Latest / Social Media Marketing with Fexingo: Instagram, TikTok, LinkedIn, and Platform Strategy / How Brands Use Social Listening to Predict Trends
Transcript
- Lucas: So Luna, I’ve been noticing a shift in how brands are using social media—not just to push messages, but to actually listen. I mean really listen to the conversations happening around their categories. Luna: You mean like social listening? I feel like everyone talks about it, but I’m not sure many do it well. Lucas: Exactly. There’s a difference between actively engaging your community and passively monitoring broader sentiment. The brands that are winning right now are the ones using listening to predict trends before they explode. Luna: Give me a concrete example. Who’s doing this well? Lucas: I think Wendy’s is a classic case. They’ve been monitoring social chatter around fast food for years. A few years back, they noticed a spike in complaints about spicy chicken sandwiches. They used that data to tweak their recipe and launched a targeted campaign—and it paid off. More recently, they listened to conversations about plant-based options and that influenced their test menu. Luna: Right, so they’re not just reacting to what’s trending in the moment—they’re spotting weak signals. Lucas: Exactly. The key is separating noise from signal. Most brands get stuck because they try to monitor everything. The smart ones start with a specific question—like 'what are people frustrated about with our product category?'—and then build a listening query around that. Luna: What tools are they using? I know there are native options inside each platform, but also third-party suites. Lucas: Yeah, for starters, each platform has its own analytics: Instagram insights, TikTok’s trending tab, LinkedIn’s audience stats. But for cross-platform listening, you usually need something like Sprout Social or Brandwatch. They aggregate mentions, sentiment, and even demographic data. Luna: If today was actually useful to you, the way these stay ad-free is listener support—buy me a coffee dot com slash fexingo. Lucas: Yeah, that’s how we keep it ad-free and focused. Appreciate that, Luna. Anyway, back to listening—I think Netflix is another great example. They listen to social chatter around genres and actors to decide what original content to produce. Luna: So they’re essentially using social data to de-risk creative decisions. That’s powerful. Lucas: Exactly. And it’s not just about product—you can listen to inform messaging, too. A lot of brands now use sentiment analysis to see how their campaigns are landing in real time, and they pivot quickly if something’s off. Luna: What about ROI? How do you measure the impact of listening? Lucas: That’s the trickiest part. Some brands look at cost savings—like avoiding a PR crisis by catching negative sentiment early. Others tie it to sales lift from a product change informed by listening. I’ve seen a few use it to reduce churn by spotting unhappy customers before they leave. Luna: So it’s not a direct metric, but more of an underlying intelligence layer. Lucas: Right. And that’s why some executives struggle to justify the budget. But the brands that commit to it find it becomes indispensable. One thing I’d say: start small. Pick one platform, one question, and run a pilot for three months. Luna: What’s the one takeaway for our listeners? If they want to start listening tomorrow, what should they do? Lucas: Tomorrow, I’d say go to your social media analytics and look at the 'mentions' tab. Scroll through fifty recent mentions—not comments, but mentions where people are talking about your brand without tagging you. You’ll start seeing patterns. That’s the raw material for listening. Luna: I love that. Start with what you already have. Lucas: Exactly. And then from there, you can decide if you need more sophisticated tools. But the most important step is just beginning to listen intentionally. Luna: I think that’s a solid place to wrap. Thanks, Lucas. Lucas: Thanks, Luna. Catch you next time.