THINK ABOUT IT THURSDAY - "Are You Being a Good Enough Listener?"

One of the big advantages of Social Media is being able to see exactly what your customer or audience is saying about your brand or company at all times.  The only question is, are we really listening?

    Something a lot of companies are having trouble doing since the rise of the importance of Social Media, is simply listening to what is being said about their brand or company.  Not only listening to the good things and positive things being said, but even more so, the negatives.  Hearing the positives being said is what each company should be going for, but something that will be even more beneficial to your company is hearing the negatives and doing something about it.  Not only does this give you a head-start in fixing the problem and figuring out what went wrong, but it allows you to see an outside opinion with no bias perspective getting in the way.

     People have always had a love for knowledge and even more so, sharing that knowledge.  Our curiosity levels are even higher on Social Media.  What is this video?  Who took that picture?  How did he/she do that?  Curiosity is constantly bouncing all over the place as we browse our Social Media platforms.  With that said, engage your audience with questions that will surely spark relevant conversation for your industry, brand, or company.  Now when I say ask a question, I don't mean something like, "what is everyone doing this weekend?"  No.  Make your question relevant, and please, please don't answer your audience's questions with another question.  People hate that.  Ask questions that will add value to your news feed or profile.  People like to say what they are thinking, so let them do just that.  

       

     To make things even simpler for your company or brand, listen to some of the key influences in your industry or field.  If I was wanting to stay up to date in the sports world, I'd probably listen/watch ESPN from time to time don't you think?  Also, stay up to date on what is being said about your competitors.  You need to put your self in the best possible position to respond to a new sales tactic or trend appearing in your industry.  This allows you to stay a head of the game and not be caught clueless to anything that is developing.  

     So sit up, pay attention, and listen...