While the value of social listening is clear, seeing it put into practice on LinkedIn can provide valuable insights. Let's look at a recent example from the wealth management industry.
Stephen Wall, founder of The Wealth Mosaic, posted on LinkedIn about upcoming content focused on AI in wealth management.
Jack Casady, a follower of Stephen Wall, noticed that his company, YourStake, wasn't mentioned in Stephen's post despite its relevance to the topic. So, Jack decided to comment on the post.
Why This is Effective Social Listening
This simple interaction highlights several key aspects of effective social listening:
- Monitoring relevant conversations: Jack was clearly keeping track of discussions around AI and wealth tech, a highly relevant topic for his business.
- Engaging with their audience: Through posting, commenting, and replying, Stephen and Jack open a dialogue with their followers and industry peers.
- Responding promptly: Jack's comment was addressed quickly by Stephen, preventing any confusion from followers.
- Incorporating feedback: Stephen committed to adding the overlooked company, showing he values audience input.
- Brand monitoring: Jack was actively tracking (or so I assume) for mentions of his competitors, industry partners (i.e. he isn't just looking for company mentions).
How to Practice Effective Social Listening
To emulate this level of effective social listening, individuals and firms should:
- Identify relevant topics, keywords and accounts to monitor based on your business.
- Actively engage your audience by posting consistently and joining conversations.
- Be responsive when your audience engages with you or provides feedback in a timely matter. The first hour after you post is the most important.
- Analyze the data - look for trends, common questions, areas of interest.
- Adapt your strategy based on the insights you gather.
Social listening takes commitment, but gets easier with practice.
Make it a habit and you'll open up a powerful channel for market research, leads, customer feedback and brand building. The benefits are well worth the effort.
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