How do you get feedback from your audience and peers using social media?

1 Define your goals and metrics

Before you ask for feedback, you need to have a clear idea of what you want to achieve and how you will measure it. Do you want to increase your engagement, reach, conversions, or reputation? What are the key indicators that reflect your success and areas for improvement? For example, you can track metrics such as likes, shares, comments, views, clicks, downloads, ratings, reviews, mentions, or testimonials.

2 Choose the right platforms and tools

Depending on your goals and metrics, you need to select the most suitable platforms and tools to get feedback from your audience and peers. For example, if you want to get feedback on your blog posts, you can use tools like Disqus, Medium, or WordPress to enable comments and ratings. If you want to get feedback on your podcasts, you can use platforms like Podchaser, Podcorn, or Podbean to collect reviews and ratings. If you want to get feedback on your videos, you can use platforms like YouTube, Vimeo, or Wistia to monitor views, likes, comments, and analytics.

3 Ask for feedback directly and indirectly

One of the simplest ways to get feedback from your audience and peers is to ask for it directly. You can do this by adding a call to action at the end of your content, such as inviting your audience to share their thoughts, questions, or suggestions. You can also create polls, surveys, or quizzes to get more specific and structured feedback. For example, you can use tools like Google Forms, SurveyMonkey, or Typeform to create and distribute surveys. Alternatively, you can get feedback indirectly by observing and analyzing the behavior and reactions of your audience and peers. You can do this by using tools like Google Analytics, Facebook Insights, or Twitter Analytics to track and measure your performance and engagement.

4 Respond and engage with your feedback

Getting feedback is not enough; you need to respond and engage with it. This shows that you value and appreciate your audience and peers, and that you are willing to learn and improve. You can do this by acknowledging, thanking, answering, or following up on the feedback you receive. You can also use feedback as an opportunity to start or join a conversation, to share more insights, or to invite more feedback. For example, you can use tools like Hootsuite, Buffer, or Sprout Social to manage and interact with your social media feedback.

5 Evaluate and act on your feedback

Finally, you need to evaluate and act on your feedback. This means that you need to analyze and interpret the feedback you receive, and use it to inform your decisions and actions. You need to identify the strengths and weaknesses of your content, the opportunities and threats for your growth, and the gaps and needs of your audience and peers. You also need to prioritize and implement the changes and improvements that will enhance your value and impact. For example, you can use tools like SWOT analysis, SMART goals, or PDCA cycle to plan and execute your feedback-based actions.

6 Here’s what else to consider

This is a space to share examples, stories, or insights that don’t fit into any of the previous sections. What else would you like to add?