How does social listening handle PR crises and manage image? A must-read for beginners!

What are big data and social media listening (Social Listening)? How do they differ from traditional media monitoring and clipping? uMax Data has an article to answer your questions!

From Traditional Clipping to Social Listening

For businesses to maintain their brand image, avoid and handle crises (Crisis management), meticulous and rigorous brand management is essential. Traditionally, data collection was conducted manually through press clippings or traditional electronic databases, followed by statistical analysis and categorization. However, as social media becomes increasingly important, social media monitoring has become indispensable. Professionals in marketing, public relations, and media relations are beginning to realize that these voices cannot be ignored.

  How does social listening help in addressing public relations crises?

Nowadays, many public relations crises originate and escalate online, such as the "Lancome Denise Ho incident" from a few years ago, and more recently, common occurrences like boycotts and attacks by netizens. Detecting these issues through social media listening, coupled with immediate reporting, response, and monitoring, is crucial to prevent further escalation. However, given the heavy workload of corporate public relations teams, it is challenging to monitor online activities around the clock. How can organizations identify and handle crises while maintaining their brand image? Below, we will break downthe three-step approach to using social listening in public relations：

 

1. Prevent problems before they occur; stay updated with online trending topics.

Currently, many companies' public relations and communications departments have the habit of conducting daily news clipping, aiming to understand the company's/institution's image in the public and media, and reporting to senior management as a reference for decision-making. However, relying solely on the clipping model often consumes a significant amount of manpower and resources, is costly, and cannot keep up with the ever-changing and widely disseminated opinions of netizens.Social listening can help companies quickly and extensively gather online comments related to their brand or issues, and utilize intelligent systems to identify potentially risky trending topics. This allows PR personnel to stay updated on public opinions with just a few minutes of effort each day, enabling them to detect focal points and potential crises early, and take preventive measures.

uMax Data Daily Express gathers the hottest and latest posts from major platforms and delivers them to your inbox on a regular schedule. Whether it's pandemic updates, trending topics across organizations, or competitor activities, you can get a comprehensive overview at a glance and stay ahead by mastering the latest trends.  

2. Seize the golden time, detect early, and address promptly.

When a public relations crisis arises, we must seize the "golden hour," identifying and responding as early as possible to prevent the crisis from escalating. In the digital age, the lifecycle of a PR crisis has undergone significant changes;incidents often do not fade away naturally, and one wave of crisis may be followed by another. Therefore, addressing, explaining, and responding in a timely manner can more effectively safeguard an organization's image.

However, the decision-making process of large organizations is rigorous. When faced with a "PR disaster," it may involve social media editors, public relations departments, legal teams, management, frontline service staff, and others, requiring time for discussion and coordination. If there is a lack of network monitoring and alert systems, the issue often spreads widely before being discovered, leaving the organization unprepared.

One of the important functions of social listening is the intelligent automatic alert system, which can provide early warnings at the initial stages of a crisis,helping public relations handle crises more efficiently.

uMax Data provides real-time alerts with flexible settings, delivering precise warnings based on sensitive words, negative sentiment expressions, and metrics such as Facebook reactions, effectively reducing unnecessary false alarms. Managers can receive alerts via email or instant messaging software, making it effortless to defuse potential issues anytime, anywhere.  

3. Long-term monitoring, establishing KPIs, and daily operational processes

To manage an organization's image in the long term, the organization should also "take the initiative." In addition to carefully preventing crises, incorporating social listening into your daily operations can more effectively manage the online image and, in the long run, foster good relationships between the organization and netizens.

If an organization operates social media platforms, editors can use social listening to identify trending topics and enhance the effectiveness of posts. Even if social media is not the organization's primary external communication channel, social listening can help the organization better understand the language, concerns, and trending topics of internet users, which can benefit the organization's image.

uMax Data's social listening intelligence platformFurther assist you in building an index for your organization's online presence, setting KPIs, and incorporating intelligent reporting features, making it convenient for PR and communications professionals of all backgrounds to operate and quickly integrate into your business processes.   uMax Data understands that many organizations lack experience in social listening and specifically offers an entry-level solution that is low-cost, lightweight, and user-friendly, significantly reducing both expenses and the time required for training.Contact usfor detailed information about the plan. 

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uMax Data Technology Limited, founded in Hong Kong in 2016, is an innovative technology company driven by artificial intelligence and data. uMax Data offers a variety of SaaS products and solutions, including Social Intelligence Platform (SIP), on-premises AI server, social listening and online alert systems, all-in-one intelligent research and event management platform, AI search engines, social intelligent customer service platforms, AI Agents and chatbots, brand public opinion insights, social media risk management, and multimodal data processing and digital upgrading solutions. These are collectively known as "Social Intelligence." These products not only enhance enterprise productivity and efficiency but also help businesses make more informed decisions.

Want to analyze customer opinions through online discussions? Understand what netizens are thinking? Emailinfo@umaxdata.com immediately to request related case studies and insight reports.