Learn how to derive the most insights from social by avoiding these social listening mistakes. 

Social listening can be a game-changer for brands seeking valuable insights into their audience’s thoughts, feelings, and behaviors. 

However, it can be challenging to get it right. 

Many brands make common mistakes that can leave them feeling overwhelmed and frustrated with a pile of data they don’t know what to do with. 

In this article, we’ll explore some of the most significant social listening mistakes brands must avoid to make the most of this powerful tool. Remember, social listening is only valuable when it provides actionable insights, so it’s essential to get it right.

Social listening mistakes brands need to avoid 

Social media listening can benefit your brand greatly if done right. Here are some common social listening mistakes you must avoid to make the most of your efforts:

1. No clear strategy for your social listening efforts

Picture this: you’ve invested in the best social media listening tool out there to help with your brand’s marketing efforts. Even with all the top-notch features, you still have a jumbled mess of information spread on your screen with no valuable insights. 

The truth is, even the most sophisticated social media listening tools can fall short without a clear plan. It’s essential to be clear on the specific information you want to extract. 

For example, do you want to monitor when and where people mention your brand? Or are you looking to extract information on negative reviews precisely?

So, instead of trying to monitor every aspect together, focus on specific areas to garner valuable insights and take action accordingly. It’s like setting up clear goals and objectives from social listening. 

2. Searching for general keywords 

Fear can be a powerful motivator, but it’s not always productive.

When it comes to social listening, brands often make the mistake of searching for broad terms to avoid limiting their results. While this approach may seem like a safe bet, it can hinder your ability to extract meaningful insights from the data.

While searching through vast data, you also waste your social media listening tool’s monthly quota on useless mentions. You waste not only your time but also your money on results you don’t need. 

This is where searching for the right keywords comes into play. Let’s say you plan on identifying frequent product complaints. Search for specific keywords that your disappointed customers might use. 

For example, “broken, damaged, defective, return or refund requests, safety concerns, etc.” Use them along with your brand name to get relevant results quickly. 

3. Being too precise while keeping up with competitors 

Setting up alerts is one of the most remarkable features of social media listening tools. You can keep up with all your competitors’ latest activities without falling behind. But that’s where being too precise might lead you to the bare minimum updates. 

For example, if Coca-Cola is monitoring Pepsi using a social media monitoring tool, it will not just set an alert for the brand name- Pepsi. Instead, it will keep up with all relevant keywords like “Pepsico, Pepsi Max, Pepsi Marketing campaigns, Pepsi products, and Pepsi events.” 

Similarly, you must identify the different names of your competitors’ products that people use and the trends they keep up with. 

Also read: How to conduct a foolproof competitor analysis

4. Not being prompt with the responses

In today’s digital age, where attention spans are shorter than ever, delayed responses to conversations are nothing short of infuriating. And when it comes to interacting with brands, the stakes are even higher. It can cost you customer loyalty and provoke negative word-of-mouth marketing. 

Due to this, simply monitoring conversations online isn’t enough, as you must respond in real-time. Start by assigning a person in charge of your social listening tool. It can be your social media manager, a customer support executive, or any responsible team member. You must ensure this individual promptly responds to all social mentions. 

Lastly, select a social media listening tool like Radarr that alerts you immediately in specific circumstances like a detailed negative review. 

Note: if the designated person cannot answer the query, he must quickly delegate it to someone who can and follow up accordingly. 

Also read: How to improve your social media response time

5. Not monitoring the analytics 

Let’s say most of your social media mentions occur on Twitter. Your team is active in monitoring and responding to these individual mentions. But what about the more significant trends you miss while reacting to minor details? 

Here are some areas you need to track regularly to make fruitful improvements: 

• The total brand mentions in a specific time frame (one month, six months, etc.) 
• Sentiment analysis to identify the positive or negative feelings brewing in your audience. Tools like Radarr are equipped with sentiment API that helps you redefine customer experience with emotional insights. 
• The level of engagement with influencers who promoted your brand on social media. 
• Monitoring hashtag performance to identify the most effective hashtags giving you the desired reach. 
• Competitor analysis to measure the social media efficiency of your competitors. 

Remember that simply reading and responding to social media mentions isn’t enough. You need to find patterns and areas of improvement to make the most of your social listening tool. 

6. Only focused on responding to brand mentions  

Social media listening tools aren’t just about reacting to brand mentions; they’re crucial for businesses looking to stay ahead of the game. The valuable audience insights and industry trends can help you develop a more effective social media strategy. 

Here are some examples of how social media monitoring tools can be used beyond responding to brand mentions: 

• Helps in identifying potential customers. 

Social media listening tools can be used to monitor industry-specific keywords and phrases. Once you know what your potential customers are talking about, you can jump in and offer a solution.

• Improve your product based on user feedback. 

Social media is a place where people frequently voice their opinions on different products. If monitored carefully, you can identify core areas of improvement. As a result, you can introduce product updates that resonate with your audience. 

• Find reliable influencers to promote your brand. 

While searching for industry-specific keywords and phrases, analyze the content with the most likes, shares, and comments. These people are influential in your industry, and being highly specific will help you find niche-specific influencers. Connect with them, make an offer, and enjoy the benefits of their massive reach. 

Go ahead and make the most of the tool to improve your product, reach, and overall influence in the industry! 

7. Delayed action at times of crisis

Social media listening is only worthwhile if you can prevent a crisis from escalating. Negative comments and reviews often spread like wildfire, and some brands fail to put them off early. Let’s take an example to understand crisis management using social listening tools. 

Imagine you are a marketing manager for a popular restaurant chain and start receiving numerous negative comments on social media. The comments mention a food poisoning scenario after eating at one of your locations. 

With the help of a social media listening tool, you can identify the scope of the issue. 

As you analyze the data, you notice that most negative comments come from customers who ate at a specific location over the weekend. Look for these customers online and immediately release an apology with a refund and free coupons. 

Additionally, you can detect any rumors related to the issue and quickly address them to prevent further escalation. You can then keep your audience updated with the actions taken to avoid any such future happening. 

Also read: Complete guide to crisis management

8. Not delegating responsibility 

We all know that social listening can be time-consuming, primarily if you handle multiple platforms simultaneously. Delegating responsibility in this scenario can free up your members for other crucial tasks. 

Apart from efficient time management, sometimes identifying trends, patterns, and areas of improvement requires expert assistance. Make sure you delegate it to the right individuals and improve the overall customer experience. 

Lastly, it’s not necessary to delegate responsibility to team members. People in marketing, sales, and even on top positions can benefit from accessing the data. 

Note: Tools like Radarr help you connect and share dashboards with all your members to keep them updated and garner timely insights. 

Frequently Asked Questions

What common social media marketing mistakes should my business avoid?

Some common social media marketing mistakes to avoid include not listening to your audience or monitoring your brand mentions, ignoring negative feedback, and needing a clear strategy. Social listening and monitoring are crucial to identifying and addressing issues and informing effective marketing strategies.

What are the main limitations of social listening?

The main limitations of social listening include the inability to capture all conversations, lack of context for social media mentions, difficulty in measuring sentiment accurately, and the potential for data overload. But with the right social media listening tool, you can easily walk past these limitations and make the most of your investment. 

What are the things to avoid in using social media? 

Avoid ignoring negative feedback and posting insensitive content, as social listening can help you monitor and address issues in real time. Also, remember to respect privacy laws and avoid over-reliance on automated responses.