5 Ways to Grow Your Brand with Social Listening

Do you ever wonder what your audience is talking about? We do! Social listening is the act of monitoring and analysing what people are talking about, and why it interests them. Brands use social listening as a way to build their presence on social media and to reach the right audience with the right message. At WEBQLO, social listening is one of our best friends in content creation and today, we’re going to show you 5 ways to grow your brand with social listening.

1. Ask a question/ look into a statement 

Whenever we encounter something we do not know or want to know, we ask a question on Google. With the help of Google Trends and Adqlo, you can tap into what people are looking for and how they feel online. Start using the 5W’s and 1 H methods. Look up questions that tie in with a problem like “What are the causes of eczema”, and “How do I relieve dry skin?”. Remember to think about what you would ask. This was how Gillette’s toxic masculinity ad was widely talked about in 2021 and has gathered a whopping 2 million views within the first 2 days of being published on 13 January 2019.

For years, the brand’s tagline was ‘the best a man can get’. In 2019, the internet blew up when it released a toxic masculinity ad that opened with the question “Is this the best a man can get?”. The statement became a worldwide discussion with mixed responses of support and criticism. During the time from the 12th to the 16th of January itself, about @Gillette has been tagged in 645,000 tweets and 246,000 tweets used the hashtag #TheBestMenCanBe. So much so that even news portals like NBC news and CNBC featured it. All of this talk, just from a simple tweak and sending out a timely message.

> Source: (AbigailJHess, Gillette's toxic masculinity ad earned a mixed response-but research supports the message 2019), (Dassen, Shaving off Toxic Masculinity – Gillette’s ‘The Best A Man Can Get’ Campaign 2022)

2. See which hashtags and keywords are active 

In the midst of creating a post, hashtags and keywords are must-haves on social media. Use the 'Discover' page to find actively trending hashtags (and the kind of content it's tied with), followed by Adqlo's powerful suite of social listening tools to strengthen your content's relevance to the right audience. Adqlo highlights phrases that the public has been actively searching for. It also informs you of topics your competitors take interest in. For example, if you are looking into skin issues, you would use keywords like ‘dry skin’, and ‘eczema’ to target the audience who have the same issue. With the help of Adqlo, you can see how often the issue was mentioned and searched. Dig a little deeper and you may just find your inspiration for the next pool of content.

3. Go specific with your choice of words 

If you want to join in the conversation your audience is having, being specific in your research is one of the ways of getting what you want in terms of brand reach and engagement. With billions of content online, having specific keywords, topics and hashtags helps you stay focused on listening to what your audience has to say 

 For example, the Straight Outta Somewhere Campaign allowed users to talk about their city under the hashtag  #StraightOutta. With this hashtag, 9 million memes were created to feature the places users are from and the campaign has reached out to 1.2 million people. Thanks to the specifications, you can even track the cities that were featured and related content more easily too. Not only did this spread and net massive engagement and virality, but it also hit a little closer to home: being proud of one’s roots in a time when identity issues were hot topics among the youth.

>  Source: (Straight outta somewhere - the shorty awards 2015)

4. See what other people are doing 

Competitor insights help any business stay ahead of the game, but how do you ensure you find the right content or direction to take you to the top of the leaderboard? Two words: Social listening. This allows you to see what your audience is talking about and be able to respond to them before your competitors can. Timely, relatable responses are worth their weight in gold in the digital space. Moreover, you can find different angles to tackle certain topics. Take a look at Pepsi and Coca Cola who take competitor insights to the next level. For the longest time, both brands have gone head-to-head with one another on their marketing strategies. They compete to get back at each other and people have been talking about their battles for years. Some of the most memorable battle wars include the vending machine advertisement and the truck driver advertisement in 1995.

