In order for any brand to grow, it’s important to listen to your audience. Social media is a simple and immediate way to gauge what people have to say about your brand. What to do with that information is up to you. Social media channels provide the ability to quickly engage in customer support, track conversations, connect and build relationships with others, and even gain insight into your audience’s wants and needs.
It’s key to monitor what is being said about your brand on social media in order to gather data on what’s working or not working. Listening to positive feedback is just as important as listening to negative feedback in order to keep your audience happy. For example, Summerfest looks to provide a better festival experience for visitors year after year. By listening to our audience in real time, we are able to get a fairly accurate picture from a wide demographic on what we need to continue implementing and what we may need to change or improve.
Another major opportunity you can gain by listening to your audience is building new relationships and strengthening trust with those already in place. Your audience wants to know they are important and they matter to you. By listening to what they have to say and responding to their questions, comments or concerns, you are reminding them that you value their opinion. This, in turn, can help build brand loyalty and potentially give you opportunities to gain important brand ambassadors who will continue to spread positive information about your company.
Listening to social media conversations and connecting with your audience can ultimately help you learn and determine the next steps for your brand, strengthen your brand voice and trust, as well as provide your audience with what it’s looking for.
-Brittany Schumacher is digital marketing specialist at Milwaukee World Festival Inc., which operates Summerfest (@Summerfest)
