Social listening is the systematic monitoring of what is said about a brand, product, competitors and a topic on social media, in discussions and on forums. The difference from ordinary profile management is fundamental: it tracks not only where someone has tagged you, but also mentions without a tag, which would otherwise not reach you. The benefit is threefold. The first is early warning – dissatisfaction shows up in a discussion before it turns into a public problem. The second is a source of content, since people's questions and phrasing are a better basis than guesswork. The third is competitive insight. Set up monitoring for the company name, including typos, product names, the names of key people, and industry topics, and determine who responds to mentions.
See also: Unlinked mentions, Corporate crisis communication, Comment moderation.
