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5 Steps to Your Social Media Monitoring Success

by Melissa Agnes on March 8, 2012

Social Media Monitoring Success

This week, over on my blog, I decided to do a whole theme on something that is so important, yet many companies either don’t know how to do it, don’t realize they should be doing it, or don’t do it to the extent that they could be doing it. And that something is social media monitoring.

Being that it’s such an important topic, I thought I would extend the wealth of knowledge to stretch far beyond my little blog, and provide some other fabulous readers (yup, that would be you!) with the steps and tools to becoming successful social media monitors.

But why is social media monitoring so important anyway?

Social media monitoring is the act of monitoring the online discussions that take place about and around your brand. It’s about listening to what others are saying about you. It’s an important strategy, not just for your social media crisis plan, but for your social media marketing strategy as a whole.

By monitoring the discussions that take place around your brand, you allow yourself to:

  • Listen for negative criticism – which you can then respond to, turning unhappy customers into happy, loyal fans
  • Find new sales and engagement opportunities with potential prospects
  • Detect a social media crisis in the rise
  • Identify your share of voice as well as your share of sentiment
  • Keep tabs on your competitors
  • Discover gaps in the market that could define an opportunity
  • And so much more!

So as you can see, social media monitoring is definitely a strategy that all brands should equip themselves with. It provides you with benefits and insights that could not be acquired by any other means.

Before you embark on your social media monitoring adventure (because trust me, it will be an adventure!), there are five simple steps that you should take into consideration if you want to provide your brand with a solid social media monitoring strategy.

1- Identify your listening role

What type of listener do you want to be? Do you prefer to listen, analyze and evaluate, or do you prefer to listen and look for engagement opportunities? The answer to this question should depend on your social media marketing goals and objectives.

If you’re new to the game and are taking the time to listen and analyze, then a passive role is a great place for you to get an understanding of what is being said, determine how you may use it and decide on the direction that you want to take.

If you’re already engaging with fans, then the odds are you are currently doing some form of active social media monitoring, and perhaps you just need to up your game and use it more to your advantage.

2- Determine what you should be monitoring for

loyal customers social media

The key here is to determine which conversations matter most to your brand and why. Start by determining which types of conversations you want to be made aware of and what you will do with them when they come about.

Perhaps you want to know what the public is saying about your products and services, your most recent campaign launch or a particular individual within your organization. If this is the case then you’ll want to track the different discussions about your brand.

Perhaps you care about what’s going on with your top competitors – campaigns they may be launching, complaints and compliments their fans are voicing, potential crises that may be arising… And if this is the case, then discussions related to your competitors is what you’ll be monitoring for.

Or, perhaps you care what people have to say about the industry as a whole. In which case you’ll want to track industry related keywords – which can help you identify potential customers’ pain points and needs in order to better target your campaigns.

Give yourself a strategic advantage by taking the time to determine what you want to monitor and why. Make a list of all the targeted keywords and phrases that you want to track, and update that list regularly as new terms and phrases come to life.

3- Use the many social media monitoring tools to your advantage

Social media monitoring is important, but that doesn’t mean that it should take up tons of your time. In fact, if you do it right, the physical act of monitoring should take up next to none of your time. And that’s because you don’t actually have to be the one to do it! There’s some really great monitoring tools out there that do it all for you. All you have to do is figure out which ones line up with your goals and objectives, set them up and you’re ready to go!

No matter your needs or the level of monitoring your brand requires, there’s a social media monitoring tool out there for you.

Some free tools that I definitely recommend looking into include:

As for the bigger brands with lots of social chatter, you may also want to check out the more advanced paid tools:

4- Set yourself up with mobile alerts

Your social media monitoring tools monitor and track the keywords and phrases that you deem important to listen for, but it’s your mobile alerts that alert you when something in fact is being said – in real-time. Every single tool and service that I mentioned above has an app that you can easily download to your mobile devices (smartphone, iPad, iPod – use them all!) and set them up to alert you whenever one of your keywords gets mentioned online.

There’s no reason why you should ever miss out on any discussion that you deem important to listen out for. Take full advantage of the beauty of today’s technology and set yourself up so that you never have to worry about a potential opportunity or crisis passing you by.

5- Equip yourself with the right social media monitoring team

Perhaps your brand is small and setting up your listening posts and mobile alerts will be all the tools you need to properly monitor and respond to the few discussions that take place on a regular basis. But what if your brand is big and the social chatter is even bigger? Then what?

If monitoring and engaging with the discussions that take place around your brand is more of a full time job, then you’ll probably want to set yourself up with a social media monitoring team. This can be an internal team of one to a few people, or you may find it more efficient to outsource your social media monitoring to an agency of listening professionals.

