How do you use social listening to find prospects in different industries?

LinkedIn is a great channel to use for social listening. We can personalise our feed by following hashtags, engage with valuable posts and follow influencers, companies and peers. If you don't want to use an external (often paid) tool, I advise you to create a Bookmark Search. 1. Click in the Search Bar and select "Posts" 2. Fill in up to 28 names of LinkedIn Members under the tab "From Member" 3. Select an option from the "Date Posted" tab Now you have an overview of all post from the selected creators and desired time frame, you can start to engage with. Sales Navigator users might check their Alerts, filter them by Lead List of type of Alert and engage directly there.

Once you’ve defined your audience, remember to periodically revisit and refine these definitions. Markets evolve, and so do customer behaviors and preferences. Tools like A/B testing and customer surveys can help you stay attuned to these shifts. Engaging directly with your audience through forums, social platforms, or feedback sessions can also provide valuable insights. In essence, defining your target audience is not a one-time task but an ongoing journey of understanding and adaptation. Stay nimble, stay connected!

Identify relevant keywords ??: Use social media monitoring tools to create search streams for keywords related to different industries Analyze conversations ??: Monitor online conversations and engagement related to these keywords on social media to understand the interests, pain points Track competitors ??: Track the social media activity of your competitors and their customers to identify key players in the industry. Create targeted content ??: Use the insights obtained from social listening to create targeted content and social media Engage with prospects ??: Monitor social media mentions and messages related to your brand or industry to engage with potential customers and start building relationships.

For LinkedIn I like to segment by intent and by activity level. And then each will get a different style of approach. It's about the right message, at the right time, to the right person. Segmenting intent by sourcing people that have attended events. Source people from groups that are targetting a problem/challenge, source based on hyper-active ideal client prospects so you can conduct pre-warming on their posts over the next 2 to 4 weeks before going in for a connect and message.

?? Identify relevant keywords: Determine industry-specific keywords and hashtags. ?? Monitor industry conversations: Use social media monitoring tools to track relevant industry conversations. ?? Explore industry-specific groups and communities: Join industry-specific LinkedIn groups. ?? Seek out partnerships: Identify complementary businesses or service providers in the industry. ?? Share valuable content: Create and share industry-relevant content. ?? Monitor competitor activity: Keep tabs on your competitors' social media accounts . ?? Analyze social data: Utilize analytics tools to analyze social media data, such as sentiment analysis, engagement metrics, and demographics.

Here you have 7 tools to listen relevant topics for your social selling strategy: [1] Quora [2] Whartons papers [3] Answer the public [4] Exploding Topics [5] Ubersuggest [6] Google Trends [7] LinkedIn with a bookmark strategy

Qualified wall strategy with segmentation filters (adding people or keywords) and browser favourites can create the best listening tool for your prospects.

A great tool on LinkedIn is EVENTS. And the beauty of them, is that they are a "renewable resource". Every week new events are made and there are thousands. You can look at events that solve a similar problem to you or would be attended by your ideal client prospects - it indicates the type of person attending an event is active and is about looking for solutions to challenges. Just the type of person you may want. Another great tool in Sales Navigator in particular are spotlights - finding people mentioned in the news and those that have changed jobs in the last 90 days. The first you can use as an opener to a conversation, the later could mean the person is looking to make impact in their new role and open to new resources/solutions.

It's evident that staying attuned to these conversations is crucial for any business aiming to make informed decisions and maintain a strong online presence. The platforms you've mentioned, such as Hootsuite, Sprout Social, Mention, and BuzzSumo, offer invaluable features for monitoring and analyzing online discussions. By setting up alerts, keywords, hashtags, and filters, you can efficiently sift through the vast amount of online content to find what's relevant to your target audience and industry. Measuring and tracking metrics like volume, sentiment, reach, and engagement further empower you to quantify the impact of your efforts.

Beware of generated or false information, the tools you choose should be well accredited and devoid of specific agendas, such as fake ecology activists pushing ideas that mostly help profit-seeking magnates.

