Organize yourself to become a future-ready brand post-pandemic. The goal should be to find out, “Who you are?” as a brand, “How do you operate?”, and “How will you grow?”. As we all know change is the only constant and brands should adopt changes to grow and sustain as per the environment and the situations and achieve their brand goals.
Online reputation plays a significant role in determining the success of brands these days. Though many businesses are aware of this, most don’t know how to tap into customer emotions. It is because they do not have a customer insights tool that can analyze the customers’ mindset. eCommerce businesses can operate successfully only if they manage events and incidents that compromise their reputation. A single, minor incident can put a big dent in their online reputation.
For example, when the iPhone 4 was released, many buyers complained that the Wi-Fi receiver did not function properly. Instead of ignoring what customers had to say online and offline, Apple decided to conduct tests to examine the issue. It was concluded that if the user had fat fingers, it blocked the Wi-Fi receiver, thus weakening the signal.
After contemplating various solutions to solve this problem, Apple decided to stick a rubber bumper around the phone’s body. Due to Apple’s quick reaction and careful analysis, the company could solve this problem, and iPhone 4 sales did not take a hit. Social listening thus allows companies to consider different solutions to prevent an online crisis.
Online reputation management (ORM) aims towards creating a positive perception of the brand in the consumers’ minds. It can be achieved through influencers who convert detractors to loyalists and advocates of the brand. Building partnerships with non-profitable organizations, sponsored social media content, publicity through blogs, and monitoring social media channels also help to maintain the positive image of your brand.
Online reviews can be as powerful as word-of-mouth publicity when used properly. Also, monitoring online content and interactions to search for valuable feedback and addressing negative reviews correctly is important. Sophisticated monitoring tools will help evaluate your brand value and align your social media strategies accordingly. Identifying channels with the highest stake for your brand and allocation of resources to maximize impact is essential for ORM.
How to Use Social Listening to Prevent a Crisis?
↠ Tracking brand mentions and positive and negative reviews help determine the following:
Is there a spike in the brand mentions recently? If yes, what is the reason?
↠ What do customers think about your brand? Are they happy with your customer service and recent product launches?
↠ Are there negative reviews or actionable suggestions/feedback from customers? If yes, how to influence their opinion in favor of your products/services?
Use Social Listening in the Following Ways to Avert a Crisis
1. Interpreting data
To get these insights, you need a tool that watches your brand closely 24×7. Also, gathering data from different sites and online channels is one thing, and interpreting them is another. We have the latest tools and technologies based on CA (Cognitive Analytics), MI (Machine Learning), and AI (Artificial Intelligence) in the market today.
Organizing large chunks of data becomes easier using these tools, as they help you organize data according to customer behavior and sentiment. Though these tools are not commonly used by businesses, many MNCs and big tech companies have realized their importance. They are already forming strategic partnerships with platforms specializing in digital marketing tools. Alternatively, they outsource their brand marketing jobs to a team consisting of social listening, MI, AI, and CA experts.
2. Analyzing Social Media Campaigns
Social media campaigns can also be monitored using social listening. It involves using tools to measure the success of a marketing campaign and manage online reputation. They use the following metrics:
↠ Reach: How many people have viewed a post or an advert?
↠ Engagement: How many people have engaged with the content via likes, comments, and other means of communication available on social media channels.
↠ Action: How many visitors subscribed to your app, newsletter, or website or have viewed the product catalog?
↠ Conversion: How many visitors subscribed to your products and services?
3. Analyzing Competition
The influence of competitors on consumers must be analyzed in online businesses. It helps you bring your online marketing strategies on the right track. It gives a broader view of the competitive landscape and how things are interconnected. Social listening helps you size up your competitors by analyzing their progress or failure in recent times through customer reviews and sentiments.
4. Responding to Queries
Responding to queries and complaints is an essential task on a social listening platform for consistent ORM. You should get access to customer reviews and queries in real-time to respond or take the necessary action. For instance, if someone is spoiling your brand’s image intentionally on a social media platform, crisis management involves using legal means to counter the issue. Similarly, unhappy customers can be guided for an improved customer experience to convert them into loyal customers. A comprehensive platform that provides access to these features is necessary to avert issues before they become crises.
Crisis Response Plan
With the help of social listening tools, you can create a crisis response plan by preempting crises in different forms. Acting fast on the data online is also equally essential to prevent a crisis. Therefore, acquire skills in media management, social media pages, and accounts handling, and internal team management to prevent a situation from deteriorating.
Finally, you need technological platforms that offer social listening tools and techniques to prepare your brand for the future. Konnect Insights is one such comprehensive tool that integrates social listening and analytics, amongst other essential features, to tackle crisis management and aid consistent online reputation management. It harnesses the power of social listening to make your brand future-ready in terms of facing a crisis and proactive ORM.
Tags: Crisis Management, Crisis Management Tools, Online Reputation Management, Online Reputation Management Tools, ORM, Social Listening