Thanks for breaking this down into easy-to-follow steps. I use Google Reader and keep trying to get clients and co-workers to understand the value. I'm going to share this with them so they aren't overwhelmed by all the information. I think social media in general -- and listening in particular -- can be overwhelming for people who aren't sure where to jump in. This provides a great starting point.
Heather (@prtini)
virtualimpax
· 10 months ago
Why wouldn't someone do this? I can only think it's because they're subscribing to one of two mindsets - either "ignorance is bliss" or "What I don't know can't hurt me."
You've done a great job of laying out the baby steps needed to gather this information. Surely this will help those who want to move from "ignorance" to "enlightenment" in taking the first steps out of the darkness and into the light.
Sarah Montague
· 10 months ago
I have also noticed that www.glassdoor.com is a way to "listen" to unhappy employees.
Scott Fox, E-Commerce Success
· 10 months ago
This is great stuff, Chris.
Even easier is to set up a free Google "Alert" that scours the web for you. The alerts will email you back any mentions it finds of your name, your company, your URL, etc..
These free alerts land right in your inbox. I find that they provide a lot of actionable info for almost zero additional work.
Jocelyn
· 10 months ago
nailed it! love the last point DO something with what you've learned. Listen, information junkies :)
Bradjward
· 10 months ago
I just had to transition all RSS/twitter search/ feeds from my personal account to a new Gmail account on Monday to prepare for the person taking my position. I wish I had set up a special account when I started the job 20 months ago. Would have made the transition go much more smoothly on my end :)
great step by step instructions. i've used google reader for awhile, but have never taken it to the next level, which is what these instructions allow you to do. the secret sauce to listening, is to refine, refine, refine what you are listening for - otherwise the avalanche will overwhelm.
Tim Bursch
· 10 months ago
Chris, We all want to be listened to. Hard part is listening to others. I think some great companies listen and treat customers as equals. Others, not so good. They talk at you, have crappy service, and make it really hard to have a conversation. I think the tools are out there to open up conversations.
Mick Galuski
· 10 months ago
Chris, a similar post you had in the past got me interested in this crap :) Thanks!
Sean Wood
· 10 months ago
This is fantastic advice and one of those golden nuggets that I can't do without. Thanks again, Sr. Brogan.
AmberNaslund
· 10 months ago
I completely love your approach about using the professional tools as well as the free listening outposts (and full disclosure for your readers: I'm the Director of Community for Radian6 so I'm certainly a proponent of Chris' listening approach and appreciate his recommendation for our platform).
*The* most important piece of what you've described above is #11. Truth is, listening is labor. It's much more an active process than a passive one, and it requires intense levels of organization and parsing of information. It certainly doesn't have to be complicated, but it does have to be tended so you can act on what you learn, in small steps or in big ones.
And you naturally nailed it re: listening being organization-wide. Communication should be, too, in my view (but this for a whole different discussion perhaps). It's not about quantifying and qualifying messages, it's about streamlining how you solve problems for your customers, and finding ways show up early enough to the next problem that you're there *before* they need you.
Lovin' the how-tos in addition to the how-comes. Cheers.
Dulcita Love
· 10 months ago
I've just revisited my Google Reader as of last week and that's how I found your post. I am also adding Twitter feeds of interesting people to my Reader. The Reader is great! Dulcita Love @dulcitalove
Michael Murray
· 10 months ago
Chris, I was watching "40 Year Old Virgin" yesterday, and in a sequence Steve simply asks a girl questions to which she becomes more involved in the conversation. He really didn't break new ground, just proved to be a active listener. I thought it was not only cute and insightful.
Restating and clarifying what the other has said, not asking questions or telling what the listener feels, believes, or wants always helps engage the other person.
Rebecca Krause-Hardie
· 10 months ago
Thanks for articulating this in such a clear simple way.
I've also started recommending del.icio.us to follow keyword tags - helps refine the searches when you see that something has been tagged 525 times.
Andi Narvaez
· 10 months ago
Thank you for the tips Chris! I'm a huge fan of Google Reader and I love how simple it looks... and then, once you get into it... I love how simple it really feels and IS. This is great advice. On an additional note, make sure you begin creating folders to organize your feeds. Organize by client, topic, people, etc. Before you know it you'll be subscribing to more feeds than you can handle in one day so you'll want to have them in order so that you can prioritize and go back to get "fed" over the weekend - or whenever you catch a break.
Harold Shaw
· 10 months ago
Chris - that was a very valuable post, I did not realize that you could subscribe to searches like this. This is a very important way to help track my blog, but also keep tabs on how my name is viewed/used online.
Thanks
Harold
Marsha Keeffer
· 10 months ago
I love this method of using Google as a 'listening platform' - very cool use! You just gave me another reason why I think more and more people will build their businesses - and their lives - on Google.
