Introduction


I know people are talking about my brand and industry online, but what does it mean for me?
     Introduce book concepts

Who should read this book?

What this book is not

Table of contents

Social media listening and analysis: A real world example
     How we applied social listening to the development of the book itself


Where We Started: A Brief History on Media Monitoring and Analysis


The History of Media Monitoring
The Barcelona Principles


Chapter 1  Why We Listen: Monitoring, Insights and Measurement


Selling in social: even if you never set up your own social properties, social media is a powerful research tool. If you’re wondering whether social media makes sense for your organization, always start by listening

Introduction to our cast of characters (one page each, including graphics)

Mary: fashion designer and small business owner (Daisy’s Doggie Sweaters)

Maggie: Vice President of Marketing for Friendlie Bank, a national bank

Dexter: Account Executive at Convie PR; comes up with creative ideas and content for Abby’s cupcakes, a local cupcake shop in Lansing, Michigan.

Why listen to social media conversations?

Monitoring
     Keep an eye out for a potential crisis
     Monitoring: Spot opportunities for creative initiatives
     Monitoring: Respond to customer service issues

Insights
     Collect data to aid in market intelligence
     Gain knowledge for product innovation and development
     Keep an eye on competitive initiatives
     Find out who is influencing social conversations

Measurement
     Measure the results of specific programs in order to reallocate budgets toward initiatives that are working
     Gain feedback on traditional advertising in order to drive changes in future media buys or creative development

Note: All of these “whys” will tie to specific goals in the next chapter

Chapter 
2  Setting Objectives for Social Media Listening


Getting Started

Gather all relevant parties
     What cultural shifts will be necessary?
     Who will execute the monitoring and analysis?

Determine your business objectives for listening (reasons to listen); this is where this book will differentiate itself from others—many other books are about how to jump right into engagement or measure results, while we’ll focus on the fact that listening is a research tool before all else.
     Improve business practices, programs or products
          Product innovation
          Customer service
     Understand competitive advantages or disadvantages
     Reallocate or reduce business expenses
     Listen for ongoing threats and opportunities
          Customer service
          Reputation management/crises
          Opportunities for new initiatives

Different organizations have different listening objectives

Daisy’s Doggie Sweaters Listening Objectives:
     Improve products based on ongoing fashion trends
     Improve customer service by connecting to customers online
     Reallocate business expenses by focusing on initiatives that gain positive results
     Listen for ongoing threats and opportunities

Friendlie Bank Listening Objectives:
     Improve products based on customer complaints and compliments
     Understand perceptions around competitors in order to drive product development and marketing messages
     Improve customer service by connecting to customers online
     Reallocate business expenses by focusing on initiatives that gain positive results
     Listen for ongoing threats and opportunities

Abby’s Cupcakes Listening Objectives:
     Understand perceptions around local competitors in order to marketing messages
     Improve customer service by connecting to customers online
     Reallocate marketing budget
     Listen for ongoing threats and opportunities

Determine which methods you will use to meet business objectives

Improve business practices, programs or products
     Analyze topics and sentiment related to the organization and specific products
     Analyze online customer complaints and questions against other forms of customer service (comment cards, calls, etc.)

Understand competitive advantages and disadvantages
     Analyze topics and sentiment related to competitive and industry topics
     Analyze share of voice and conversation spikes over time
     Analyze industry engagement on Facebook (EdgeKick)

Reallocate or reduce business expenses
     Analyze reactions to brand messaging (topics and sentiment)
     Facebook page engagement analysis
     Analyze where customers or potential customers are engaging
     Analyze web traffic drivers

Listen for ongoing threats and opportunities
     Set up an ongoing monitoring program
     Identify people who influence the brand and build relationships with them

Getting Started With Measurement

Goals versus tactics

S.M.A.R.T. goals (this will be our only acronym, since our book review research shows that people don’t really like acronyms)

Tie goals to metrics; note complimentary offline metrics (metrics are more powerful when working together to remove biases)
     Daisy’s Doggie Sweaters
     Friendlie Bank
     Abby’s Cupcakes

Determine what you will measure against
     Measure against yourself over time
     Measure against competitors and/or the industry

Determine reporting timeline

Take action on findings; bring all relevant parties together again

Chapter 
3  Evaluating Listening Tools


Pricing Structure

Media Type Coverage

Access to Historical Data

Data Portability

Usability

Languages

Customer Service

Additional Special Features

Evaluating the Right Listening Tool for Your Organization

How to approach tool research

Determine non-negotiable for your organization based on goals

Expert quotes: What do you look for in a social media listening tool?

