What Is Social Media Monitoring? A Complete Guide

What are people saying about your business or brand online?

If you’re anything like the average entrepreneur, you’re already wondering how possible it is to track what everybody is saying about your business on social media. After all, aren’t people free to say whatever they want?

Well, in business, and especially in a digital world where over 90 percent of consumers read online reviews about a business before making a purchase decision, you have to take note of what people are saying online.

This is where social media monitoring comes in.

Continue reading to learn more!

What Is Social Media Monitoring?

Social media monitoring is the process of keeping tabs on what people are saying about a brand, business, product, or service, on various social media sites. Think of this as what you do when you make a post and read through the comments to see what your followers or fans are saying.

However, because social media is vast, it’s hardly possible to physically monitor all the social media platforms. Keeping tabs on comments on more than one post is already hard enough. This is where social media scheduling tools can also be beneficial. They allow you to manage your posts and monitor interactions more effectively by automating the scheduling process.

So, now that we agree that it’s impossible to personally monitor your brand’s mentions, what are your options?

The Power of Social Listening Tools

There is a wide range of digital tools, such as tools like Hootsuite, that have been designed for social listening. Once deployed, these tools crawl the world of social media, picking out mentions or keywords related to your brand, product, or service, and notify you in real-time

Now, you need to know that there are several social media monitoring tools, and they aren’t created equal. Some tools are simply more powerful and effective than others.

As a business owner or brand manager, it’s your job to research various tools and find the one that suits your needs. Bear in mind that most tools offer trial periods, a time which you can use the tool’s features before purchasing it or buying a subscription.

Work With a Social Media Monitoring and Management Professional/Agency

While social listening tools will deliver good results, they don’t provide any practical solutions. You still need to address any negative comments or posts about your brand.

An ideal option is to work with a social media monitoring and management professional. You could hire an in-house specialist or outsource the task to social media monitoring agency.

If you’re on a shoestring budget, outsourcing is the cheaper option. It’s also better value for your money because you get additional services, such as social media profile optimization and content strategy creation.

Social Media Monitoring Is Key for Brands

In today’s world, almost every internet user has an opinion. Most of these opinions won’t bother you, but when they’re about your business or brand, you have to listen. Social media monitoring enables you to know what people are saying about your brand so that you can take an appropriate reputation management action.

Do you want to learn more about the intersection of social media and business? Keep tabs on our blog!