Nigel walsh
· 10 months ago
Chris, thanks for this- the only comment is Step 4 has been replaced by a "subcrbe to this in Google reader"... Thanks Chris, thanks Google..
Leisa Watkins
· 10 months ago
Another great article. It does truly amaze me how often people fail to listen to what their customer wants. The funny thing is it is something that is really easy to do, and usually costs nothing.
It astonishes me even more when it comes from sales people. If they just listened they would be able to find out exactly what their prospect is looking for. I've been able to be top in sales in various organizations. Not by using hard sales techniques, but by simply asking questions and simply listening. It works.
Thanks for showing us one more method for making listening easier online.
TimWalker
· 10 months ago
Like Andi @15, I use folders extensively within Google Reader (and Bloglines before that) -- makes it *very* easy, for example, to separate searches about your company from those about your competitors, your own name, technologies you're tracking, etc.
One shortcut: like Nigel said @18, if Firefox knows that Google Reader is your default RSS tool, you don't have to copy-and-paste RSS links -- you just click the RSS link, keep clicking until you get to Google Reader, and assign the feed to a particular folder. Easy-peasy.
John C
· 10 months ago
anyone know of an app on Facebook that will do this like the above mentioned twitter search?
Mike Gaiser
· 10 months ago
Awesome info chris thanks!
Curtis N. Bingham
· 10 months ago
Chris, Brilliant suggestion. Is there any difference between having the stuff show up in the reader vs. email ala Google Alerts?
TimWalker
· 10 months ago
Curtis @23 -- In general, (at least in my experience) once you get used to using Google Reader, it's much easier to process things that way, especially if you can go through whole folders of item in "List" (rather than "Expanded") view. If you're not already used to it, it pays to make a habit of navigating with the J & K keys -- you can *fly* through the items with just a little practice.
TJ Sondermann
· 10 months ago
Some of the other search feeds I've used in my DIY dashboard are twingly, flickr, bloglines and delicious. I've also set up multiple twitter search feeds to include competitors, and specific keywords that might lead to people I'd like to follow and/or interact with.
I've kept these feeds out of my reader (it's cluttered enough) and have used netvibes to create an at-a-glance dashboard of all of these searches, updated as soon as I hit refresh.
Chris Hall
· 10 months ago
Great post Chris. We're exploring ways to do the same thing in FriendFeed Rooms as FriendFeed allows room participants to "Like" and "Comment" on things in the Room itself. This way, conversations don't have to go to E-mail in a point to point matter. They stay point to group.
You never know who will have an insight. :)
Another cool feature is the fact that FriendFeed allows you to widegetize the output of rooms so a widget of the listening station can be placed on an internal site that everyone uses already to conduct business. This way, they don't have to do anything special (I.e. set up/go to their Google Reader) to participate.
I think that the coolest thing about feeds and readers/widgets, as I wrap my head around business uses for them, is their portability.
Connie Bensen
· 10 months ago
Thanks for a great post on moving beyond the basics & providing a way to set up some strong searches & then parse out the information to various departments. The key thing is that that may be quite an eye opener for some of those departments. But it will definitely be motivation to get involved in the conversations around their brand.
This is a great quote: "Listening isn’t for marketers. It’s for the organization. It’s for customer service, for product management, for the senior team, etc." This is how we feel at Techrigy (and I'm the Community person there). Our social media monitoring tool provides a versatile solution for the whole enterprise. Thanks for the mention! Connie@Techrigy.com Freemium version http://sm2.techrigy.com
amurphy13
· 10 months ago
Totally agree with your list. I use Google Reader everyday and find it incredibly helpful to monitor brands, but also to stay on top of my blog reading.
Only thing I'd add is to make use of folders and tags. I probably have close to 100 Technorati/Twitter type searches and blogs in my Reader, so it really helps to categorize them. I've even started a "Must Read" folder so that if I'm short on time, I can go to my must reads first and feel like I'm getting the stuff I need. (And yes Chris, your blog is in my Must Read section.)
Tami Vroma
· 10 months ago
OMG Chris!! Usually I read your blog and think maybe I will be able to do that someday. BUT NOT TODAY Today I had actually already done a couple steps--thank goodness I am learning something. Now I just want to learn how to pimp out my word press blog but I know nothing about coding . .lol
Gary McElwain
· 10 months ago
Chris
Great Headline!!!
I knew it was about listening but I just had to click anyways. After all who really wants bigger ears. When an open mind can take in so much more. Thanks for the info.
Gary McElwain
Jeremy LeRay
· 10 months ago
Great info for the beginners and seasoned bloggers as well. The easy to follow directions helped me figure out how to get everything organized. It's easy to get overwhelmed. Starting to get the hang of this.
