Five Questions to Ask Before Beginning a Social Media Monitoring and Analysis Program May 18
The concept of listening to social media conversations has caught on in a big way in the past year—but before jumping in, there are a few important organizational questions to consider with your team.
1. What are the goals of monitoring and analysis?
Thought starters—goals may include:
- Measuring the results of a specific program
- Gaining feedback on traditional advertising
- Keeping an eye out for potential crises
- Integrating customer service to respond to issues
- Spotting opportunities for creative PR initiatives
- Keeping an eye on competitive initiatives
- Collecting data over time to add aid in market intelligence
- Gaining knowledge for new product development
- Finding out who is influencing the conversation
2. What cultural shifts will be necessary to get the most out of monitoring and analysis?
Thought starters—shifts to address may include:
- Will the customer service team need to be linked more closely to PR?
- Will the results of online analysis be tied into advertising creative or media buying decisions?
- Does it make sense for the team to meet on a regular basis to discuss opportunities and general consumer feedback from the research?
- What voice will be used to respond to questions and issues?
- If a crisis or issue does arise, how will a response be handled?
- If an issue arises on the weekend, who will take charge?
3. What tool(s) will we use to collect conversation data?
There are an overwhelming number of tools available for monitoring—the best tools will vary from one organization to another based on budget and specific goals.
4. Who will execute the monitoring and analysis?
Will the organization hire an internal team to manage monitoring and analysis? How will responsibilities (and budget) be split among brand teams, corporate teams, customer service and/or insights teams? Will the organization benefit from hiring a specialty firm?
5. How often will analysis reports be delivered?
Common reporting periods include:
- Daily monitoring with weekly analysis reports
- Daily monitoring with bi-weekly analysis reports
- Daily monitoring with monthly analysis reports
- Quarterly analysis reports
- Benchmark and follow-up analysis reports for specific programs
Before you spend a dime on monitoring and analysis, be sure to rally the team and use these questions as a guide to get everyone on the same page. The overall value of the monitoring program will be significantly higher.
