Why Monitor Social Media?

Social media has opened up the channels of communication between businesses, consumers and media.

Traditionally PR professsionals would have monitored the media to understand who is saying what about your company, product or brand. This type of insight as then used to create campaigns and shaped the messages a company sent. But today social media is just as important as traditional media outlets. Sites like Twitter, Facebook, YouTube and blogs are a vital link to your consumers so it only makes sense to monitor what is going on. Here are 5 reasons to monitor social media activity: 

1. Crisis Prevention

Every PR professional should be aware of how easily a crisis can be caused by social media. One disgruntled customer who takes to social media to rant about a brand can very easily and quickly start a trend of other angry customers doing the same. Getting ontop of a crisis before it starts is the best way to manage a crisis. 

2. Highlight Customer Issues

You can’t stop people talking negatively about your brand, however you can manage it and ensure it doesn’t escalate. One of the great things about social media is the ability to not just partake in conversations but also to monitor them. A business should always be monitoring what publics are saying about them for several reasons. For one, it may highlight a few issues a business wasn’t aware off. Issues such as these may not escalate into a crisis but they do affect the reputation of a business. 

3.Competitor Analysis

Social media monitoring can also give some insight into what our competitors are doing. Is your competitor releasing a new product? is it like yours? Will it affect us? Monitoring competitors can also give some insight into why customers like them or use them. This can help highlight some issues your business may have

4.Spot Trends

Spotting social media trends early can be a gift to PR campaign planners. Being at the cutting edge of social media tends is a great way to get a business known 

5. Quick Response

Very often the first signs of a crisis appear on social media and before a business knows it they are at the eye of the storm. Being the first to notice a crisis means being the first to respond. Responding quickly to a crisis can help limit damage and restore faith in your business.