Ann Handley
· 10 months ago
Nothing really to add to your post or the comments... except to say that that's one cute Boston bull! ; )
Ricardo Bueno
· 10 months ago
I think it's good to be responsive to what people are saying about you and/or your business but it's difficult to be everywhere all the time especially when you're a solo-practitioner. That's why I think setting up your Google Reader and/or Google Alerts is a great way to capture the bits and pieces that make a mention of you and your company's name. I use both and I recommend anyone else do the same.
Bill
· 10 months ago
Powerful exercise. Thanks Chris!
Alain Yap
· 10 months ago
I'd say it is really a chore to listen but to do otherwise is to not care at all.
You could start growing the big ears using 'free' from Google - Alerts, Search RSS and from Twitter, too but even the 'pro' products do offer free subscriptions that really feels like you've got additional persons doing those listening things along with you, just more comprehensively. I've tried a couple and Radian6, Filtrbox and even CustomScoop and I'd say they bring that definite extra to the monitoring table.
Best. Alain
Nadia
· 10 months ago
This is exactly why I read your blog, Chris. Thanks for the instructions!
sandra
· 10 months ago
I think think this is soooo helpful and appreciate all the step by step instuctions. I have had my own business for the last 3 years and did not realize how in the dark I was? I recently started a new job and need to make up for 3 years of very little technology use. Thank you,thank you, thank you!
Josiane Feigon
· 10 months ago
Fantastic blog post- very clever and inviting. thanks,
Josiane
Thewirds
· 10 months ago
*STUMBLED* I will give a try to your tips, thanks chris, really nice blog!!
frank
· 8 months ago
Great starter tip that never get old. I'm no seasoned professional, but i've been at Social Media for a little while now. I just added some google blog search RSS feeds based on this post. Thanks Chris
I'm running a small boutique social media management firm with clients in the residential service and repair business. There is not much chatter about them online. Except... they are very concerned with reviews on Google Local and the other local search/review sites. I find that most of the "listening" solutions are sledgehammers for my gnat. Am looking for a right-sized solution to monitor just customer reviews. Any ideas? Suggestions? Thanks!
markslatin1
· 3 months ago
Chris,
I went through the steps and noticed something disturbing. My blog and site weren't coming up. I recently suffered through a website virus and moved to a new hosting company and scrubbed out the virus, upgrading WP. Although bad news, I'd rather know that Google and other search engines had black listed my site before I got "cleansed" than live under the perception that everything was fine.
I've asked my new web hosting company to see what he can do about reinstating me.
The blog was useful to me for more than just marketing reasons!
Nice work and thanks.
Mark Slatin
· 3 months ago
A couple of months ago I switched hosting companies because I lost trust in the people I dealt with. Trust is big for me. My new hosting company explained that I had a "low level trojan virus" and he scrubbed it for me. All that to say that having gone through your 10 steps "listening" process, I've discovered that Google and Technorati think I'm a stranger. Apparently, I've been blacklisted.
I'm working in getting reinstated with my new hosting service. Those of us who are tech challenged would never know stuff like this. I provide consulting services to my clients to help them grow their business through trusting relationships. Here's just another example of the financial impact of trust.
Just picked up Trust Agents and can't wait to get into it more.
livemercialsarah
· 2 months ago
I think this is a great post! I just started a new position in social media and am learning how to search through blogs on Google Reader. I will definitely be checking out Technorati to be sure I'm not missing out on valuable information. Thanks:)
livemercialsarah
· 2 months ago
I think this is a great post! I just started a new position in social media and am learning how to search blogs on Google Reader. I will definitely be checking out Technorati so I am sure not to miss out on valuable information. Thanks:)
David Esrati
· 2 months ago
I'm listening to Chris at www.summitup.org, where he tells us to Google "grow bigger ears" and here I am. Listening is the new secret to marketing. We're not selling by telling anymore- unless the story is really good, and it's not about us, but about the customer.
Tina Fortune
· 1 month ago
Extremely Helpful information! My company recently blocked all of our personal email accounts and I have been struggling to "keep up." I founded a non-profit for single parents and I do a lot with social media and this is super advice so I can stay connected. Thank you.
ShopTheAndovers
· 6 days ago
Jumped here from How To Promote Your Work. Very helpful information!
oakees
· 1 day ago
Thanks for the easy-to-follow list. Seems easy enough! I´ve set this up now and will start monitoring some topics. Sadly if you want to monitor some competitive keywords there´s a lot of spam-posts out there to filter through. As always!
All Comments
Thanks for breaking this down into easy-to-follow steps. I use Google Reader and keep trying to get clients and co-workers to understand the value. I'm going to share this with them so they aren't overwhelmed by all the information. I think social media in general -- and listening in particular -- can be overwhelming for people who aren't sure where to jump in. This provides a great starting point.
Heather (@prtini)
You've done a great job of laying out the baby steps needed to gather this information. Surely this will help those who want to move from "ignorance" to "enlightenment" in taking the first steps out of the darkness and into the light.
