What is Social listening?

Also known as: Brand listening, Online monitoring

Definition

Systematically tracking and analysing what is said online about a brand, industry or competitor — to spot trends, opportunities and problems early.

In-depth explanation

The difference with mention monitoring: monitoring is what's said about you; listening is broader — what's said about your industry, what competitors are doing, which trends are emerging. Tools like Brand24, Mention and Hootsuite Insights provide this. For agencies it's a premium service for clients with €5k+/month budgets.

Example from agency practice

An agency runs social listening for a cosmetics client. It detects that "clean beauty" is trending — and advises the client to promote a matching product line. Three months later: +40% revenue on that line.

Especially relevant for

  • Strategists
  • Senior account managers
Senly

One platform for your entire agency workflow.

Client portal, content planning, AI captions, white-label reporting — all in one tool. Try it free for 14 days.