On multiple occasions we will have heard that the first thing we have to do before diving completely into Social Networks is to plan our strategy and draw up an action plan, and, of course, nothing to talk about before listening and analyzing our audience.
But what is active listening?
It is about knowing our audience and potential clients, finding our target to address them properly, knowing their tendencies, habits, their perception towards our own brand, what they say about it, how our competition acts, etc … In summary, collect information through analysis and monitoring.
For this it is essential to locate our target audience. It is necessary that we know absolutely everything about those people to whom we are going and with whom we are going to try to create a community. Although it seems complicated to locate our audience, it is not so much, it is more a question of time than of difficulty.
To develop an effective strategy in social media, it is important to be aware of the opinion that the audience has of us, to know how to attack the media. It is necessary to locate where our brand is spoken and what is said about it, why, with what the users agree and with what they disagree. Something that we will also have to do is, once our target is located in the different channels, exhaustively analyze the activity of the audience and the level of presence of the same in them.
If we intend to create a community around our company or act where our brand is present, it is essential to meet the needs of its active members and participants, and therefore it is essential to listen actively to know what they really need or can offer to meet their needs. needs
Listen without stopping acting
Some studies indicate that 75% of companies do not respond to their followers on social networks like twitter. It is a total and absolute disaster. With this, we are destroying ourselves the most important value of these tools. Connecting very closely with people of flesh and blood.
It will not help anything if actions are carried out in Social Networks if we are not going to effectively attend our followers. If we do not have an effective feedback with our community, we will not be able to offer what they demand, and we will be becoming mere issuers of information, with which success in Social Networks will be more difficult. Listening is a task that can be complicated because for it to be effective, we will have to learn to eliminate noise and interference.
Criticisms, suggestions and opinions: much to learn from them and source of knowledge for brands
Generally when the way in which the suggestions and opinions of users and consumers online is addressed, can affect or influence the decisions of other users, we forget or simply do not take into account other aspects that the brands themselves can take advantage of for their own benefit.
And is that companies can learn how to improve their success products simply by analyzing opinions online. In this sense, a recent study by Bazaar Voice showed how, by examining the opinions of consumers, 12% of them include suggestions for products and the frequency of these suggestions increases 20% among positive opinions.
The study also revealed how the suggestions included in the opinions of the products are not usually about problems with the products but quite the opposite, 42.5% of them talk about possible product changes, for example in terms of color, style or size. 37% ask in their suggestions for an improvement or how from their point of view the product could be improved.
As we can see, this confirms the theory that beyond the negative nature of any suggestion, opinion or comment, this information can become a source of knowledge for those brands that really intend to improve taking into account the opinions and suggestions of their own users and consumers.
We will not get a greater response if our dialectical attitude is reduced to monologue or simple listening without interaction, but neither without it. It is very good to give before receiving, but you also have to give up your speaking time, and most importantly, not only listen, but listen.
Activate your antennas and pay attention to what happens around you. Analyze and extract your conclusions. They will serve you a lot of help, both to know what they think of you, and to detect a problem or be able to adapt to trends and focus your communication strategy. If you are not aware of what is being said, you will lose the thread of the movie, and an unexpected ending may occur.
Are you ready for active listening?