If we make an analysis of the meaning and concept of this invented expression, the term pimps refers to the gossip person, who likes to pay attention to everything that is said about others, the one who asks about his “friends” to know his last news, that feeds on rumors, that he loves correlatives, etc. Well, if we add to this definition the term 2.0 so fashionable lately, we find ourselves with an Internet gossip, a term from which we must remove the negative connotation, and we obtain as a result that individual concerned about what others say on the Internet. of him as of those around him.
It is for this reason that the Community Manager or Social Media manager of a brand must be a pimp 2.0, or in other words more appropriate to the terminology used by the gurus of the sector, must perform an active listening.
What does active listening imply? Active listening not only consists of monitoring terms referring to our brand and / or company, it also requires that we perform an active search, tracking the network, looking for comments and references both to our brand and to what is spoken of our environment, of the environment of the sector in which we are working. Something that in theory seems very simple, but in practice it will take us more time than we can imagine.
What advantages will we have compared to those who do not actively listen? This is a question that many brands should consider, brands that have seemed to forget that Social Media is a two-way communication channel. We must not forget that the online channel should serve to offer our customers the opportunity to communicate to the brand their feelings and experiences with the brand, it is like giving them a speaker to tell us through them those sensations and experiences that will allow us make decisions accordingly.
Returning to the question, the answer is obvious, we will always go a few meters ahead of those who live isolated from what is said, both of them and the environment of their sector. This advantage will allow us to react before negative situations, as it will allow us to take advantage of the opportunities that come our way in a much more anticipated way than those that do not carry out an active listening.
As stated in a recent PuroMarketing article: “Criticisms, opinions and comments can teach us much more than we imagine. Our network of contacts and followers can become a kind of collective mind capable of offering us valuable information and clues to improve our products or services, according to their preferences and real needs. ”
To conclude, and in the same way that no neighborhood stores are set up, where the shopkeepers are oblivious to what happens in that market or what customers think of them who visit them and buy them, the person in charge of Social Media a brand, you must not do it either. It must fulfill, as a first premise, the active listening, and consequently the immediate reaction. And although the topic of reaction and response will be treated in successive posts, we must bear in mind that it must be effective, fast and transparent.
As a Community Manager in Valencia we would like to know how many of you consider that you are making a good active listening? Since you have implemented it in your digital strategy have you noticed the changes?