WHAT is "Listening" on-line?
It is monitoring, reading and comprehending the conversations online - especially about YOU. You should monitor, read what is being said and understand it so that you can engage and change opinions (customer service or client service). There are conversations happening everywhere - some are personal where others are indirect as they are more about our profession Both are equally important to listen to.
How to Start Listening
In social media we are here to engage and build relationships with people. Hearing their conversation allows us to be able to jump in and engage in a non-intrustive, service sort of way. The first step in learning how to listen is to set up a listening station
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Where to Listen
What Should You Listen For?
Opportunity. We are listening for opportunity. Mentions of our hospital or organization, whether positive or negative need to be heard; mentions of our competitors need to be heard as well as what is going on in the industry. Ignoring these is passing up opportunity. Listen for:
· Inquiries
· Praise
· Complaints
· Recommendations/referrals to others
· Mentions of: company name, abbreviations, key players, product and specific services.
When we listen we find a wealth of information.
Postive: Ugh, Just got laid off at ABC Animal Hospital. Sucks. Wish them well as I know the economy is bad right now.
Negative: Dumb asses at ABC Animal Hospital just laid me off. Let's see how much of a disaster that place can become.
Both mention the name of the hospital. By listening you have learned what they are up to and also if this gal is someone you would consider hiring when her resume comes across your desk.
Listening in your industry is a bit different as it is on a broader scale. This should yield more results however analyzing the conversations and filtering them over time will bring the desired results. In the beginning, you would listen for:
· Broad keywords that are used to describe your industry
· Targeted core keywords for your specific services and/or product
· Non-industry used terms - if the general public calls it something different or abbreviates it, you listen for that as well.
· Industry leaders
Listening in social media is the foundation for any social media plan. How do you know how to even begin engaging (i.e. fixing problems or jumping in as an expert) if you have no idea what the online community is talking about, how they liked to be talked to or where to best place your message? Success in social media does not come from a free for all. It is about listening and engaging properly but you cannot engage until you listen and continue to listen. Tom does an excellent job at this.
Every conversation is opportunity. Your hospital team has to listen for inquiries, and you should listen for profession (veterinary medicine) mentions so that you can be proactive and also reactive and that makes you on top of the news, relevant and constantly in the know for your clients. So start listening.
Currently, we have re-released our story on 
You can "tag" your friends and pages that you "like" by placing the "@" symbol in front of their name in your status updates.