> Source: (Pepsi vs Coca Cola - The Advertising & Marketing Battle 2022)

 5. Use the right tool (We recommend Adqlo) 

Lastly, try asking Adqlo during your social listening adventures. You can find trending topics and hashtags while keeping an eye out for what your competitors are doing. At WEBQLO, Adqlo has helped us look out for the public’s sentiments no matter the topic, brand or audience. Thanks to Adqlo, we have more accurate data to create effective content that resonates with our audience. The proof is in the pudding, check out this post we did recapping Malaysia’s 15th General Elections:
> link: https://www.instagram.com/p/ClV3LtpOYFq/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link 

Conclusion

Social listening is an important weapon to add to your marketing arsenal. Just like how you use hashtags and keywords to follow the latest updates on your favourite topics, you can use social listening to follow interesting topics too and join in on your audiences’ conversation. This allows your brand to come in at the right time to the right audience and with the right message, leading to more clicks, engagement, reach and other goals you’ve set for your brand. You’ll be surprised at what you may find the public talking about, and how your business can leverage itself to meet their needs. All you have to do is just listen.

References:

• Anušić, I. (2023, January 3). Complete guide to social listening: Proven hacks, strategies, and Tools. Blog. Retrieved January 12, 2023, from https://www.mediatoolkit.com/blog/complete-guide-to-social-listening/

• AbigailJHess. (2019, January 17). Gillette's toxic masculinity ad earned a mixed response-but research supports the message. CNBC. Retrieved January 13, 2023, from https://www.cnbc.com/2019/01/16/scientists-agree-with-the-message-of-gillettes-toxic-masculinity-ad-.html 

• Dassen, F. Q. (2022). Shaving off Toxic Masculinity – Gillette’s ‘The Best A Man Can Get’ Campaign. 

• Gusakov, D. (2021, November 30). Common mistakes made when using social listening tools. Awario Blog. Retrieved January 12, 2023, from https://awario.com/blog/common-mistakes-when-using-social-listening-tools/

• Katarzyna, Katarzyn Content Manager at Brand24. Rather visioner than analyst. Always curious about new technologies and marketing solutions. Fan of fantasy literature, & Content Manager at Brand24. Rather visioner than analyst. Always curious about new technologies and marketing solutions. Fan of fantasy literature. (2022, December 9). What is social listening? Quick, Easy Guide for 2023: Brand24. Brand24 Blog. Retrieved January 12, 2023, from https://brand24.com/blog/what-is-social-listening/ 

• King, M. P. (2019, January 29). Gillette responds to controversial advert challenging toxic masculinity. Forbes. Retrieved January 13, 2023, from https://www.forbes.com/sites/michelleking/2019/01/20/gillette-responds-to-controversial-advert-challenging-toxic-masculinity/?sh=69ac2a295bb7 

• Macready, H. (2022, December 7). How to use Hashtags in 2022: A guide for every network. Social Media Marketing & Management Dashboard. Retrieved January 13, 2023, from https://blog.hootsuite.com/how-to-use-hashtags/#Why_use_hashtags 

• Pepsi vs Coca Cola - The Advertising & Marketing Battle. TBS Barcelona. (2022, April 8). Retrieved January 12, 2023, from https://barcelona.tbs-education.com/news/pepsi-vs-coca-cola-the-advertising-battle/

• Pooi, P. Y. L., & Rosli, A. A. (2021, November). HASHTAG CAMPAIGNS DURING THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC IN MALAYSIA Escalating from Online to Offline. www.iseas.edu.sg. Retrieved from https://www.iseas.edu.sg/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/TRS21_21.pdf

• Professionals, M. I. for, Conviva, Powles, M., & Emplifi. (n.d.). 6 costly social listening mistakes that could ruin your brand's reputation. https://www.insightsforprofessionals.com. Retrieved January 12, 2023, from https://www.insightsforprofessionals.com/marketing/social-media/costly-social-listening-mistakes

Straight outta somewhere - the shorty awards. The Shorty Awards - Honoring the best of social media. (n.d.). Retrieved January 13, 2023, from https://shortyawards.com/8th/straight-outta-somewhere