Google alerts & Twitter lists. Would surely try out Linkedin Today
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Surekha, Glad you found this list helpful. I’ll be curious to learn what you found out at LinkedIn. They are making some great changes lately. Thank you for your comment, ~Keri
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I use Twitter lists to a certain extent but now I see how they can be used even more effectively. I mainly use them to keep up with people who may get lost in my bigger Twitter feed – it makes the whole process more manageable. I’ll definitely be spending time thinking about how to be more strategic with these lists. Thanks Keri!
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Jeff, I was not so fast to hop on to the Twitter list method initially. But when I began using them, it was a night and day experience! Now, I don’t know what I would do without my Twitter lists!! 🙂 If you have additional questions about set-up, or want to share your successes in using them, please do stop back and keep me posted. Thanks for reading, and for your comment, ~Keri
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Great article Jessica, keep up the good work! Cheers, Paul
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Paul, Jessica, who wrote a comment on the site does write good material. You should look to her as a reference for online marketing success as well. Thank you for reading, and for sharing your thoughts, ~Keri
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Social media is the bright future for online marketing success. Already Google made important update to attract business owners toward social media marketing. I’m already using social media to promote my small business through Facebook and Twitter and it’s effective way than previous any other terms. Thanks.
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Joardar, I appreciate your reading and taking time to comment. Please keep me posted on your efforts, and social listening successes on Facebook and Twitter. Thanks for your comment, ~Keri
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Fantastic summary of listening tools every business needs online. Even for businesses that are not completely online, the methods will work and it’s much easier to since so much information is available to us from our desk, kitchen counter, or garden (wherever we happen to be when working on the listening foundation of our business). Finding the right listening posts may take time – no need to rush that part. Also, periodically making adjustments to stay current within your market and core customer groups may be changing keeps you on top of trends.
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Jessica, Thank you for your kind words! You are correct – A lot of information is now available so much more easily now. And more all the time! I also agree that finding the right listening tool can take time. And tests of several options. Hopefully this list is a start for those not sure where to start. Always lovely to see you here. Thanks for your comment, Jessica, ~Keri
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What’s interesting about social listening is that, from a marketing perspective, we can now understand what interests a target community before an ad spend. This allows for honest, reciprocal conversation and sharing.
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Leslie, I agree! This understanding key. Though, at first, too much information can be overwhelming and discouraging. I think it is important to explore what works for each, and gradually become more involved in the social listening process. Time, efficiency, and accuracy. Thanks for reading, and for sharing your thoughts! ~Keri
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Lots of helpful information, Keri. We actually came upon a recent PR study done by Ragan Communications showing that a majority of PR pros use a combination of both free and paid monitoring/measuring tools. It might be constructive to show readers what paid options they have available as well.
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Thank you for mentioning the study done by Ragan Communications and the tendencies to use both paid and unpaid methods. I agree. I too use both paid and unpaid tools. This specific post was written specifically for small business owners just beginning in their pursuits. A stepping stone, if you will. I felt these sources would give a good way to test tools, gauge likes and dislikes, and then move to preferences that may include paid options. You will probably see another post on my blog in the future including paid social monitoring and measuring tools. At that point, I will probably look for suggestions, and would welcome any input. Thanks for reading, and for your comment! ~Keri
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