Social Listening: What It Is & How to Use It in 2025
Ever wondered what people are saying about your brand online? Conversations happen every second on social media, forums, and blogs—whether you’re part of them or not. Social listening helps you tune in, understand what your audience cares about, and use those insights to improve your marketing, sales, and customer experience.
But what exactly is social listening, and how can you use it to your advantage? It’s more than just tracking mentions—it’s about analyzing trends, spotting opportunities, and engaging with customers in meaningful ways. Done right, it can help you stay ahead of competitors, strengthen relationships, and even boost sales.
In this guide, we’ll break down how social listening works, why it matters in 2025, and the best tools to make it work for your business.
What Is Social Media Listening in Sales?
Social listening for sales is a strategic approach to monitoring online conversations on social platforms to detect signals and extract the necessary data that can further be used to drive sales strategies.
These findings may concern:
- Customers’ preferences and pain points
- Sentiment around a brand/product/service
- Revolutionary sales trends
- Competitors’ moves
- Or other aspects.
While navigating this maze of information, you may draw significant insights to remodel your sales strategy right on the spot or plan improvements for the future.
Consider several examples of effective social listening by B2C and B2B sales professionals.
Social listening for B2C sales
Let’s take the case with Abenson, a retailer specializing in home appliances and electronic devices.
In the comments section, the Facebook user demonstrated a particular interest in one of their products (Fujidenzo Portable Aircon, 1.5hp). The sales team reacted immediately and commented with a link: The item you are searching for is currently not available online. You may want to check out a similar item.
Social listening for B2B sales
Prospecting and selling may be particularly tough for B2B sales reps who work with a very unique product in a particular niche. Yet, social media listening makes it a breeze.
For example:
Assuming you’re in SaaS. Your sales representatives face difficulties when finding prospects for your product, which is ERP software for the metal industry (a very specific niche). However, they may notice a potential customer and grab an opportunity once they listen carefully to social media audiences. Look at the LinkedIn post below.
The sales rep responded to the user’s comment under the company’s post, shared an email to reach the sales team, and dropped a link to register for a live software demo.
These were only several instances when social listening worked like a charm for sales teams. Let’s see how it can likewise work for your team.
How to Unlock Social Listening for Sales
Follow these tips and open the gateway to social listening success in your sales team.
Prioritize the most crowded places with leads to listen to.
Let’s look at the most lead-inhabited social platforms for B2B and B2C.
Places for social media listening in B2B
Try to guess. What’s the best place for a B2B audience?
You may say it in chorus: LinkedIn, of course!
Actually, 80% of B2B leads come from LinkedIn. So, it’s no surprise that so many B2B brands use LinkedIn for prospecting and selling.
And for social listening, too.
The best way to use it for LinkedIn sales is by monitoring discussions in LinkedIn Groups dedicated to your niche. For instance, prioritize broader Groups like HR and payroll management and narrower ones, such as India- and UK-specific payroll.
Yet, LinkedIn Groups are not the only territories for your B2B audiences’ activity.
Overall, the topmost platforms for social listening in B2B are as follows:
- X (Twitter)
- Quora
Places for social media listening in B2C
Social listening on Instagram is a super-powered magnifier of our sales success. Sales reps should monitor all user interactions with posts (likes, shares, and comments) to identify and qualify leads right there and ‘pre-heat’ them whenever appropriate.
Here’s one example from MIRA Safety. The brand encourages the potential customer to “take the leap” and buy MIRA’s personal protective equipment.
A centaur (half-forum-half-social-network) among platforms, Reddit makes a wonderful spot for social media listening in sales.
See how Sleep EZ joined the conversation after noticing the potential customer looking for a kids’ mattress on Reddit.
TikTok
As an example, take the Burger King social media strategy mostly revolving around social listening on TikTok. There, the brand discovers sales leads and warms them up via comments.
TikTok is also a superb platform for finding trendy topics and capitalizing on them to increase sales. This process is referred to as “trendjacking.”
For example:
Beyond Group listened to TikTok audiences, captured the “of-course” trend, and trendjacked its virality for roofing contractor lead generation. It goes like this: I’m a roofer, of course…
So, your takeaway list of the topmost platforms for social listening in B2C is as follows:
- TikTok
Find the right tool for monitoring.
You shouldn’t “swim” through social streams manually without a “paddle”—a tool that will help you simplify and accelerate the whole process.
Consider social media listening tools like these:
- Keyhole
- Mentionlytics
- Kwatch.io
- Brandwatch
- Awario
- Rankur
- Determ
Compare their feature sets to see which best suits your sales needs. Look for features tailored to sales-related social listening, such as a brand mention tracker, sentiment analysis, real-time alerts, etc. Then, make sure to clarify what social channels they monitor.
For instance, Keyhole scans six social channels: Twitter, Facebook, TikTok, YouTube, Instagram, and LinkedIn.