Yes tools are great to supplement this knowledge but if you’re spending time analysing personas and customer behaviour- ideally you should be aware of the problems you can solve for them and what your USP is in the kind of the member or audience, therefore helping you create an intentional data first content strategy that really drives engagement and ultimately helps you create brand stories, that sell. It’s also crucial to take such themes and your content pillars into your overall sales and marketing brand content and positioning for alignment. This doesn’t stop at content but also needs to filter down to 1:1 outreach and engagement as this is often just left up to AI to create a soft touch message that never lands due to inauthenticity

Opting for comprehensive statistics/listening platforms enables you to precisely tailor your listening parameters. This means not just tracking your brand mentions, but also understanding the nuances of your industry discussions. By crafting alerts around specific keywords, you can unveil niche trends or pain points your audience is grappling with. For instance, imagine identifying a surge in discussions around "sustainable packaging solutions" in the cosmetics industry. Such insights let you engage authentically, offering solutions rather than just pitching. Metrics shift the needle from mere listening to actionable insights, making your engagement efforts data-backed and impactful.

This proactive approach to staying in tune with your target market's interests and concerns can be a game-changer for your business. Utilizing tools like Google Trends, AnswerThePublic, and Quora is a smart move to identify the questions, challenges, and topics that your prospects are actively seeking information about. This knowledge arms you with the ability to tailor your content, products, and services to directly address these needs, positioning your brand as a valuable resource. Incorporating tools like SEMrush, Moz, or Ahrefs into your strategy allows you to delve deeper into the digital landscape.

Another platform to not miss, which can be pretty helpful in identifying relevant topics and trends is Reddit. There you can find several questions, answers and even niche communities dedicated to whatever topic you listening/searching for.

By staying attuned to your audience's changing interests and needs, you can consistently refine your prospecting strategy and maintain a competitive edge.

Say one thing ab out interactions: Say they are the core of social networking. Joining groups or communities is merely the first step. Ultimately, when it comes to successful strategic commenting, having your goal in mind is key. But how can anyone keep this up in the long run? The answer is simple: Pick connections that add value to your field of expertise. With the right network, exchange will come natural and you will draw more energy from these discussion than you put into them.

The most effective way to engage with prospects in a meaningful way is email marketing automation paired with a strong content strategy. It helps build the relationship and keep you/ your company on top of mind of your prospects. Also it helps you identify exactly the right time to contact your prospects with which message.

Try to keep your engagement practices clean of cheeky methods or crony talk. The point of prospect engagement should always be maintaining or improving your brand image.

Here are 10 steps you can use to find prospects in different industries 1. Define Your Goals and Objectives: Clearly outline what you want to achieve through social listening. Are you looking for potential customers, industry trends, or competitor insights? Define your goals to tailor your approach. 2. Identify Relevant Keywords and Hashtags: List keywords, phrases, and hashtags related to the industries you're targeting. These keywords should encompass product names, industry terms, and pain points. 3. Select Social Listening Tools: Choose a reliable social listening tool like Brandwatch, Mention, or Hootsuite Insights to track conversations across social media platforms.

Empathy-driven, personalized communication is key. The path from prospect to customer is a delicate journey that requires empathy at its core. Picture this: A potential client tweets about the struggle of adapting to remote work in the manufacturing sector. Your well-timed response not only provides insights but also shares a relevant case study of how a similar manufacturer thrived through your solution. Strategic engagement isn't just about finding prospects; it's about engaging with precision. By addressing their concerns and offering tangible solutions, you're building trust. And in B2B, trust is the cornerstone of conversion.

After speaking with a prospect in messenger and they are are a NO, it could mean a not yet. Simply ask if you can keep them updated on the market gossip and latest you hear, here inside messenger. You likely will get a YES to them. Then on a regular interval, message them! I like 1/10/4. 1 message, every 10 days with 4 bite size bits of content - a tip, a tool, a resource and a bit of market gossip or quote. You can message out to over a hundred that you are nurturing and you will get responses. Those that respond be back on them about their current challenges and if now is the best time for them to move forward. You are also giving them threads/hooks for them to hold onto and come back to you while saving face.

Make sure your business chooses the right person for the task. As communication is built on human chemistry, one can't expect a social selling endeavor to be a major success if the appointed person does not feel like it.

4. Set Up Monitoring Streams: Create monitoring streams for each keyword and hashtag to track relevant conversations, mentions, and discussions. 5. Analyze Conversations: Monitor the identified conversations to gather insights about customer needs, opinions, and challenges within the industry. 6.Segment and Analyze: Segment conversations by demographics, location, sentiment, and engagement levels to identify potential prospects with specific characteristics.

Always ask your customers and partners for feedback, the less templated and forced the request, the better. One common mistake is only rewarding agents for getting 5-star reviews instead of rewarding the counterparty for the feedback itself, whether good or bad.