what is social listening

Social listening, also known as social media listening, is the process of monitoring online conversations about a brand, product, or industry to gain insights into how the target market views it. It involves tracking brand mentions, customer feedback, industry trends, and more. Social listening can be used to identify opportunities for engagement, assess competitor activity and share of voice, detect impending crises, and provide valuable information about emerging trends and what consumers and clients think about specific topics, brands, or products. Social media monitoring tools can mine text for specific keywords on social networking websites, blogs, and discussion forums and other social media. Social listening is important because it helps companies understand the conversation surrounding their brand and the products and services they offer, providing valuable consumer data that companies can use to gauge brand awareness and improve their products and services. Companies can gain several benefits from social listening, including gathering industry and competitor data, understanding the customer experience their products offer, avoiding or mitigating PR crises, and creating opportunities to collaborate with other brands or influencers.