If people were talking about your brand on social media, you would want to know about it, right? Well, guess what: it’s happening. Whether you notice it or not, if you have a presence on social media at all, your brand is likely to get mentioned on social media.
Keep reading to find out why social media mentions are so important, how to track them, and how to best respond to people talking about your brand.
Social media mentions are social media posts that include a link to your brand. This includes posts where your brand is tagged (often referred to as @mentions) or simply mentioned by name in the caption.
With @mentions, a social media user is usually trying to grab your brand’s attention. With untagged mentions, they talk about your brand but don’t draw your attention to that fact. Both types of social mentions can be both positive and negative (or even neutral).
Here is an example of a tagged mention of Hootsuite:
So @hootsuite, about adding @Grammarly and @canva to the composer workflow.
*awkward silence, looks at the floor*
I love you
— Kent Stones (@KentStones) September 29, 2022
And unlabeled:
Congratulations to all George Brown College content marketing students who have successfully completed the #Mark4022 Hootsuite platform certification.
— Kashif Effendi (@Learnandshare) September 29, 2022
So, people are talking about your brand online. Why is it important for you to follow these conversations?
It’s always good to know what people are saying about your brand. Social mentions give you an easy way to understand the good, the bad, the ugly, and the incredible in those conversations. Here are some of the main reasons why this is important.
social proof
Social mentions of your brand de facto act like reviews. Social media mention monitoring allows you to re-share positive mentions by building a library of user-generated content that highlights the benefits of your brand in action.
Since 75% of users turn to social sites to explore a brand, this is an important way to show potential customers that you are delivering on your brand promises.
Social customer service
Customers are increasingly turning to social media channels for customer service. You must meet them where they are.
Whether it’s a simple request or an emotional complaint, every service-focused social mention of your brand provides an opportunity to show care. Not only does this help satisfy the customer who mentioned your brand, but it also shows other social media users that you are serious about the requests.
Crisis control
Whether it’s a global crisis or a brand crisis, social media mentions can be your early warning system for impending problems. They can also help you understand what your target audience is expecting from you as you navigate murky waters.
Monitoring social media mentions gives you the opportunity to respond to a developing crisis before it gets out of control.
Understanding your audience
Social media mentions are an incredibly valuable source of audience research. Who mentions you? What they’re saying?
Social media mentions help you understand everything from demographics to customer expectations. As you better understand your audience, you can in turn provide them with better content and even better products and services.
Humanize your brand
By responding to social media mentions, you can engage in real conversation with fans and followers. You can showcase your brand personality and make it more human. This is a good way to create a more intentional online presence and build long-term relationships with subscribers.
Now that you know why tracking social media mentions is so important, let’s look at a few ways to do it.
Manual search for mentions in social networks
Most social networks have a notification option to alert you when someone tags your brand on social media. To find social media mentions in this way, you need to open each social media account and look at their notifications or alerts.
Each network is slightly different, but almost all of them involve clicking the Notifications icon and then going to the Mentions tab. Let’s use Twitter as an example.
On your Twitter profile, click the bell icon in the menu on the left. Then click “Mentions”in the top menu.
For social media mentions that are not directly related to your brand, you will need to use the social media platform’s search feature to find relevant posts.
Don’t forget to also look for common spelling mistakes. For example, Hootsuite may be misspelled as Hoot Suite or Hootsweet. Look for each of these spelling mistakes or any other ways people might be referring to your brand to find your mentions.
Let’s look at LinkedIn as an example this time. Type your brand name (or misspelling) into the search bar, then click Posts.
Track and reply to mentions with Hootsuite
Using social media mention monitoring software saves tons of time and ensures you don’t miss anything as you can check mentions for multiple accounts from a single screen.
Hootsuite comes with a built-in social mention tool that you can use to find out who is talking about your brand on Facebook and Twitter. You can respond to these mentions in real time without even leaving the platform. It’s a great way to stay organized and in the know. Here’s how to set it up:
Step 1: On the Hootsuite toolbar, click the Streams icon in the menu on the left, then click New Board.
Step 2: In the Board Type section, select Subscribe to Personalized Channels.
Step 3: Select one of the networks where you want to start tracking mentions from the drop-down list, then select @Mentions in the stream options.
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Step 4: Repeat for any other Facebook or Twitter accounts you want to follow.
Step 5: On the left menu, click on the new board to rename it to Social Mentions.
You can also use Hootsuite’s keyword and hashtag feeds to track social media mentions when you’re not directly tagged. This is where social media mention tracking software really comes in handy, as you can set up multiple search streams and hashtags rather than doing multiple searches with the platform’s own tools.
For more information, check out our post on how to set up social listening.
Set up an RSS feed
Using a tool like RSS.app, you can convert searches on some social networks into RSS feeds that you can follow to follow your social media mentions.
Here’s how it works.
Step 1: Go to the RSS.app feed generator.
Step 2: Scroll down to the social network you want to create an RSS feed for. Not all social networks allow you to generate RSS based searches. For now, you can create a hashtag feed for Instagram and search channels for Twitter and YouTube. We’ll be using YouTube as an example, so click YouTube RSS Feed.
