Listen up: Social listening is on the rise, and it’s opening up new possibilities for businesses, writes Sprout Social’s Lauren Cover. But what is it? As the Sprout Social team puts it: Social listening refers to analyzing the conversations and trends happening around your brand and industry as a whole and using those insights to make better marketing decisions.

An effective social listening strategy starts with buy-in from the entire organization, Cover says. Your social media team might need to serve as advocates and subject-matter experts as they introduce the concept to other branches of the organization.

“People in other departments might not be familiar with the value of listening, so as you approach conversations with new stakeholders, put your teaching hat on,” Cover says.

Once the organization has bought in, work with each department to identify the business goals that listening can support; that way, you know exactly what you’re searching for. For example, listening specifically for job-related conversations can help the HR team find top talent, see how people search for jobs in your industry, and improve the employee experience.

Picking the right equipment is also crucial for your social listening strategy. Popular listening tools offer a range of features, including the ability to view your mentions across all social media channels in one location, track specific topics or keywords, gain insights on audience demographics, and analyze whether feedback is positive or negative.

A Nonprofit’s Guide to Infographics

Three straight-forward infographic design tips for nonprofits: https://t.co/U0oTDKFnaW

Well-designed infographics are:

1) Simple
2) Have a clear point of entry
3) Limit the number of colors used

via @NonprofitViz pic.twitter.com/0O5kfAIFsM

— Nonprofit Tech for Good (@nonprofitorgs) February 23, 2020

Infographics can be valuable communication tools for nonprofits—if they’re done the right way. What does a good one look like? For one, it’s simple, says Amelia Kohm, the founder of Data Viz for Nonprofits. Design your infographics with just a few visual elements, words, and numbers.

“I’ve seen many infographics which are a jumble of clip art or icons labeled with numbers. A few might work. Too many and you’ve lost your audience,” Kohm says.

Other Links of Note

Drowning in emails? Entrepreneur’s Jessica Thomas offers tips to make your time spent on email more efficient.

With so many event apps out there, how do you choose the right one? A recent blog post from Eventsforce breaks down what you should consider when choosing an app.

Attention all art lovers: The Smithsonian just put 2.8 million images in the public domain, available for viewing (and using) online. Wired has the story.

(natasaadzic/iStock/Getty Images Plus)