If you have ever wondered if there are differences between Social Listening and Social Intelligence, the answer is YES
What is social listening?
Social listening is carried out using different monitoring tools, and is defined as the process of “tracking” or obtaining data in real time from the direct conversation that exists on social networks about your brand, product and/or competition.
In general, it is a great ally of the Social Media Management departments as it helps these teams to have a clearer idea about how followers perceive their brand, the acceptance that some action has had in concrete or the feedback of a product.
However, and despite the importance of this data, social listening does not take into account other lines of digital communication and other factors that can influence the conversation, be they social, political, trends, etc.
This is where Social Intelligence comes into play.
What is social intelligence?
Social intelligence could be defined as the analytical process that occurs to answer specific questions by listening to millions of conversations that occur in the digital environment: Websites, Social Networks, Blogs, Forums, Reviews, etc
This data analysis is much deeper, since insights are extracted that provide answers not only and exclusively about the particular brand, but also encompasses other fields such as the industry, emerging trends, patterns and behaviors, or social and cultural movements. .
What’s happening in my industry? What opinion is there on a relevant social issue? What has been the evolution of the conversation about my brand in the last year? Has there been any social event that has impacted the perception of my product?
These could be examples of questions that social intelligence answers.
In addition, by having a much greater scope in terms of the data obtained, it can be part of the strategy not only of the Social Media department of any corporation, but it also adds great value to marketing, communication, sales, product, sociology and technology departments. among others.
Finally, it should be noted that social intelligence allows the analysis of the conversation not only in real time but also from previous years. In the case of Brandwatch, a history of up to 10 years ago can be carried out, which provides additional value if we want to analyze the evolution of the conversation or past events.
What are the main differences between Social Listening vs Social Intelligence?
Here we list the 6 main differences:
1. Depth of analysis: While Social Listening focuses primarily on collecting and monitoring conversations on social networks, Social Intelligence goes further and uses advanced data analysis techniques to extract deeper and more valuable information. It provides strategic insights based on sentiment analysis, relevant topics, behavior patterns and emerging trends.
2. Context and understanding: Social Intelligence focuses not only on what is being said on social media, but also on understanding the context behind the conversations. Analyze content in the context of current events, relevant news, and market changes. This allows for a more accurate interpretation of the data and a fuller understanding of people’s opinions and attitudes.
3. Influencer Analysis: Social Intelligence has the ability to identify and analyze key influencers on social media. It’s not limited to just mentions of a brand, but also examines who the opinion leaders are and how they influence conversations. This provides valuable insight into how influencers can affect brand perception and consumer purchasing decisions.
4. Action and Decision Making: Social Intelligence goes beyond simply collecting data and delivers actionable insights. It provides strategic insights that can guide informed decision making. With Social Intelligence, you can identify market opportunities, adjust your strategies, optimize campaigns and make adjustments in real time to achieve better results.
5. Impact measurement: Unlike Social Listening, which focuses on gathering information, Social Intelligence allows you to measure the real impact of your actions. The analysis is contextual and of the entire digital ecosystem, including news media, forums, reviews, and even graphic media, TV and radio based on digitized mentions.
6. Use and application: While Social listening has a purpose solely focused on Social Media departments, Social Intelligence has a wide range of uses since it can be applied to research, product, communication and marketing departments.
In summary, we can say that Social Intelligence offers a more complete and in-depth vision of the perception of the brand and the market compared to Social Listening. In addition, it provides actionable information that can guide informed decision-making in marketing, communication, sales, sociology, and technology departments.
