Listening:
Free Tools & Techniques for
Nonprofit Brand Monitoring
Gregory Heller
Partner & Strategist
CivicActions
twitter @gregoryheller

“A powerful global conversation has begun.
Through the internet, people are discovering and
inventing new ways to share relevant knowledge with
blinding speed.”
(The Cluetrain Manifesto, Levine and Locke

What Is Listening?
Brand Monitoring is developing tools and techniques
to hear what people are saying about your
organization and your issues.
Everyone with an internet connection can say
something that others will see or hear.
You need to know who is saying what.
People are already talking about you and your issues.

Keywords...
And how to find them:

Brainstorm with your staff, members, audience

Google Trends (http://www.google.com/trends)

Ask for help/feedback from others
 On Twitter, or Facebook for example

Delicious

Finding Keywords w Delicious
Use Delicious to see tags used by others

Testing Keywords w Google Trends

Listening Strategy
Developing a Listening Strategy is essential

Where to listen
 Google News and Blog search, Technorati, Twitter
 Trendrr, Twendz
 Facebook Lexicon

How to listen
 feed readers (Google reader, Bloglines)
 Schedule time to listen

Re-evaluate your searches REGULARLY

Google Blog Search

Technorati
Detailed search and analysis

High level analysis of keyword trends

Listening Tools:
Twitter Search
Search for Keywords, Look at Trending Topics

Search & Hash Tags

Monitter: Twitter Search

Delicious Subscriptions
You can subscribe to Delicious Tag Feeds.
Find the important tags, subscribe to the feeds
through delicious, OR your feed reader of choice.

Listening Tools:
Google Reader

Google Reader
A google news search result in google reade

Google Reader
Leverage your listening, use Google Reader to share

Other Sources
There are many other sources, and new ways of
searching emerge daily.
You can't find or use them all. Find the ones that work
for you. Re-evaluate periodically.
Twine is a social news and bookmark site
Loud3r is an automated semantic news site

Join the conversation

You know who is talking

You know what they are talking about

You know where they are talking

Assign staff resources

Make time in the schedule

Check in to make sure it is happening

Notes and Resources
Visit Our Website For More Resources:
http://CivicActions.com/social-media
Gregory Heller
Partner & Strategist
twitter @gregoryheller