Choosing between an in-house monitoring team and outsourcing to one depends on your company’s goals and needs. The important thing is to determine 1- if you need a full, dedicated team; and 2- who that team should be.

For more great insight about this topic and to help you determine which route is best for your brand, visit a post I wrote titled How to Know If You Need A Social Media Monitoring Team.

Where to go from here

So as you can see, social media monitoring is a crucial element to include within both your social media crisis plan and your social media marketing strategy. By following these five steps and really putting some thought into what you want to gain from your listening efforts, you’ll discover countless opportunities that tie directly in with your goals and objectives.

So take the time to start at step 1 and work your way through, and before long you will have these fabulous tools and advantages working for you!

Do you currently monitor the discussions around your brand? What tools and techniques do you find most rewarding? Share your insights with others like you by leaving your comments in the comments section below.

Images © ra2 studio & Marina Zlochin- Fotolia.com

Melissa Agnes is a social media crisis manager, consultant and speaker. One of the few in her field, she helps brands and organizations prepare and protect themselves with the right social media crisis plan, and offers on-call emergency crisis management services. Visit her daily social media crisis management blog for more insightful posts on all aspects of social media crises and protecting your brand against them. You can also connect with Melissa on Facebook and Twitter.

Website → MelissaAgnes.com

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{ 40 comments… add one }

  • Sergei Dolukhanov March 19, 2012 at 3:22 pm

    Melissa,

    Social media monitoring has its use case scenarios in a business environment, especially for competitive analysis, understanding reach, fostering relationships, and finding industry leaders. It also helps with reputation management and several other things. These are great for many businesses, especially those with no previous exposure to social media marketing techniques.

    However social media monitoring tools lack some crucial features necessary to any enterprise user looking to find more than “mentions” about their company.

    Social media monitoring doesn’t give you the ability to bring in third party data / analysis (whether manually or automatically) or even manually import non-social data. This hinders the ability to correlate the data gleaned from social conversations back to their core business metrics. Tying everything back to the business is arguably the most important concern for a c-suite exec.; social media monitoring simply falls short in connecting these dots.

    Social media business intelligence is the level above social media monitoring. Not only does one get all the functionality of a high quality social media monitoring tool, but one can also tie everything back to those crucial core business performance indicators. For the c-suite executive, this relationship between social data and core business metrics is most important takeaway from social conversations online.

    Check out these info-graphics highlighting this type analysis (in a rudimentary and easy-to-understand visual):

    http://www.evoapp.com/resources/#infographics

    As far as free tools go, I like Crowdbooster for engagement and Google Alerts for simple monitoring. If I was going to pay, I’d make sure I was getting my moneys worth with a tool that goes above and beyond just monitoring.

    - Sergei Dolukhanov
    - @sdolukhanov (twitter)
    Sergei Dolukhanov recently posted..#SocialBowl 2012: Kia Declared The WinnerMy Profile

    Reply edit

    • Melissa Agnes March 19, 2012 at 7:07 pm

      Sergei, you bring up some excellent and thorough arguments and points. However, for those either not yet doing social media monitoring, and for those just getting into it – as well as for the small to medium sized businesses who don’t need the same complete analysis as the big brands who do, this post was targeted for them, since social media monitoring is the very first step – and the bare minimum for every brand facing today’s markets.

      Thanks for taking the time to read and give such a thorough comment! I’m sure there may be some viewers here who will be interested in learning more about social media business intelligence in the way you elaborated on it.

      Sincerely,
      Melissa
      Melissa Agnes recently posted..How To Empower Your Employees For A Social Media CrisisMy Profile

      Reply edit

  • Ezra March 16, 2012 at 4:11 am

    Social media monitoring is very important.Why?Because Social media monitoring stems from the realization that individuals all over the world are having conversations about your brands, products, services and even other people online. This is especially important today and will only increase in importance as more of the world gets online. Fueling this demand is also the vast amount of social media platforms being used everyday.

    And with that Chances are, people are talking about your brands, products, services, and even yourself online. They could be reviewing your products on a blog, mentioning it to a friend over Twitter, discussing it on a community forum, or even leaving a simple comment on your product listing on Amazon.

    Reply edit

  • Sharyn Sheldon March 15, 2012 at 3:42 pm

    Hi Melissa,

    Just got my head above water to check out my reading lists and caught this post of yours. I haven’t found any tools yet that have everything I need, so I’m stuck with a mix. Right now I use Hootsuite, Buffer and Google Alerts, though Buffer isn’t for monitoring. Hootsuite started giving me problems on my Droid, so I ended up using Tweetdeck there. Like I said, what a mishmash.

