ut what makes them tick empowers you to tailor your messaging to attract their attention because you’ve found out their interests, concerns, pain points, preferred communication channels and more.  But where do you even start? Bar tracking down where your customers go for coffee and trying to eavesdrop (which we generally don’t recommend), a good way to research your market is by doing some social listening.  Where to find the juicy goss Social listening essentially means tracking your social media platforms for interactions, keywords, mentions and conversations related to your brand, and gaining insights from this chit-chatter. All the juicy goss you’ve found out from doing this (such as what’s trending, what people are obsessing over, what they’re hating) will help you align your offering with their preferences so that You + Your Customers = A Perfect Match.  A great example of social listening online would be if you owned a fashion boutique that prides itself on stocking exclusive brands aimed at a high-end target audience. Say you’re scrolling through your DMs one day and responding to some comments, and you notice a few followers mentioning that they wished you stocked a popular new brand that’s been trending on social media. You take a mental note to start stocking this brand so you can a) make your regular customers happy and b) possibly attract new customers who are looking for this brand but didn’t know your boutique existed.  Using social listening to inform your next moves is a tried and true method of getting customers on the side and building your reputation as an agile brand responsive to the ever-evolving demands of customers.  Social listening is also a highly effective way to gather feedback on your performance. What are customers raving about? What are they complaining about? This is where social listening should become your go-to: it directly informs your customer service strategy and could mean the difference between a loyal group of followers (think Glossier levels of adoration) or notoriety for all the wrong reasons (think thatKendall Jenner Pepsi ad). Speaking of Jenner, keeping up with your competitors is made all the more doable when you’re actively keeping tabs on them — through social listening, of course! Understanding how people feel about you and your competitors will be super helpful in shaping your offering, messaging and positioning within the market.  The nature of the social media beast is that it is always changing. Social listening can help you keep on top of trends as they erupt, so you can be the first to hop on that new Reel style or latest TikTok song that’s going viral. And while keeping an eye on the socials is not only good for your brand, it’s also fun. Embrace the excitement and opportunity social listening provides so you can be a part of things as they happen. While content is king, responsiveness to trends is surely second in line.  Making the most of influencers It wouldn’t be an article about social media if I didn’t mention influencers, would it? Influencers are a great way to reach customers who may already be interested in your product or services but don’t yet know about your brand specifically. Utilising social listening will help identify key influencers within your industry so you can integrate them into your wider strategy. The bonus part is, influencers also provide feedback in their own right, as their content will give you valuable insights into what they liked about your product. Consider an influencer’s social reach, niche, frequency and volume of social activities, and post engagement rates to determine the best fit for you.  Finally, social listening gives you an amazing opportunity to learn your audience’s language. What do they respond to, what do they ignore? Is there a topic that is frequently discussed which your brand could use as a springboard for communication? Do a little research into the most common topics and approach discontent with the same offers or solutions you use in the areas customers do appreciate. Whichever way you approach this, tracking customer conversation and responding accordingly in a way that is on-brand is the winning ticket.