_kmq.push(["trackClickOnOutboundLink","link_5137ddaf21c11","Article link clicked",{"Title":"
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Social Media Controversies Addressed, Fresh Each Week
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In this edition of The Baer Facts, I talk with Kyle Lacy_kmq.push(["trackClickOnOutboundLink","link_5137ddaf223e0","Article link clicked",{"Title":"Kyle Lacy","Page":"Social Listening: Damned If You Do, Damned If You Don’t"}]); of ExactTarget_kmq.push(["trackClickOnOutboundLink","link_5137ddaf227c8","Article link clicked",{"Title":"ExactTarget","Page":"Social Listening: Damned If You Do, Damned If You Don’t"}]); about the double-edged sword of social media listening and response.
Should We Reconsider the Facts About Social Listening?
“Listen” is the dogma of social media. Every social media consultant since the dawn of Friendster has a slide (or 23) about listening in every presentation. It’s the axiom that power the entire social media value proposition for brands. Eavesdropping on customers conversations yields positive outcomes, period. Or does it?
A recent study by Netbase and JD Power & Associates _kmq.push(["trackClickOnOutboundLink","link_5137ddaf22bf4","Article link clicked",{"Title":"Netbase and JD Power & Associates\u00a0","Page":"Social Listening: Damned If You Do, Damned If You Don’t"}]);found that the customers upon whom we’re deploying our listening mojo may not be all that keen about it. Here’s the key, head-scratching finding:
42% of consumers expect brands to respond to positive comments in social, but 43% say social listening invades privacy (Tweet This_kmq.push(["trackClickOnOutboundLink","link_5137ddaf22f99","Article link clicked",{"Title":"Tweet This","Page":"Social Listening: Damned If You Do, Damned If You Don’t"}]);)
Slides about the study here_kmq.push(["trackClickOnOutboundLink","link_5137ddaf23380","Article link clicked",{"Title":"here","Page":"Social Listening: Damned If You Do, Damned If You Don’t"}]);, and good summary/coverage from Brian Solis here_kmq.push(["trackClickOnOutboundLink","link_5137ddaf23769","Article link clicked",{"Title":"here","Page":"Social Listening: Damned If You Do, Damned If You Don’t"}]);.
So what’s a brand to do when many of the people whom you’re purporting to help in social media are wary and dubious?
Who Benefits From Social Listening?
With social media increasingly becoming a preferred (or at least accepted) method of customer support, I don’t believe brands can or should stop listening, even at risk of incurring the wrath of 43% of consumers. You’re probably going to listen, and I hope you do so aggressively. In fact, I find that most companies are listening too narrowly, and that the vast majority of social listening programs are still centered on brand names and other late funnel keywords.
But remember this:
The difference between helping and selling is just two letters. (Tweet This_kmq.push(["trackClickOnOutboundLink","link_5137ddaf23b4f","Article link clicked",{"Title":"Tweet This","Page":"Social Listening: Damned If You Do, Damned If You Don’t"}]);)
Consider: Are you listening to help your customers and prospects? Or are you listening to try to insert your brand into conversations where it’s not wanted, or it’s too early in the consideration funnel, or it’s just icky and inappropriate. How you measure and report on your social listening program internally may give you some clues about your motivations.
It’s a fine line between listening and annoying, and toeing that line effectively may require your company to staff your social listening function with more experienced people with greater judgement and nuance capabilities, rather than the entry-level troops that are often handed that assignment.
About the Jay Baer:
Jay Baer_kmq.push(["trackClickOnOutboundLink","link_5137ddaf2431f","Article link clicked",{"Title":"Jay Baer","Page":"Social Listening: Damned If You Do, Damned If You Don’t"}]); is a hype-free social media and content strategist & speaker, and co-author of The NOW Revolution_kmq.push(["trackClickOnOutboundLink","link_5137ddaf24708","Article link clicked",{"Title":"The NOW Revolution","Page":"Social Listening: Damned If You Do, Damned If You Don’t"}]);. Jay is the founder of http://convinceandconvert.com and host of the Social Pros podcast_kmq.push(["trackClickOnOutboundLink","link_5137ddaf24af0","Article link clicked",{"Title":"Social Pros podcast","Page":"Social Listening: Damned If You Do, Damned If You Don’t"}]);.
Social Listening: Damned If You Do, Damned If You Don’t_kmq.push(["trackClickOnOutboundLink","link_5137ddaf24eda","Article link clicked",{"Title":"Social Listening: Damned If You Do, Damned If You Don’t","Page":"Social Listening: Damned If You Do, Damned If You Don’t"}]); is a post from: Convince and Convert: Social Media Strategy and Content Marketing Strategy_kmq.push(["trackClickOnOutboundLink","link_5137ddaf252bf","Article link clicked",{"Title":"Convince and Convert: Social Media Strategy and Content Marketing Strategy","Page":"Social Listening: Damned If You Do, Damned If You Don’t"}]);
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