What is social listening? It is the process of monitoring various social media platforms to know what your audience is saying about your brand, products, services, competitors, and industry. You want to know what your audience thinks about your company? Social media is the best tool for that. But what does this have to do with Lakeland public relations? Why does it matter? 

The audience’s perception of your business plays an important part as to why you will remain relevant in the industry. Forget about your audience, and you might as well forget about who your brand is. Public relations pertain to the reputation you built about yourself—who you are, what you do, what is important to you, and how people see you. Together with social media, this forms your brand name on the internet. 

It’s important to note, of course, that your reputation on and off the internet sometimes differs. You may be popular on the internet and yet, no one has heard about you off the web. Your brand may be well-known in the community, but online buyers may draw a blank when they hear your name. 

Social Listening Metrics

There are four important metrics to look at when you’re doing social listening. These are brand mentions (how many times your brand is mentioned on social media), relevant hashtags (did someone make a hashtag of your brand?), competitor mentions (if people are talking about your competitors), and industry trends (what people are saying about your industry). 

So, why are these things critical to your business? One, it allows you to engage with your customers directly. If someone praises your brand, you can reply a simple thank you. If someone criticizes it, you’ll want to address that complaint as early as possible.

Second, it opens up an opportunity for you to start a conversation with the rest of your audience. Whatever the complaint or praise was about, you can ask other internet users if they are having the same experience or issue with your products. 

Impact on Lakeland Public Relations

Of course, the way you engage with your customers on social media will have an impact on your reputation. And when it comes to reputation, the goal of Lakeland public relations is to make it infallible. PR campaigns want brands to be able to stand on their own reputation. This is what happens when your brand has built for itself a great reputation. People are going to rally behind it.