Filling in the Gaps: Free Social Search and Analytics Tools

Daisy’s Doggie Sweaters Tool Selection

Non-negotiables based on goals

Sample tool selection (show chart comparisons)

Friendlie Bank Tool Selection

Non-negotiables based on goals

Sample tool selection (show chart comparisons)

Abby’s Cupcakes Tool Selection

Non-negotiables based on goals

Sample tool selection (show chart comparisons)

Chapter 
4  Setting up Your Search Keywords


What is Boolean Search?

Boolean Search Cheat Sheet

Twitter Search Tricks

Google Search Trick

Setting up Search Terms to Find Conversations Around a Brand, Industry or Concept

Avoid these pitfalls when building your keyword lists
     Vague keywords
     Repetitive keywords

Sample keyword lists
     Daisy’s Dog Sweaters
     Friendlie Bank
     Abby’s Cupcakes (local search)

Inclusive and exclusive keywords

Chapter 
5  Getting Started with Social Media Analysis


Benchmark reporting

What specific questions are you trying to answer? (tie back to listening objectives)

What research and information do you already have?

What will you use as a point of reference?
     Daisy’s Doggie Sweaters
     Friendlie Bank
     Abby’s Cupcakes

Set up your keywords in your tool of choice

Select your date range for initial analysis (based on the reporting timeline you’ve decided on)

Analyze for context and sentiment
     Human Versus the Machine: A Word on Automated Analysis (time versus accuracy)
         Expert quotes: An assortment of opinions on automated sentiment
         Gut feelings versus metrics
     Using representative sample sets for analysis
         What to tag for
     Iterative research (diving into specific topics based on initial findings and specific questions)

Examples
     Daisy’s Doggie Sweaters
     Friendlie Bank
     Abby’s Cupcakes

Ongoing reporting

Identifying and filtering spam (sample sets are the best way to remove)

Researching potential influencers

Analyzing and improving you own content
     Abby’s Cupcakes:
         Facebook
         Instagram
         Pinterest
         Blog/website (including Google Analytics)

Chapter 
6  Listening for Opportunities and Threats


Use benchmark reporting to identify potential opportunities and threats

Real world example: Skittles celebrity opportunities

Real world example: Advertising boycotts

Set up alerts
     Daisy’s Doggie Sweaters
     Friendlie Bank
     Abby’s Cupcakes

Monitoring your own properties versus organic social conversations

Abby’s cupcakes: Facebook and Twitter responses versus other mentions

Set up your response plan

Flow chart (opportunities and threats)
     Daisy’s Doggie Sweaters (e.g. Celebrities and their dogs: imdb subscription)
     Friendlie Bank
     Abby’s Cupcakes

List potential scenarios
     Daisy’s Doggie Sweaters
     Friendlie Bank
     Abby’s Cupcakes


Chapter 7  Presenting Your Findings


Data can lie

Friendlie Bank (show misleading visual)

Use the right charts

Abby’s Cupcakes (show pie chart that should be bar chart)

Simplify your graphics

Daisy’s Doggie Sweaters: Show before and after pie charts that should be listed as tables

Avoid information overload

Tie metrics to specific questions and goals

Search for context over time

Seasonal changes
     Daisy’s Doggie Sweaters

Compare to a similar event in the past (versus last month only)
     Molly’s Cupcake Quarterly Events

Know your audience (CEO versus day-to-day team: details)

Sources and methods transparency (to comply with the Coalition for Public Relations Standards)

Using social research to create content (infographics, media stories)

Daisy’s Doggie Sweaters: Fashion trends PR story