It’s no surprise to anyone: There are a lot of conversations going on out in the world today about many important topics and world events. There are countless important matters to discuss, and matters within matters it seems. The growing amount of high-touch topics and the availability of social media as a marketing strategy is both an exciting and somewhat sobering thing. To have so much at your fingertips is a tightrope not only for social media coordinators and marketing teams, but also for clients, businesses, and actually, anyone using social media. 

If I was to be blunt, more and more it can feel like everyone has something to say. Some opinions to give. And while this isn’t entirely bad, it isn’t entirely good, either. Taking a moment to not ignore the important issues around your brand, but to step out of the endless debates, chats, opinions, and keyboard activist to focus on a skill that needs (in my opinion) revisited: listening.

What does listening have to do with your brand? Your company? Your personal page? Your relationships? Your personal life? 

We believe a lot. 

Merriam-Webster defines listening as: “To hear something with thoughtful attention.”

To listen is to give preference to another. It is not waiting to talk. How busy are we as a brand, company, friend, or significant other with talking instead of listening? And how can listening not only help your social campaign (not to mention your life)? In the context of social media as a marketing strategy, practicing social listening can improve your brand, create community, help avoid PR nightmares, and so much more. All by listening. 

Looking at metrics and date is an invaluable practice we utilize here at The AD Leaf to see what is performing well, what could use work, to spot trends, and to develop a strategy. Some would say this is listening, but it is in fact social monitoring. Think of social monitoring as the step before you listen, or the information you are already aware of as you embark on your journey of practicing social listening. Social listening, however, is the practice of listening to what your audience is saying now. It grabs the words as it leaves your client’s mouth and takes hold of them. Look at them. Analyze them. And then use them as valuable pieces of information for them. Let me illustrate.

Apple for the longest time has been known as a brand who is well…stubborn. They have a long-standing habit of being very exclusive, private, and just do their own thing because it works (and this is coming from a die-hard Apple fan). Recently I was watching the Apple Developers Conference, the WWDC, and was shocked at what I was seeing. Apple was having interviews with famous tech Youtubers, they made several changes to their OS that have been longtime requests from their customer base, and so much more. What was even more intriguing was the comment section of this event. There was a massive amount of engagement happening, and most of it was positive. Why? I believe because Apple did something that was new(er) for them: They listened to their customers. Now, we still don’t have the headphone jack, but I think you get my point.

When we listen, something takes place. Your brand sentiment is affected. What is brand sentiment? Let’s call it the overall “mood” of your brand. It’s how people feel about you and what you provide. When you are actively listening to what your audience is saying about you, your brand, your product, your services, and your competition, you can learn valuable nuggets of information that can help improve brand sentiment. 

Listening is something that can be done and should be done, everywhere for your brand. If you overhear someone saying in your checkout line that it’s too noisy, then guess what? That is a valuable clue that maybe others are feeling the same way and that is an area that can be developed to improve customer experience! Listening helps you get in front of PR nightmares as well. Do you remember the Nike shoe incident with the Duke basketball player who’s shoe exploded while he played? Yeah, we do too. Nike didn’t hide from it. They actually saw the storm that was brewing on Twitter and they got in front of it by publicly apologizing and reaching out to the player, offering him a great deal. This couldn’t have been done unless their team was listening. In listening, you can catch small wildfires before they become forest fires. 

Listening and responding helps create positive momentum within your brand. But don’t just listen for you. Listen to your competitors, too. If you have a competing business that is doing well, listen, and see why they are. Maybe there is something you can learn to improve your own! Listening spots trends, too. If you consistently hear people talking about sustainable purchasing, then maybe it’s something you should look into for a new product line. Listening helps you spot both good and bad trends and provides you with valuable information to take your brand in the right direction. 

So, the question remains, “What do I listen for?”

Listen Everywhere

This extends beyond your social media marketing strategy. Listen when you walk into the office. When you walk to the lunchroom. When you login to your accounts. When you take calls. Don’t just listen to the team, but listen to their conversations, and the interactions they are having with clients. All of these are valuable in developing a listening ear. 

Learn From Others

If a brand is crushing it, find out why. This may require a bit of humility, but it’s good for us to become a more developed people and brand. Listen to what others are doing. Learn about their success. What mistakes did they make? What challenges did they have? When you do this, you discover why they “walk” the way they do. Listening learns. 

Be Aware, but not Reactionary

Listening can be tricky when it comes to reacting. Especially if you come across a rough comment. Take a moment, step back, and assess the situation. Listening is meant to help your brand gather quantifiable information to develop a plan around to better everyone. Be careful not to react but to be aware of what others are saying.

Develop a Plan

Did you know that studies show that top-rated leaders have a desire to do more listening than talking? They prefer it. Listening helps you take in information to then develop a course of action. After all, we aren’t only listening to just listen. We are listening to make more well-informed choices down the road. Listening helps you make a game plan. 

Speaking of listening, we at The AD Leaf would love to hear about you and your brand and would love to help you reach your marketing and creative goals. At The AD Leaf ®, we’re here to help you build your brand’s reputation and develop relationships with your customers. Feel free to give us a call at 321-255-0900 or you can email us to info@theadleaf.com. Let’s make great things happen together.

In this day and age, there are multiple platforms for a consumer to post about an experience they had regarding your business. Many consumers use reviews to guide their purchasing decisions. These shared experiences open the door for the positive feedback that can attract new customers but can also actively drive away new potential customers. Your brand’s reputation is critical to growing your business. While it is important to have quality marketing copy for your website and social media, consumers are much more likely to develop their opinion of your business based on customer reviews. 

Claim Your Business on Social Media and Online Review Sites

It is near impossible to gain success on social media without listening to your customers. It is very important to know where your customers are having these conversations around your business. Your business probably already has an Instagram and a Facebook account, but don’t stop there. Be sure to utilize platforms such as Yelp, Google, Zomato, and Trip Advisor. Claiming your business on these sites not only improves online visibility, but it gives you an opportunity to see what your customers are saying about your business. Reviews can also have a major impact on search rankings.

Responding to Reviews

While some reviews might be negative, there is no reason to fear what your customers might say about your business. Sure, these types of reviews can be gut-wrenching, but if the customer doesn’t speak their mind you may never have the opportunity to address their concerns head-on. Use these reviews as opportunities to develop a relationship with a customer. 

Keep in mind that your response should be an effort to build goodwill with the reviewer. Every review should be approached with care, no matter how negative it may be. Even your harshest critics are likely to give your business a second chance when greeted politely and professionally. 

Responding to negative reviews is no easy task. It’s important to remember that you are a human being with emotions, and it can be upsetting to read a review that is damaging to your company’s reputation. Don’t force yourself to reply to a review if you’re feeling upset. Step away for a minute. You cannot allow your emotions to dictate your response. Reply to the review when you feel you can provide a thoughtful response.

Your response to a negative review will vary based on the situation, but always remember to thank the reviewer for sharing their thoughts with you and for allowing you the opportunity to respond. They could just as easily post their negative review to their own social media without tagging you, leaving you without an opportunity to respond. Take full responsibility for their experience and do your best to make things right.

Don’t allow your response to a negative review to turn into a public discussion between you and the unhappy customer. Leave your phone number or e-mail address so you can further discuss the issue in private. Remember to follow the same standards when communicating with a customer offline as you would on a public forum.

It may seem redundant to respond to a happy customer leaving a positive review, but it is absolutely necessary. Responding to positive reviews helps make the already satisfied customer even more satisfied with your operation. Making your customers feel appreciated is the perfect way to build brand loyalty. Let them know that you greatly appreciate their review and continued support for your business.

Neutral reviews tend to be a mixture of positive and negative feedback. Because the customer may not feel as strongly about the situation, a neutral review may be missing some details. Be sure to reinforce the positive notes in your response.  It’s a good idea to ask the customer for more information so that your response is as targeted as possible. 

Encourage Customer Reviews

It’s natural for some of your happiest customers not to review your business. Take the initiative to find creative ways to encourage your happiest customers to share their experiences. If they’re already reviewing your business on Yelp or Trip Advisor, share their comments on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram so that your followers can see what your most satisfied customers are saying.

Each review contains data about your customers that can help you better understand their experience. Listen to what your customers are saying and make the appropriate adjustments. It’s likely that there are other customers with similar experiences that haven’t taken to social media or a review site to share their thoughts.

Social Media Promotion

Now that you’ve gotten some feedback via review sites, let’s make sure your social media audience can read about those experiences. Make an effort to get your social media followers to find you on Yelp, Google, and other review sites. You can also add review site widgets to your website to allow customers to share their experience directly from your website, rather than navigating to the actual review site.

At The AD Leaf ®, we’re here to help you build your brand’s reputation and develop relationships with your customers. Feel free to give us a call at 321-255-0900 or you can email us to info@theadleaf.com. Let’s make great things happen together.

Video has become a key part of social media, and it’s not difficult to see why. As social media grows and becomes more popular, the need for standing out on these platforms as a business has increased. This has led to an increase in video marketing as we know it now. Videos are unique in that they are able to engage audiences with new and refreshing content which is something most regular posts don’t do. In 2020, video exploded on social media, with platforms like YouTube seeing a 99% increase in branded video content and Facebook seeing a 258% increase just between 2016 and 2017, and these numbers are only increasing. Twitter has even shown that a video is six times more likely to be retweeted than a photo post. The power of digital marketing is rising, and with that comes the need for quality video marketing content to be able to market to the public. 

Video content has become a megatrend in 2020, and as a business that is trying to navigate the online and social media world, it’s important to harness this niche in digital marketing. Video marketing is not difficult to do, but it’s important that it is done well. Even when it comes to a business that you wouldn’t think people would follow it’s still important to have. The more a business stays involved with what’s trending on social media, the more people your social media will reach. 

Every company has their niche, it just takes a little creativity. A printing company may want to consider showing their customers videos of the printing process. A clothing company may want to display their clothes on a model to record. At the end of the day, it all comes down to how a company presents its product to their audience. The more interesting the better! Take a look at what’s trending on the internet, and see if any of those things match up with something that could fit your business or keep it simple with an informative branding post. Just make sure the objective is clear to your audience.

Finding out what works in digital marketing is a numbers game, not a guessing game so it’s important to know the stats, and to see how video marketing operates on different platforms. Seeing the direction social media companies are headed is also usually a big indicator of what is trending in the digital world. Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and Snapchat have all seen significant growth in video entertainment and engagement on their platforms, and in 2020, the app TikTok, which was primarily used by teenagers, exploded as one of the most popular apps of the year for all age groups.

It’s important to remember minor statistics when it comes to video marketing as well. For example, 85% of viewers watch a video with the volume off so when it comes to sound effects, try not to spend too much time on sound effects and music. Creating a video playlist is another great way to keep your audience engaged because it allows them to go from video to video. Pinning a video to the top of the page will increase your views and engagement while informing the public of what your business does. You’ll also want to give your video a call to action at the end to make sure your audience takes action. 

Facebook alone has about 100 million hours of video viewed every day. Out of the 79% of marketers who have published videos on Facebook, 85% of them said it was a success. Because Facebook is mostly used for entertainment, marketers should try to stick to entertaining content or emotionally appealing content if you really want to engage your audience. When making video content for Facebook you want to experiment with a wide variety of topics and creative strategies that work for your brand. 

On Youtube, over one billion hours of video are watched every day. YouTube is the second largest search engine following just behind Google. Out of 85% of marketers who created video content on YouTube, 83% said it effective. When creating video marketing for YouTube, be sure to release content on a regular schedule to keep your audience coming back, and make sure your videos are shareable. 

Instagram is considered to be the top social media platform for engagement. Marketers have noticed that although Instagram is a little smaller in audience numbers compared to Facebook and YouTube, the return on investment is high when it comes to getting clients to engage with content. That goes for videos as well with 65% of marketers saying they plan to use the platform in their video strategy in 2020. It is recommended that marketers create video content that is interesting to the user in order to get more attention from viewers. Reduce your wording in these videos, and try to maintain a variety of content with a simple focus since these videos are often shorter. 

