You have to Listen

Katie Paine's book "Measure What Matters" a great book for determining what you need to measure and how to measure when it come to social media.

One lesson she writes about is that you have to listen to the marketplace. This is important because in order to serve the marketplace, you need to know what they are saying and thinking.

Here are some tips of how you can listen to the marketplace. 

1. Use Google Adwords:
Figure out people are saying about your company and, equally as important, what they are saying about your competitors. Figure out the "hot buttons."

2. Determine your positions:
Once you've figured out what the hot buttons are and what people are saying about you, determine where you stand on these issues.

3. Verify which outlets matter:
After monitoring for a while you will begin to figure out which sources of information are most influential and which outlets frequently mention you.

4. Remember:
It's not about how MUCH attention you are you're company is getting; it's about WHAT you're getting hat matters. If you're getting a large amount of information but it's a bunch of nothing, then you don't have a large amount of information that you can use.

Listening to what the marketplace is thinking and saying is a great way to start building relationships with the marketplace. Everything ties together when becoming a good PR practitioner. First, listen. Next, build. Finally, maintain. Do these things and you have a good chance of being successful. 

Thanks for listening,

Jake