Step 3: Go to YouTube to create a search URL. Just enter a keyword in the search bar and then copy the URL.
Step 4: Paste this URL into the feed creation box on RSS.app and click “Create”.
Scroll down to see the content of the channel. To follow your feed, you need to add it to your RSS reader. If you don’t already have a preferred app, Hootsuite has a free RSS syndicator app that you can find in the Hootsuite app directory. Once you add it to your dashboard, you will be able to track RSS feeds as Hootsuite feeds.
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Learn more about the Hootsuite RSS Syndicator:
1. Respond to every mention
If someone takes the time to mention your brand on social media, it only makes sense to reply to you. According to Salesforce, 64% of consumers expect to interact with brands in real time.
If someone tags you on social media, they are obviously expecting a response. If they mention your brand without tagging you, the response gives them an extra opportunity to impress by showing that you really care about them.
It shouldn’t be difficult.
😂 😂 😂
— Warby Parker (@WarbyParker) September 25, 2022
2. Share your knowledge
You will learn a lot by tracking social media mentions. It is important to share this knowledge with the appropriate teams across the company. For example, if users mark you as crazy because they like the current marketing campaign and want to engage with the message, that’s gold for your marketing team.
Similarly, if customers repeatedly tag you because of a specific problem with your product, or because of a feature they would like you to make available, this is important information for product development.
3. Thank the user for contacting
If someone shares something positive about your brand on social media, you will obviously want to thank them. They help you reach a new audience of potential customers and confirm how big your brand is.
But it’s also important to thank users for reaching out with questions and even complaints. Every negative mention is a chance to win back a frustrated customer and show others how stylish and helpful you can be.
Make sure your thanks are sincere and not cheeky. You don’t have to thank someone for the insult, but you can always thank them for bringing the issue to your attention.
Hello! I’m sorry we don’t have a size for you right now and we appreciate your feedback on this. Expanding our size range is a big priority for us, so I appreciate your feedback!
— Knix (@knixwear) September 29, 2022
4. Share positive feedback
Posting positive mentions is a great way to create the social proof we talked about earlier. You can also use reposts to highlight aspects of your proposal that you may not have mentioned yourself.
For example, Fraser Valley Cider Company’s own content typically focuses on their cider, events, and pizza. So posting this story with a social mention from a visitor was an easy way to show your love for their focaccia.
Source: @FraserValleyCider
Most social platforms make it easy to re-share content, especially content you’re directly tagged in. Instagram’s main feed was an infamous delay, but even they are currently testing the reshare button.
One great way to highlight positive social media mentions is to re-share the Instagram stories you’re tagged in and then create a dedicated Stories highlight for them so you can brag about them for over 24 hours. A highlight with a lot of social media mentions indicates that you are a popular brand on the platform and can inspire confidence in new followers.
5. Stay Positive and Offer Solutions
It’s important to treat less-than-rave reviews as criticism, not criticism. Even an angry comment can help you better understand your audience’s pain points.
Therefore, it is important to treat every mention with a positive attitude, even those that come with a negative approach. Focus on providing solutions to improve the user experience next time. 85% of customers are more likely to recommend your brand if they have a satisfying online experience with you.
For example, one company, @Zappos, earned a lifetime customer by solving two minor problems over the course of 10 years.
And companies that are struggling to retain customers for a second order, and even more so for a decade, can take notes. 😉
— Cosmichomicide 🌻 (@Cosmichomicide) September 10, 2022
Also, keep yourself under control. Deleting messages and purposefully suppressing conversations is rarely a good option. People will notice if you delete their negative comments and may invite you to do so. It just starts an endless cycle of trying to keep negativity under control. Redirecting events in a more positive direction is much more beneficial for everyone involved.
However, remember the wisdom of not feeding the trolls. If you find that a conversation isn’t going anywhere productive despite your best efforts, it’s often better to just move on. Eventually, the troll will get bored and crawl back into the hole it came from.
6. Know when to make a conversation private
If the situation involves someone’s personal information, offer to turn the conversation into direct messages.
On Twitter, you can include a button right in your reply so that the user can DM you with a single click.
Hey Justin, I can check it out for you. Let’s narrow it down to your actual location. Email me your zip code and we’ll get down to business. ^JorgeGarcia https://t.co/8DIvLVByJj
— T-Mobile Help (@TMobileHelp) October 2, 2022
Likewise, if a misunderstanding is likely to grow, it is best to keep it from the public. Again, don’t delete anything, and don’t forget to indicate in the thread that the conversation has been moved to a private channel so others can see that you’re following it.
Difficult situations sometimes can’t be easily resolved with a quick tweet or reply. If a more detailed answer is needed – or if someone has many questions – then private messages, email, or some other private form of communication may be more appropriate.
7. Stay true to your brand’s voice and tone
The team member(s) responding to your social media mentions should be experts in your brand voice and rules.
Wait, that would hurt. I want to go like me for Halloween.
— Wendy (@Wendys) September 28, 2022
Your marketing and customer service styles need to be well aligned, even if they don’t exactly match. And if you like to spice up your responses with GIFs, make sure they’re appropriate for your audience.
Use clear, simple language that everyone can understand. An eighth grader should be able to easily understand your answers.