Note: On LinkedIn specifically, you can supercharge social listening for sales with its ingrained tool. It’s a LinkedIn Sales Navigator. Although it’s considered one of the best sales prospecting tools, it can also help you apply advanced search filters, monitor your targeted leads, track their posts and comments, and keep your finger on their sentiment pulse.
Be there to handle every sales-related concern.
Yes, you must be super-reactive when it comes to using social media listening in sales. Your rapid-fire response to a question or concern sets a precedent that you are always available for your leads or customers in need. Besides, you simultaneously clarify all doubts and offer a personalized experience.
As for questions, they can be about:
- Product availability: Do you have this in [color/size/model]?
- Pricing: Do you offer bulk pricing or wholesale rates?
- Discounts: Is there any discount for first-timers?
- Shipping and delivery: What are the shipping costs to [country/city]? How does optimized route management help with delivery efficiency?
- Local store information: Is this product available in-store?
- Product or feature updates: Are there any new products/features launching soon?
Look at the following example from the Fig Loans sales team. They answer the lead’s question: What other financial assistance do you offer, or is this in Chicago?
However, it does not necessarily take the form of a question. It may be just a simple statement explaining the customer’s problem. Let’s examine this case with Glossier.
Problem: I can’t find cranberry on the website @glossier
Brand’s answer: Coming later this week!
Capture customer feedback about your sales reps.
How do your customers feel about interacting with your sales reps (face-to-face, on social media, via email, or cold calling)?
Customer feedback may often serve as an indicator of your sales team’s performance. Positive feedback is a sign your team is nailing it, while negative feedback reveals your blind spots and gaps that need to be filled.
Let’s review several cases with positive and negative customer sentiment concerning interactions with sales representatives.
Example #1. Positive feedback
Here’s what Vograce’s customer mentioned when unboxing the new washi tapes on Instagram: “The sales rep was very helpful with the re-ordering process.”
Example #2. Negative feedback
In contrast, look at this LinkedIn post from the unsatisfied customer after the “worst sales call” with Statista’s salesperson: “The sales rep was rude and got angry with us […].”
Pro tip: Monitor phrases like “negative experience,” “rude,” etc., near the company’s name and use tools like Talkwalker Alerts, which will notify you about new brand mentions.
Remember about tiny yet significant interactions.
Rather than delving into hard-selling techniques, choose milder and softer micro-engagement tactics.
So, your soft-selling tactics are:
- Like
- Comment
- Share
For example:
The Ninja Transfers team warms up the lead with the “like” reaction and comment: “We’re looking forward to it.”
In addition, get the most from your sponsored posts. There may be tons of comments—engage with active leads via comments and move them further down the sales funnel.
Final Note on Social Listening
Social listening may seem like searching for a needle in a haystack. It implies patience and accuracy to sift through online chatter and hear distinct voices, unmistakably coming from your leads and customers. It also requires specific methods and tools. Now, you have all of those.
Skrapp’s LinkedIn email finder is another instrument that can enrich your toolbox. Add it to your toolset to scrape and extract email addresses in bulk from LinkedIn.
Hang on to every word, find top-quality leads, and “Skrapp-it” on LinkedIn!
FAQs: Social Listening
What do you mean by social listening?
Social listening is the process of monitoring online conversations about a brand, industry, or competitors to gain insights and improve engagement. It helps businesses understand customer sentiment, track trends, and respond effectively.
How do you practice social listening?
To practice social listening:
- Use social listening tools like Sprout Social, Brandwatch, or Hootsuite.
- Track brand mentions, competitor activity, and industry keywords.
- Analyze customer sentiment and engagement trends.
- Respond and adjust strategy based on audience feedback.
What is an example of social media listening?
A brand using Twitter monitoring to track customer complaints and improve its product is an example of social media listening. For instance, a coffee company noticing negative feedback about delivery delays might adjust logistics and address concerns publicly.
Is social listening a KPI?
Social listening itself is not a KPI, but it helps track KPIs like brand sentiment, engagement rate, share of voice, and customer satisfaction. Businesses use social listening insights to measure and improve performance.
What are social listening tools?
Social listening tools monitor and analyze online conversations across platforms. Popular tools include:
- Sprout Social – Tracks brand mentions and audience sentiment.
- Brandwatch – Provides deep analytics on consumer trends.
- Hootsuite – Helps businesses monitor social media activity.
Are social listening tools AI-powered?
Yes, many social listening tools use AI to analyze large volumes of social media data, detect trends, and provide sentiment analysis. AI helps identify patterns and automate insights for better decis
What is the social listening tool in Sprout Social?
Sprout Social offers a social listening tool that tracks brand mentions, customer sentiment, and trending topics across social media. It helps businesses monitor conversations, engage with audiences, and refine their marketing strategies.
