Did you know social media has the greatest potential to find new clients who are interested in your business? But you have to know how to use it. Your business social media platforms require a bit more attention than your personal accounts. (There’s opportunity for growth on the line, after all.) Indeed, social media monitoring is a fine art that can take your virtual business to the next level.
What is Social Media Monitoring?
Social media monitoring means keeping an eye on the public perception of your brand. It requires you to respond to comments and interact with your audience to maintain a positive presence.
This looks different for a small brand versus a large brand: Smaller businesses have less of an audience to engage with. But that’s the point! By taking the time to interact with your audience, you help your business grow.
As a business owner, you should incorporate social media monitoring into your daily routine. Start your mornings by scrolling through your Instagram, Pinterest, or LinkedIn—whatever platforms you work with—and take fifteen minutes to answer questions or thank your audience for engaging with your content.
Related: How to Build Brand Authenticity and Maintain a Strong Online Persona
Why is Social Media Monitoring Important for Your Online Business?
When you listen and respond to people who have something to say about your brand, it makes them feel validated. This can help increase their overall trust in your brand.
Social media monitoring sheds light on the thoughts and opinions of consumers in your industry so you can rise to meet their needs. Whether you’re a funnel builder or a digital marketer, it’s necessary you tweak your service offerings and products to suit the needs of your target audience.
For example, if you’re eager to raise the prices on your service packages as a content manager, but aren’t sure if it’s the right time, use social media monitoring. The opinions your clients shared in your “comments” will help you make an informed decision.
Pro tip: You can also check the social media comments on your competitor’s accounts and leverage information from their “likes” and “comments.” This way, you’re not too quick to launch a similar marketing plan if it’s not working—or jump on the bandwagon for a good idea.
Related: Why Using Data to Make Decisions Is The Key To Growing Your Business Next Year
How to Incorporate Social Media Monitoring Into The Daily Flow of Your Business
Social media monitoring is a crucial strategy for collecting and implementing opinions as data, directly from your target audience. But conversations across Internet platforms happen quickly (especially as your business grows). How do you keep up?
You must have systems in place to ensure you don’t miss key parts of the conversation and valuable consumer data. And you don’t want to be back-logged with comments between your own business accounts (including Twitter, LinkedIn, Instagram, Facebook, Pinterest, and more!) and your competitors’ social media accounts.
It’s easy to run out of time if you’re not organized. Luckily, you can come up with the perfect social media monitoring plan by leveraging two main techniques: manual and automated tracking.
Monitor Your Accounts Manually
Social media monitoring can be done manually—similar to the way you probably interact with your personal social media accounts. This is common for new business owners, or business owners who simply prefer a hands-on and eyes-peeled approach.
Set up a routine for yourself or a member of your team to check your social media daily. Early mornings, lunch breaks, or just before you wrap up the work day are excellent times for manual social media monitoring.
Related: Which Social Media Metrics Are Most Important To Track?
There are several things to watch for:
- DMs
- Comments
- Reactions
- Mentions
It helps to set up a Google Alert to make sure you’re notified when anything is said about your brand online.
But be aware! Your business will eventually outgrow this method as more and more people start talking about the great work you’re doing (and your team’s time gets overwhelmed with other important tasks). At that point, you should consider the help of a social media monitoring tool.
Use a Paid Tool to Track Your Data
Paid tools come with both advantages and disadvantages. On one hand, you put your faith in technology to collect all the data you need from your social media accounts (and you need to pay for it). But on the other hand, youfree up your schedule for other important work and find comfort knowing your social media is being monitored 24/7.
There are several helpful tools available for you to consider, including Sprout Social, Mention, and HootSuite. Some brands offer a free trial so you can decide what works best for you without wasting money.
Social media monitoring tools often help you plan and post your content with virtual calendars and keep tabs on your top-performing content.
But the what do you do? Interpreting the data from social media monitoring is a separate challenge altogether.
What Do You Do With The Data You Find via Social Media Monitoring?
Our Traffic Insights Dashboard will help you transform data insights from your social media accounts—so you actually know what to do with all of that important information. (Imagine that!) And you don’t need to get up close and personal with chaotic spreadsheets or charts.
The Traffic Insights Dashboard helps you to identify new leads (perfect client matches for your business) and expand your business. No more guessing on which direction to go—the dashboard will show you. Whereas leveraging your social media metrics on your own can feel like shooting at a moving target (and usually missing) our dashboard helps you make the best choices based on your unique data set.
Social media monitoring may feel overwhelming at times, but understanding how and why to track your social media data will take your business to the next level. Check out our Traffic Insights Dashboard and get signed up to make the most of your business social media accounts.
Learn more ways to optimize your social media strategy with these great resources: