Honing Your Social Media Strategy with Conversational Data

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The title of this blog article may be rather nebulous to you or it may be downright impossible to understand. What “conversational data” actually means is the information that you are able to gather from the interactions that you and other people have online in connection to your brand. Those data can be extremely valuable to you.

Examining your social media strategy

As you are considering to build the most effective social media strategy possible for your particular business, one of the first things that you should think about first is the keyword search. In that vein, you will want to gather effective tools to help you to hone your search effectively. Your goal is to optimize your content most effectively and to make the most out of the interactions with others online.

Conversational data actually have a great deal of value for your business. Gathering conversational data means that you can use discussions that you have with other people to improve upon what you are offering. The input of other people is critical to your success. Considering that you are not in a vacuum, you need other people to teach you about which direction you should be taking your business.

It isn’t enough to simply respond to comments or questions as they arise. You need to take a deeper dive into the discussion and really get to know your target audience members. The truth is that the better you get to know those people, the more positive an experience everyone will have.

At this point, you may be wondering exactly how you go about gathering conversational data for your business. Well, here are some simple steps that you can follow, which will help you to achieve your goals.

  • Choose the most effective social platform: There are a lot of different important elements that go into successfully gathering conversational data. You need to connect with a platform that allows you to interact successfully in the first place. There are several tools at your disposal that will allow you to really listen to other people.

    • Conduct competitive research: Take a close look at the successes of your competitors. You should also determine how their successes (and the way that they got to where they are) compare to what you are doing and to your results. 

    • Monitor social activities in real-time: Wrap your mind around what your target audience members are saying about your brand and your 0fferings. It is also important to figure out which social media channels they are on so that you can be there as well. That is the easiest way to keep a handle on what is being said.

    • Organize your groups: Organization makes a tremendous difference when it comes to how effectively you can get your message across. You may find that organizing your people according to age, geographic location, and other important factors works well for you.

    • Budget: When it comes to social media activities (including gathering conversational data), it doesn’t necessarily have to cost very much or anything at all. Of course, that doesn’t mean that you can sit back and things will just happen for you. You will need to spend time and effort to make it work. Of course, you probably realize that nothing is achieved without hard work being involved.

  • Pay close attention to who is mentioning your brand: Brand mentions are a lot more significant and powerful than just being a nice thing to happen. They affirm your success in many different ways. Other people can (and hopefully will) sing the praises of your business. In fact, you are the only person who cannot do that so other people need to do it for you. They have credibility when they mention your brand. You do not, unfortunately.

  • Pay close attention to what your competitors are doing: Again, considering that you do not live in a vacuum or a silo, you need to pay attention to what other people are doing. You owe it to your business to gather as much valuable information as you can and to learn from that information. You will want to learn from the positive things that your competitors are doing and the bad things as well. In other words, you want to learn what to do and what not to do.

  • Remember that your target audience members are human beings: At the heart of your social media success is the relationship between human beings. Without establishing a human/emotional connection, you won’t get very far. All of the words (keywords and content) don’t mean anything without the human being behind them.

Conclusion

Gathering conversational data is of the up-most importance. Human beings interact with one another and those data can truly benefit your business. If you do it right, it certainly will. Studying social interactions online will allow you to learn a great deal that can be applied to your business for successful results. Conversations are essential for any type of communication, which means that you cannot afford to take it for granted. You must leverage the data properly.

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Author

  • Michael Cohn

    Michael Cohn is the founder and Chief Technology Officer (CTO) of CompuKol Communications. He has decades of experience in IT and web technologies. Michael founded CompuKol Communications to help small businesses and entrepreneurs increase their visibility and reputation. CompuKol consults, creates, and implements communication strategies for small businesses to monopolize their markets with a unique business voice, vision, and visibility. Mr. Cohn earned a Master’s degree in project management from George Washington University in Washington, DC; and a Master’s degree in computer science and a Bachelor of Science degree in electrical engineering from Fairleigh Dickinson University in Teaneck, NJ.