Social listening is a digital marketing strategy in which companies and brands search social media platforms and online forums to find mentions of their name, products, competitors and other relevant terms. It's not just about responding directly to customer enquiries or comments - although that is an important part of it. Rather, social listening is used as a method to gain deep insights into the moods, opinions and needs of consumers.

With the information gathered in this way, companies can recognise trends, monitor the perception of their brand and even influence product developments. It is a proactive form of customer service that allows potential problems to be identified before they escalate. In addition, social listening can serve as a tool for competitive analysis by providing insights into competitors' strategies and performance.

It is important to use specialised software tools that can analyse large amounts of data and convert it into meaningful reports. These tools can perform sentiment analyses, measure reach and even provide demographic information about the people talking about the brand online.