Summary of "Listening and engagement on social media | Google Digital Marketing & E-commerce Certificate"
Summary: Listening and Engagement on Social Media
Source: Google Digital Marketing & E-commerce Certificate
Key Concepts & Frameworks
Social Listening Framework
A two-step process: 1. Monitoring social media platforms for mentions of your brand, products, competitors, and relevant keywords. 2. Analyzing collected data to derive insights and plan actions, from responding to individual customers to adjusting broader marketing strategies.
Social Engagement Metrics
- Likes, favorites, comments, shares, retweets, saves, clicks, hashtags, mentions.
- Engagement is a key indicator of content resonance and brand connection.
Content Development & Brand Voice
- Write content tailored to your audience’s language, interests, and platform norms.
- Use a consistent brand voice (personality and tone) to build recognition, trust, and loyalty.
- Differentiate between brand voice (consistent personality) and tone (adapted per situation/platform).
- Employ brand voice guidelines to ensure consistency across teams and channels.
Content Repurposing Playbook
- Identify high-performing, evergreen content aligned with strategic goals (traffic, leads, awareness).
- Repurpose formats (e.g., webinar → video, ebook, blog post, podcast, checklist).
- Examples:
- Break listicles into multiple posts
- Convert stats into infographics
- Create GIFs from videos
- Answer FAQs by linking to existing content
- Use tools (e.g., WordPress auto-publishing, GIF creators) to streamline repurposing.
Strategic Recommendations & Tactics
Social Listening Best Practices
- Use relevant keywords including brand/product names, common misspellings, slogans, key people, hashtags, and industry buzzwords.
- Monitor platform-specific conversations since audience language and frequency differ (LinkedIn vs. Twitter vs. Instagram).
- Analyze customer sentiment to identify pain points, satisfaction drivers, and FAQs.
- Use insights to improve products, customer service, marketing content, and competitive positioning.
- Respond quickly and appropriately to customer feedback, balancing private replies vs. public posts to manage reputation.
Competitive & Industry Analysis via Social Listening
- Track competitors’ product reception and content performance.
- Learn from competitors’ successes and mistakes to optimize your own strategy.
- Identify industry trends, gaps, and opportunities for innovation or content creation.
Increasing Social Media Engagement
- Be social: respond frequently to comments, mentions, and questions.
- Provide excellent, empathetic customer service via social channels.
- Develop an authentic, personal brand voice (e.g., sign posts, use humor/warmth, show employee images).
- Tailor content to audience needs, teaching or inspiring them to build credibility and trust.
- Use creative engagement tactics: contests, polls, quizzes, spotlight customers/employees, user-generated content, coupons, and giveaways.
Growing Followers
- Followers are key to organic reach and indicate brand relevance.
- Platform-specific tactics (example: Twitter):
- Frequent posting (tweets), active engagement (retweets, replies, tagging)
- Use relevant but limited hashtags to increase discoverability
- Include eye-catching visuals to boost retweets and engagement
- Optimize Twitter bio with keywords, brand personality, and links
- Promote social accounts via other marketing channels (email, website, in-store)
- Apply similar principles across other platforms, adjusting for audience and platform dynamics.
Content Writing Best Practices
- Research audience interests, values, challenges.
- Write directly to the audience’s perspective, focusing on how your brand improves their life.
- Keep posts short, simple, and scannable (use headlines, bullets, lists).
- Always include a clear call to action (e.g., like, share, visit website, subscribe).
- Maintain brand voice consistency and avoid grammar/spelling errors.
Brand Voice Development Process
- Define brand personality (e.g., coach, friend, parent; adjectives like friendly, confident, casual).
- Review existing content and audience interactions to understand current voice.
- Ensure honesty and authenticity; avoid jargon and complicated terms.
- Create brand voice guidelines covering mission, personality, vocabulary, tone, and examples for consistent content creation.
Key Metrics & KPIs Mentioned
- Engagement metrics: likes, comments, shares, retweets, saves, clicks, mentions
- Follower growth: indicator of brand relevance and organic reach
- Customer retention: improved by engagement and responsiveness on social media
- Customer satisfaction & loyalty: enhanced through timely, empathetic responses and authentic communication
Case Study / Example
Black and Bold Coffee Company - Values: community investment, diversity, quality product access - Expresses these values consistently through its social media brand voice, helping build trust and distinctiveness
Tools & Resources
- Social listening tools (implied as essential for tracking mentions and analyzing data)
- Content repurposing tools (e.g., WordPress for blog-to-twitter threads, GIF creation software)
Presenters / Sources
- Google Digital Marketing & E-commerce Certificate instructors (no individual names provided)
- Referenced Sprout Social report on customer-brand connection impact on spending and loyalty
Overall, this lesson provides a comprehensive playbook for integrating social listening into social media marketing strategies, improving customer engagement, growing followers, and creating compelling content with a consistent brand voice.
Category
Business
