Overtone has been developing Text Analytics and Natural Language Processing (NLP) technologies for years now, and unsurprisingly the general knowledge about these technologies and their inclusion in Voice of the Customer programs, Social Media Analysis, and CRM has increased dramatically. Where once many enterprises were interested in NLP (but weren’t sure how to incorporate it into a customer listening strategy), they are now actively and methodically implementing advanced listening tools as the centerpiece of their Social CRM (SCRM) efforts.
In early February, Overtone was a session sponsor at Blogwell Austin, and this evolution in SCRM strategy was very much front and center. Below are a few things we heard:
-Effective social media strategies require the ability to easily access MEANINGFUL social media comments:
Organizations are “hitting the wall” with keyword-based monitoring tools. Why? Keyword-based systems are poor at understanding context and identifying meaning. If you cannot accurately and consistently identify the topics and messages of value, you cannot effectively engage.
-Social media engagement is shifting from public relations to content experts:
Content experts such as customer care representatives, product managers and product marketers can offer a unique perspective to social media discussions. Their intimate knowledge of the products and services provide them with insights that their PR counterpart may not have. This comes with a caveat though; the “experts” need to be trained in effective and proper communication and engagement protocol, the areas where PR excels.
-Employees should be empowered to participate, but they must be given access to the necessary tools to engage appropriately:
Obviously this includes cloud/software/SaaS tools, but also internal communications resources. Employees shouldn’t be “freestyling” social media correspondences. The messaging and methods of correspondence should be defined as part of a larger social media engagement strategy.
-Social media analysis and engagement strategies are becoming more robust:
Social media initiatives are evolving in complexity. Here are some tenets of a social media “Defense Plan” from a F500 organization at the event:
- Start monitoring now
- Maintain a credible online voice
- Train and empower staff
- Define when to respond/engage and when not to
- Always add value if you do respond
- Issues and problems can become opportunities if identified in a timely basis.
-The social media audience is who ultimately drives the conversation:
It is important to note, especially in social media, that conversations are often initiated and driven by consumers as opposed to outbound marketing and PR efforts. Your engagement, online advertising, and social media marketing initiatives should always be in context to the current conversations. What might seem like an impossible task to hone into the right conversations out of thousands and engage is now possible with a system like OpenMic.
