So, apparently you have already heard of social media listening but you feel like your knowledge of the subject is basically in the ballpark of as your sense of direction would be in the desert. Well, you definitely do not have forty years to come up with your own solutions, if you want to control your brand reputation. Come up to me into the mount and I shall give you tablets of stone. I mean, ten concrete reasons to use the internet monitoring tool.

1. Thou have your audience before you

Acknowledge your Buyer Persona and don’t forget to respect it no matter what. The times, when branding was all about smart men sitting in their fancy offices and mulling over campaigns, are long gone. Social media bring the opportunity for each and every one of your current and potential customers to give an opinion that might and will be read by a lot of people. Your potential leads. Needless to say, good tweet goes a long way.

2. They probably will take the name of thy brand in vain

However, do not fool yourself. Snap judgements and speculations will be posted on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, blogs, forums etc. What you need to do is prepare yourself to respond. Track what your audience is saying on social channels and address the issues.

3. Remember your weekend and keep it holy(days)

You do not know the day or the hour when the social media crisis might start snowballing. The sooner you notice your customers’ issues, the better. Set the push notifications to your chosen keywords in online monitoring tool such as SentiOne and take the action. Whether you need to take responsibility and make amends to the customer or bring an end to a spreading false alarm. What is more, you can use criticism in your favour. Think of it as some extra feedback.

4. Honour thy analytics

Take advantage of professional analysis of online brand mentions by making use of the insights. It’s not easy to see a big picture if you are emotionally attached to whatever you are trying to evaluate. That is why relying on experts, charts and real-time data is so rewarding no matter if you have quite an experience or are new to the business and establishing a new brand.

5. Thou shalt not kill – your brand, new product or campaign

If you base your decisions on data. When it comes to social media, you can find gathering relevant data quite hard unless you use advanced technology. Try to follow all mini-blogs, forums, discussions connected in one way or another to your field and I bet you would give up pretty soon. And that might be only a drop in the ocean of your brand mentions. Discover data-driven facts about your market with social media analysis on numerous sources and use it to add some extra value to your product.

6. Get in touch with your potential clients (figuratively!)

There are over two billion social media users that are viewers, likers and retweeters who spend statistically up to three hours a day networking. Your audience. And if you want to sell, you’d better find a way to get to to them and keep them engaged. But how to prove the impact of your communication?

7. Thou shalt not steal – your clients’ time

Quit guessing who your clients might be and what possibly they might need. And by all means, never spam them! Find out truly precise data regarding your audience in real time. Divide and conquer. Data, of course. Using social media monitoring tool you save time and effort by getting relevant data regarding such information as your current or potential clients’ gender, whereabouts or interests. Or exact time of your brand mentions. Use it to target your online communication.

8. Thou shalt not bear false witness against your competitors

Gain the best competitor intelligence and find out what they’re up to. Make sure you get the most accurate information on your competition and use it to get ahead.

9. Thou shalt not covet your competitor’s clients and jump into conclusions

Analyze the sentiment of mentions. Keep in mind that opinions on your brand or competitors change in various circumstances. It is crucial to take into consideration the context and sentiment of your brand mentions. Especially on social media, where the freedom to impress and humor one’s circles is valued greatly. Join the discussion and find influencers or your brand ambassadors by tracking mentions.

10. Or anything else

As a matter of fact, broad and in-depth online listening to your audience opinions have never been easier and more authentic as long as you use the right tool. Social media monitoring allows you to analyze specific data and keep track of market in a very convenient way. Explore unlimited potential of your mentions, filter them, and see for yourself the results of chosen keywords at charts that are as clear as a day. It gets even more convincing if you gain advanced reports suited perfectly to your needs and on top of that – the chance to respond to your clients’ needs in one platform. The ways to mastering the brand reputation management are limitless. All you’ve got to do is take the first step.