Even easier is to set up a free Google "Alert" that scours the web for you. The alerts will email you back any mentions it finds of your name, your company, your URL, etc..
These free alerts land right in your inbox. I find that they provide a lot of actionable info for almost zero additional work.
@bradjward
We all want to be listened to. Hard part is listening to others. I think some great companies listen and treat customers as equals. Others, not so good. They talk at you, have crappy service, and make it really hard to have a conversation. I think the tools are out there to open up conversations.
*The* most important piece of what you've described above is #11. Truth is, listening is labor. It's much more an active process than a passive one, and it requires intense levels of organization and parsing of information. It certainly doesn't have to be complicated, but it does have to be tended so you can act on what you learn, in small steps or in big ones.
And you naturally nailed it re: listening being organization-wide. Communication should be, too, in my view (but this for a whole different discussion perhaps). It's not about quantifying and qualifying messages, it's about streamlining how you solve problems for your customers, and finding ways show up early enough to the next problem that you're there *before* they need you.
Lovin' the how-tos in addition to the how-comes. Cheers.
I was watching "40 Year Old Virgin" yesterday, and in a sequence Steve simply asks a girl questions to which she becomes more involved in the conversation. He really didn't break new ground, just proved to be a active listener. I thought it was not only cute and insightful.
Restating and clarifying what the other has said, not asking questions or telling what the listener feels, believes, or wants always helps engage the other person.
I've also started recommending del.icio.us to follow keyword tags - helps refine the searches when you see that something has been tagged 525 times.
Thanks
Harold
It astonishes me even more when it comes from sales people. If they just listened they would be able to find out exactly what their prospect is looking for. I've been able to be top in sales in various organizations. Not by using hard sales techniques, but by simply asking questions and simply listening. It works.
Thanks for showing us one more method for making listening easier online.
One shortcut: like Nigel said @18, if Firefox knows that Google Reader is your default RSS tool, you don't have to copy-and-paste RSS links -- you just click the RSS link, keep clicking until you get to Google Reader, and assign the feed to a particular folder. Easy-peasy.
Brilliant suggestion. Is there any difference between having the stuff show up in the reader vs. email ala Google Alerts?
I've kept these feeds out of my reader (it's cluttered enough) and have used netvibes to create an at-a-glance dashboard of all of these searches, updated as soon as I hit refresh.
You never know who will have an insight. :)
Another cool feature is the fact that FriendFeed allows you to widegetize the output of rooms so a widget of the listening station can be placed on an internal site that everyone uses already to conduct business. This way, they don't have to do anything special (I.e. set up/go to their Google Reader) to participate.
I think that the coolest thing about feeds and readers/widgets, as I wrap my head around business uses for them, is their portability.
This is a great quote:
"Listening isn’t for marketers. It’s for the organization. It’s for customer service, for product management, for the senior team, etc."
This is how we feel at Techrigy (and I'm the Community person there). Our social media monitoring tool provides a versatile solution for the whole enterprise. Thanks for the mention!
Connie@Techrigy.com
Freemium version http://sm2.techrigy.com
Only thing I'd add is to make use of folders and tags. I probably have close to 100 Technorati/Twitter type searches and blogs in my Reader, so it really helps to categorize them. I've even started a "Must Read" folder so that if I'm short on time, I can go to my must reads first and feel like I'm getting the stuff I need. (And yes Chris, your blog is in my Must Read section.)
Great Headline!!!
I knew it was about listening but I just had to click anyways. After all
who really wants bigger ears. When an open mind can take in so much more.
Thanks for the info.
Gary McElwain
You could start growing the big ears using 'free' from Google - Alerts, Search RSS and from Twitter, too but even the 'pro' products do offer free subscriptions that really feels like you've got additional persons doing those listening things along with you, just more comprehensively. I've tried a couple and Radian6, Filtrbox and even CustomScoop and I'd say they bring that definite extra to the monitoring table.
Best.
Alain
thanks,
Josiane
http://twitter.com/franswaa
I went through the steps and noticed something disturbing. My blog and site weren't coming up. I recently suffered through a website virus and moved to a new hosting company and scrubbed out the virus, upgrading WP. Although bad news, I'd rather know that Google and other search engines had black listed my site before I got "cleansed" than live under the perception that everything was fine.
I've asked my new web hosting company to see what he can do about reinstating me.
The blog was useful to me for more than just marketing reasons!
Nice work and thanks.
I'm working in getting reinstated with my new hosting service. Those of us who are tech challenged would never know stuff like this. I provide consulting services to my clients to help them grow their business through trusting relationships. Here's just another example of the financial impact of trust.
Just picked up Trust Agents and can't wait to get into it more.
Listening is the new secret to marketing. We're not selling by telling anymore- unless the story is really good, and it's not about us, but about the customer.