    I’ll have to check out NutShellMail. I remember Ileane’s post about it, but haven’t had a chance to check it out. Also, have you looked at SproutSocial? It’s not free, but it looks like it is one of the most full service monitoring dashboards around.

    Best,

    Sharyn
    Sharyn Sheldon recently posted..Social Media PLR – Pack of Top TensMy Profile

    Reply edit

    • Melissa Agnes March 15, 2012 at 7:40 pm

      Hi Sharyn,

      It’s normal to have to use a variety of monitoring tools and it sounds like you’re using a nice blend. Unless you start paying the big bucks, each tool pretty much specializes in what it does – which can be nice to get variety and different views, as long as you don’t overdose on the tools!

      I haven’t actually tried or played around with SproutSocial, but I’ve heard good things. My paid tool of choice is actually Radian6 for a number of different reasons, but it may be pricier than SproutSocial and of course it depends on your particular needs. But like I said, the paid tools tend to be a little more full circle in their functionalities.

      If you end up switching to it, be sure to come back and let me know what you think! (Or post on my blog if you prefer: melissaagnes.com)

      Best of luck with finding the right tool, and thanks for the great comment!
      Melissa Agnes recently posted..25 Tips to Overcoming a Social Media CrisisMy Profile

      Reply edit

  • Ricardus March 14, 2012 at 2:56 am

    Great tips here Melissa. I personally use Tweetdeck and Hootsuite and they both are really great tool to monitor your twitter accounts. :)

    Reply edit

  • Ciaran March 13, 2012 at 7:45 pm

    Hi Melisaa,

    Thanks for sharing this list…it is interesting to see what people are using most from the comments. I would agree with one comment in particular – find the one or two tools that match you needs – your happy with and use them…no point in having email alerts from google, twilerts, social mentions and another 2-3 services – all that will happen will be an unproductive waste of time, opening emails with the same or very close reports. As a matter of interest we use Google Alerts & Tweetdeck. All the best!

    Reply edit

  • Remy Kelvin March 12, 2012 at 9:18 am

    Really nice tips. But one thing I must add is that,apart from using tools like Google Alerts or Twilerts, you should be mentally alert all the time. You can face many unforeseen situations where you may feel that these tools are not working up to your expectations. Only ingenuity and innovation on your part will then bail you out.

    Reply edit

  • Ayaz from Social Media Marketing March 12, 2012 at 6:05 am

    Great Article Melisa!

    Very usefull tips and I use hootsuit & google alerts.

    Secondly, analyzing & research of right keywords to maintain an authority in your industry.
    Ayaz recently posted..Kristi Hines Shared Her Best Formula to Build High PR BacklinksMy Profile

    Reply edit

  • Nishadha March 12, 2012 at 4:10 am

    There are quite a few tools listed here that I haven’t even heard about. I have being using HootSuite all this time and it does a good job of fulfilling my requirements. Will definitely check out some other tools to see if they can better it. Thanks for the post and the list of tools :-) .
    Nishadha recently posted..Draw Gantt diagrams / TimelinesMy Profile

    Reply edit

  • Bishwajeet March 11, 2012 at 1:21 am

    How much Facebook fans and Twitter fans do you have matters a lot in the end finally as they are the ones who provide you regular traffic. Also , we need to keep track of them.
    Bishwajeet recently posted..Comptalks Giveaway: All new Nokia Lumia 800My Profile

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  • Obaidul March 10, 2012 at 1:23 am

    There are a wide range of social media monitoring tools available out there, both free and paid. Depending on your requirements (including budgetary), you can choose to use one or more social media monitoring tools. I really like SocialMention. It’s, in fact, one of the most frequently used tools for online marketers and social media managers.

    It’s also important not to stick to just one or two tools. In fact, you should also try using tools that are newly launched. Technologies continue to evolve. If you’re not ready, you can be left behind pretty easily.

    Thanks for the wonderful article, Melissa.
    Obaidul recently posted..When The Going Gets Tough, The Links Get BlamedMy Profile

    Reply edit

  • Joe Elliott March 9, 2012 at 2:06 pm

    Hi Melissa,

    Great Post! Social media is a great way to get traffic fairly quickly, however new ones are popping up all over the place, we now have Pinterest. I think for serious bloggers the monitoring tools you gave are amazing and think we should utilize them to their fullest.

