Have you ever noticed how many people are using social media these days?  Everyone from your best friend to your mom is posting on Twitter, Facebook and other online communities.  What would you do if I now told you that someone was listening to what’s being said?  All the conversation online, ranging from opinion sharing to insightful product reviews to emotional support makes social media the largest focus groups and companies are beginning to listen.

According to SocialMediabiz.com, the companies that will succeed in the current market place, “will be social businesses, committed to forging deep and meaningful relationships with their customer”.  Organizations that hope to connect with their consumers, need to be dedicated to listening what they have to say.  Online monitoring or “listening” is almost a necessity for any organization.  Organizations large and small have invested serious dollars to putting their ear to the metaphorical ground to inform their decisions relating to “product development, customer support, public outreach, lead generation, market research and campaign measurement.”

Most conversation online are unsolicited, that’s what makes it so pure and valuable.  For instance, a pharmaceutical company wants to hear how patients talk about their drugs and an agency wants to know what aspect of their commercial is annoying.   Companies also “listen in” to put out threatening fires and reach out extraordinary customers.  

In terms of executing a listening strategy, there are tons of social media monitoring vendors, each designed to fit the varying needs in the market place.  To get an understanding of what providers our out there,  check out “The Forrester Wave”, a 2010 evaluation of  the top listening platforms in the market.

Social media monitoring is a practice that is here to stay, so why don’t you stop and listen…you may be surprised what you hear.