With video Tweets being six times more likely to be retweeted than regular photo posts, learning how to video market on Twitter can’t be left out of the bunch. Videos on Twitter tend to be shorter too so it’s best to get straight to the point. Twitter is a more open network than other platforms. Even if you don’t follow a person, most of the time, you can still see the content they post. This is why it’s necessary to keep your topics on-trend. Twitter even has a “What’s Trending” section so you can see what’s popular on the platform for yourself, but be wary because trends on Twitter change quickly. 

Because social media is meant to be a worldwide experience, it’s important for marketers and businesses to engage with what consumers are doing. If we are asking for consumer engagement, it’s only right that we give that back by participating in what consumers want to see. With video marketing, companies are able to provide their audience with entertaining or informative information while also gaining engagement and notoriety from consumers. Even if you don’t know a lot about social media or technology, and even if you think you don’t have the time, there are still other ways to reach your audience on social networks. If you want to better grow your social media and engage your customers in your business, call The Ad Leaf Marketing Firm, the social media experts. Call (321) 255-0900 for your consultation today!

You’ve worked hard to build your brand. From the early days of starting your own company all the way to the present, there has been a lot of effort and hard work that has gone into making your company what it is today. When we receive positive feedback on your company’s social media posts it feels like all the hard work has paid off and we feel accomplished for making our customers satisfied. However, it is not always all positive comments and we are unfortunately bound to have a few negative comments and reviews on social media here and there. While some of these can be as small as a less than stellar review, some can be downright nasty and really harm your brand’s image and reputation. These negative comments and reviews can also discourage you and make you frustrated as a business owner. While getting these negative comments can feel like the end of the world, there are a few things you can do to make the best of this situation and reduce the damage done through reputation management. By utilizing best public relations practices with your response you can make the best approach to this situation for your business.

One of the worst things that you can do with a negative comment is to leave it be and completely ignore it. By doing this it will allow other customers to see that you have a negative comment/review and have done nothing to address it. This may make the customer perceive that you do not care about your customers which can be detrimental to your company or brand. All comments regardless of positivity or negativity should be addressed for the best public relations practices as well as for your brand’s reputation management and image. Replying to every comment also shows that you are willing to take the time and talk to customers about their experience and that you care about how their experience was. No matter how negative the review is, addressing the situation and offering an apology or a solution to the problem will show that you have made the effort to correct a mistake. 

Oftentimes we are more likely to leave a negative review instead of a positive review. This is because we expect good service at all times and often don’t express gratitude or appreciation with good service because we are used to it. However, when we receive bad service we feel emotions such as anger and frustration which leads us to express these emotions as we feel we have been wronged and don’t want other people to have an experience similar to ours. With this being said negative reviews are inevitable because we can’t always offer a perfect experience for all customers. Customers also have a different idea of good customer service depending on the person. While some people may view a mistake as a simple human error and be very forgiving, some customers will consider this an insult and be very upset with your company. How you address these negative reviews is oftentimes how your customers will view and speak about your brand.

While there are many wrong ways to address negative reviews, there are a few correct ways to do this properly. The first is to remove any negative emotions such as anger or frustration before replying. Using negative emotions to combat a negative comment will only worsen the situation and can make your company look unempathetic and unprofessional when dealing with customers. When replying make sure that your reply is sincere. Offer an apology while stating your company’s values and offer a way to fix this problem the customer experienced and offer a solution to make up for this bad experience.

However, don’t offer any promises that you can’t keep or afford. For example, if someone left a bad review at a clothing store that you own because the product was ripped or of low quality, you don’t want to offer them free clothing items for a year. This will not only be costly but will encourage more bad reviews so that customers can take advantage of your free clothing offer. Instead, offer a solution that works for both you and the customer. The best way to do this is by asking them to call or email you to tell you why they had a bad experience. That way you can hear the whole story as well as find the best solution to hopefully turn a negative experience into a positive one. This also takes the negative experience out of the open and limits the exposure it has on social media which can help your company’s image and customer service.

With your business, you want to highlight and spotlight your positive reviews while addressing your negative reviews by using a personal approach to fix them to show the customer that you care and want them to have a positive experience with your company. If you need help in reputation management or repairing it on social media, give us a call at 321-255-0900 or email us at info@theadleaf.com to schedule your reputation management consultation.