    Thanks Again!
    Joe
    Joe Elliott recently posted..How To Grow Your Mailing List Subscribers by 356%My Profile

    Reply edit

  • ICCIEV March 9, 2012 at 12:12 pm

    Thanks Mellisa for these great tips, I know that Social Media is important for Businesses and bloggers to build their brand names and increase their traffic but didn’t realize that mentoring social media could be that helpful, I think it could help as a blogger as well. Thanks for sharing the list of tools that help monitoring social media, maybe I should start using some of them.
    ICCIEV recently posted..JustRetweet Versus EasyRetweetMy Profile

    Reply edit

    • Melissa Agnes March 9, 2012 at 12:47 pm

      It’s my pleasure! I’m glad I was able to provide you with value! Social media monitoring can definitely help you out as a blogger. It’s even great to set up some alerts for the keywords that you want to rank for, and find out what pain points or problems your audience is facing – which is great fuel for tons of blog posts!

      When you start using the monitoring tools be sure to stop back and let me know how you’re makin out!
      Melissa Agnes recently posted..5 Secrets to Becoming a Super Social Media MonitorMy Profile

      Reply edit

  • Ben March 9, 2012 at 11:38 am

    Great info, I particularly love hootsuite for my social needs!
    Ben recently posted..Using Twitter to Promote Your BlogMy Profile

    Reply edit

  • angel reyes March 9, 2012 at 7:48 am

    I have just created my new fan page. My 3 favorite social media are facebook, google + and twitter these social media helps me drive more traffic and its also popular to others. Great tips! I have learned so much about how to be more advance regarding on marketing.

    Reply edit

  • Ryan Biddulph March 9, 2012 at 3:51 am

    Hi Melissa,

    Luv the focus on listening.

    Whatever strategy you use, just listen. Tune in. You can find out all you need to know by monitoring social media chatter. One note: listen to positive and negative feedback. Sometimes the ego wants to filter out the negative. In some cases, this is OK, as some folks are simply unhappy with their lives, and project it on you. In other cases, negative feedback is valuable, and provides clues into changes you need to make, to spruce up your campaign.

    Thanks for sharing Melissa!

    Ryan
    Ryan Biddulph recently posted..Why You Fail Miserably to Make Money Online and How to Fix ItMy Profile

    Reply edit

    • Melissa Agnes March 9, 2012 at 8:41 am

      Hi Ryan,

      You’re absolutely right! Negative feedback is invaluable. You’re right that some people have a hard time listening to it, but if you look at it in a positive light (making an unhappy customer happy, or bettering your product or service) it makes it hard to resist doesn’t it?!

      Thanks for stopping by and sharing your thoughts Ryan!

      Cheers,
      Melissa
      Melissa Agnes recently posted..5 Secrets to Becoming a Super Social Media MonitorMy Profile

      Reply edit

  • Melissa Agnes March 8, 2012 at 9:57 pm

    Hi Ileane,

    Thanks so much for this great tip! I hadn’t heard of NutShellMail and being a big fan of Twilert and SocialMention, you’ve definitely got me intrigued! I’ll be sure to check it out – as well as your video :)

    Thanks for stopping by and sharing your insights with me!
    Melissa Agnes recently posted..How to know if you need a social media monitoring teamMy Profile

    Reply edit

  • Jeremy March 8, 2012 at 7:04 pm

    It is indeed quite important to at least monitor your social media mentions. It is a great way to hear directly from people who have done business with your company or those that are considering it. By actively engaging them on social media, you show the public that you care enough to address people’s personal complaints or praises. If you neglect this area, it would be easy for negative talk to get out of hand.

    Reply edit

  • Morgan from SociableBoost March 8, 2012 at 6:40 pm

    Mobile alerts is a good idea, I hadn’t considered that avenue. There are a few tools up there that I’m not aware of, either so I’ll definitely be trying them out. So few people know of Social Mention so I’m glad you mentioned that one.

    Monitoring is key to any business. Before you even dabble in social media or any online presence, people ARE talking about you, so if nothing else, social media monitoring will be extremely important. Of course, it’d be nice if they could hear a response from the company, but just knowing what’s out there can give the company a better idea of how to move forward with their online strategy.

    Great stuff!
    Morgan recently posted..Numbers No Longer MatterMy Profile

    Reply edit

  • Dan Keller from apps reviews March 8, 2012 at 6:35 pm

    Awesome tips and every business owner should read this post. I use tweetdeck and google alerts, not familiar with the other tools but I will check them out.
    Dan Keller recently posted..10 Most Helpful Apps For College StudentsMy Profile

    Reply edit

  • Ileane March 8, 2012 at 5:52 pm

    Hi Melissa, social media is a great tool for monitoring and reputation management. I just did a video covering how I do this with Twitter and HootSuite, but I also use Google Alerts, and I used to use Twilerts. I found a more comprehensive tool to replace Twilerts and Social Mentions called NutShellMail. It’s from the people at Constant Contact and you can check out my video at the CommentLuv link. Thanks Melissa!
    Ileane recently posted..How To Find Mentions on Twitter & HootSuite and a NutShellMail TutorialMy Profile

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