Jeweller - June 2022

BUSINESS
Strategy
The importance of social listening
Selling online is more viable than ever before, however doing so comes at a cost – direct access to customers.
BETH WALKER explores options for overcoming that challenge by utilising social listening.
When I graduated from college my father
and I looked at buying a new car.
At one dealership the salesman jumped
into a pitch about how the car I was sitting
in was one of the most comfortable cars
he’d ever driven. He pointed out the
convenience of the interior layout and how,
as a right-handed person, he found this the
best car to purchase.
I’m left-handed. Everything he had said was
helpful and informative, however, as a lefthanded
person, as soon as the salesman
landed on his closing pitch, I knew the car I
was sitting in was not for me.
Nowadays, we have the opportunity to sell
our products or services in various ways
including online media such as blog articles,
social media posts, videos, and email.
The challenge with digital marketing is that,
unlike with face-to-face sales, you don’t
have the benefit of reading someone’s body
language or facial expressions. If they leave
our website, we don’t know why. It’s not all
doom and gloom, however.
We can still ‘hear’ what our ideal
customers are saying online by
implementing ‘social listening’.
What is social listening?
Social listening is the practice of analysing
the activity and conversations trending
around your industry, including your brand,
and then using those insights to make
informed marketing decisions.
Social listening helps a business
understand what target customers are
thinking, what their needs are, and how
they are searching for information about
your product or services. You can use social
listening to create content that answers the
why, where, and how messages your buyer
persona is looking for, using the keywords
they are currently using online.
Make it a priority
Is social media promotion a part of your
content marketing strategy? Do you
publish blog articles, share industryrelevant
content, and engage with other
social users who ask questions about your
products and services?
If you aren’t leveraging these free platforms
yet I hope you will soon. However, it’s
important to make sure that you plan your
strategy to connect with your buyer persona
on their preferred social platforms.
A few years ago, you could easily assume
that promoting your content on Facebook
would help you reach a good number of
your potential customers, but there has
been a shift.
Edison Research reports that Facebook
has an estimated 15 million fewer US users
compared with 2017 and this drop is in the
12 to 34-year-old age group.
It’s also important to note with Facebook
specifically, user time is decreasing.
In 2016 the average user spent 50
minutes per session. By January 2021
Statisita.com reports, “the average time
spent by day by American users on
Facebook was 33 minutes”.
With fewer
opportunities
for face-to-face
interactions in
today’s digital
world, social
listening is an
excellent way to
keep a pulse on
many aspects of
your business
as well as your
competition.
In February of this year, a Digital 2022
Australia report revealed the average
Australian was spending three per cent
less time on the platform than in the
previous year.
So, if Facebook isn’t the guaranteed
connection space it once was, how do you
know where your customer is spending
their time online? For jewellers it begins by
establishing a social listening plan.
Strategic approach
Creating a social listening plan starts
with what you know. Create and review a
‘buyer persona’ – a detailed description
of someone who represents your target
audience – and then visit the websites
where you interact with your customers and
take notes.
From there ask yourself a few questions: Is
the information you curated still accurate;
are your customers still active in these
online areas? You can also establish
what are their likes and dislikes and what
problems are they looking to solve?
As you are reading the social media
interactions, observe the words used to
identify your industry.
Also, note who they consider your
competition. Next, head to your competitors’
social platforms, such as their Facebook
page, and do the same thing.
Once you have spent some time taking
notes, review the information you have
gathered. What are the keywords that your
potential and current customers are already
50 | June 2022