How top brands use social listening to connect authentically
Social listening remains a hot topic within the research and insights industry. When diving into the case studies presented in this report titled, “The Social Listening Playbook: How Top Brands Read their Audience’s Mind (And How You Can Too)” (registration required) from Emplifi, my mind went to the many speakers at Quirk’s recent events who discussed the role of social listening.
The report defines social listening as “the art of tracking conversations, trends and sentiment across social media to understand what your audience truly cares about.” Using this “art form” can result in the ability to predict trends, spot pain points, find unexpected brand advocates and turn consumer shifts into product development.
The following are summaries of some of the case studies the Emplifi report used to argue the importance of social listening in staying ahead of the ever-changing consumer landscape.
#WednesdayDance supercharged
Netflix released “Wednesday” starring Jenna Ortega in 2022. Almost immediately the show went viral because of a dance Wednesday Addams performed. The dance went viral on TikTok as users recreated the scene.
Netflix caught on to this trend through social listening and started to use it to the brand’s advantage.
- According to the Emplifi report, 80% of the total ad spend budget was put toward pushing content inspired by this trend.
- Netflix created content, like tutorials and cast reactions, which made interaction easier for fans of the show.
- Netflix embraced fan changes to the scene. For example, many started using the song Bloody Mary by Lady Gaga instead of the original song in the scene. Eventually, Lady Gaga herself joined in.
Social listening’s biggest role in this case was noticing the emotions Wednesday was eliciting in fans.
Through the hype of the #WednesdayDance trend, it became apparent that fans of the show didn’t just see it as a fun and entertaining show. The show resonated with those who identified as “outcasts.” Something Emplifi refers to as “The Outcast Effect” in its report.
Netflix created a Twitter (now X) account for the character Wednesday Addams and started to Tweet as her. According to the report, this account made fans feel heard, validated and resulted in more content being shared.
The brand also encouraged user-generated content by amplifying cosplays, dance challenges and personality quizzes.
Ultimately the use of social listening was more than the #WednesdayDance trend. Netflix looked at the “why” of the participation and encouraged more forms of fan participation.
Domino’s comeback fueled by actually listening
This was easily my favorite case study in this report because of the creative handling and genuine response of the brand.
Back in 2009, Domino’s was receiving harsh criticisms for its pizza, causing sales to plummet. Instead of ignoring the comments or defending the product that consumers clearly didn’t like, Domino’s listened.
The unique “documentary” Domino’s released in December of 2009 illustrated this well. The first part shows the comments online or said in focus groups. Then real Domino’s employees react to those comments and explain what they did as a result.
The second part shares Domino’s bringing new pizza to those critics. You can see the realness of the reactions in the confusion when opening the door or the awkwardness of the conversations. The reactions proved this was not a scripted video but the critics genuine, organic reactions to the new pizza.
The key point of the argument in the Emplifi report is that listening to consumer feedback in a real way will have great results. Multiple critics shown in the videos even commented that they were once again a Domino’s customer because the product improved and they appreciated being heard by Dominos.
Domino’s stock rose by over 200% within a year of the campaign. The overall revenue and customer sentiment also skyrocketed.
This case study highlights the authenticity that today’s consumers expect from brands. The Emplifi report sums it up by noting, “It’s not enough to acknowledge criticism – you have to prove you’re listening.”
Crocs use of influencers expressing fondness for the brand
In the 2010s, Crocs started to rise in popularity thanks to Gen Z wearing the shoes unironically. However, the shoes were still seen as “ugly-cool,” something the brand leaned into.
Crocs started working with celebrity advocates who had already expressed love of Crocs on social media.
Post Malone was one of the promoters that Crocs worked with. The rapper tweeted “u can tell a lot about a man by the jibbits on his crocs” [sic]. Post Malone and Crocs released four limited-edition Crocs that sold out in minutes.
Crocs did a similar collaboration with Australian actress, Ruby Rose, after she engaged with fans over social media on which pair to buy.
Emplifi stated in its report, “Social media allows brands to spot cultural shifts early and take action while the momentum is building,” which is illustrated through this case study with Crocs.
The efforts of the brand were rewarded with Gen Z adoption skyrocketing and the brand’s stock price increasing by 3,000% from 2017 to 2021.