Hi besties! We are living for this trend of brands listening to their audiences and reacting - it’s giving ✨main character energy✨. They’re eating and leaving no crumbs. (Can you tell what trend we’re referencing? Gen Z is writing the Marketing Script now and we’re obsessed!)
But on a serious note, it’s not just funny TikToks and trendy slang that have us excited. Brands that actively listen to their customers are thriving like never before. It’s not just about selling a product anymore - people want to be seen and heard, and the brands that understand this are coming out on top.
How are they doing this? Social Listening. Let’s get into how this shift is creating real change in social media marketing and beyond.
The Evolution of Social Media: From Connection to Conversation
It all started back in 2004, when Mark Zuckerberg launched Facebook as a way for students to connect and share. Fast forward to 2024, and social media has completely transformed how we live, shop, and interact.
-1.png?width=1920&height=800&name=Make%20sure%20your%20product%20pages%20(1)-1.png)
But no matter how much social media has evolved, one thing hasn’t changed - the "social" part. It’s still all about people and communities. And now, the most successful brands are the ones that are really tapping into that, engaging with their followers, and treating them like part of the family.
Social listening goes beyond simply monitoring mentions of your brand online. It’s about actively tuning into conversations, trends and feedback across social media platforms to help gain insights into your customers’ needs and pain points.
The Importance of Building Meaningful Connections
Building a successful brand in 2024 is less about pushing products and more about creating a community. People aren’t just looking for the next big thing, they’re searching for brands that make them feel like they belong. This is where community-centric marketing comes in.
As demographer and social researcher, Mark McCrindle, points out:
That reach that we always hear about in the digital marketing universe can also be ultimately boiled down to creating a community and finding as many people as possible who connect with a business and are invested in the products that they sell.
For example, a business that focuses on selling plants and creates content of that nature on TikTok would become a part of a TikTok Community like “Plant Tok”.
That way, your brand would be exposed to the right people and community that not only like Plants but are also invested in engaging in your business content on social media which can also lead to future conversions and a loyal customer base.
When you connect with your communities using trends, brands can also take their engagement and brand awareness to the next level. A great example of this is the recent social media trend where businesses and even museums have had Gen Z writing marketing scripts, with amazing and hilarious results.
One of our personal favourites are from the Beamish Museum and the Royal Armouries Museum. Both these TikToks are not only hilarious but achieved enormous success which both achieved over a 1mil likes and 200k shares each!
This is an amazing opportunity for these very traditional organisations to jump on a trend but also increase their social media presence and promote their organisation to a large number of people who didn’t know anything about them before.
Social Listening Success Story - Rhode Cosmetics Redemption
On the flip side of the coin it is also important for brands to listen to specific communities when a product does not do what is said on the tin.
An example of this is from the beauty content creator, Golloria. She couldn’t find a blush that the beauty brand Rhode Cosmetics had sent to her that matched her skin tone. Because of this disappointment, Golloria emphasised the importance of having products that are suitable for all skin colours. This TikTok video achieved over a million likes and a staggering 13 million views.
After this content was released instead of the brand ignoring this complaint they did something about it! They reviewed their product range and created a much better range of colours and sent it back to the content creator who then gave the product a stellar review and this new video again achieved over 2 million likes and 14 million views.
This is a great example of a brand listening to a community on social media and rather than ignoring the problem, taking the opinions of the consumer and listening to them to ultimately improve the product and give themselves a much better public image.
To wrap it all up
Social media is an amazing tool that brands can use to build a community around their business and offer a more meaningful connection with customers. Let’s face it, as a business now, if you don't have a social media presence, can you say that you have a fully-rounded marketing strategy?
Social listening goes beyond simply monitoring mentions of your brand online. It’s about actively tuning into conversations, trends and feedback across all relevant social platforms to help gain insights into your customers’ needs and pain points.
“No matter your industry, social media is an effective way to reach your target audience, strengthen your brand, establish a loyal customer base and increase your revenue.” [Forbes]
