Privacy is a hot-button issue these days - consumers are increasingly uncomfortable with the level of access the world has to their information, and those accessing said information are eager to keep the info flow coming.
This friction is at the center of a new infographic that lays out just how much social media has impacted the way consumers feel about the medium.
Dubbed "social listening" by some industry folks and known as "social media monitoring" by most, the behavior in question is when companies monitor social media for mentions of their products, services or brand online.
The process is simple: brand managers use social media monitoring software to sift through the trove of shared content to engage users talking about specific keywords related to their brands.
This social media listening is of increasing importance for many brands: in a recent Netbase survey, 42% of companies surveyed are prioritizing "social listening" in 2013 (infographic below).
Even as the practice becomes more mainstream, different consumer demographics had different reactions to the concept of social media listening.
As far as consumer expectations, the majority of survey respondents wanted companies to listen. Nearly a quarter of all respondents, however, did not know if they wanted consumers to listen to what they say online.
The survey also found the following contradictory items:
- 32% of people have no idea companies are listening online.
- 51% want to talk about companies on social media without companies listening.
- 43% think social media listening is an intrusion on their privacy.
- 48% say companies should just listen to improve products and services.
- 58% only want companies to respond to complaints on social media.
- 42% expect companies to respond to positive comments on social media.
- 64% only want companies to respond to social comments only when spoken to.
The numbers are all over the place, which means two things: 1) consumers are still trying to understand social media and how to best use it, and 2) companies should be very sensitive to individual posts rather than have a one-size-fits-all response to social media interactions.