Tips, and tricks to connect with your customers

‍Social Competitor Benchmarking: Step-by-Step for Industry Teams

Want to be the best in your industry? In today’s fast-paced market, keeping up with the competition is not enough. To excel, you need to understand what drives your rivals, what strategies are working, and where the opportunities lie for you to stand out.

That is where social competitor benchmarking comes in. Think of it as having the inside scoop on your competitors’ strategies. This is not about imitation, it is about intelligent analysis that gives you a competitive edge.

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Step 1: Identify Your Competition – Know Who You Are Up Against

Identifying competitors goes beyond listing the big players. Who is really vying for your audience’s attention on social? This includes direct rivals and indirect ones targeting the same customers, even if their core offerings differ.

Build a robust list of accounts to track and analyse.

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Step 2: Choose Your Metrics – What Are We Actually Examining?

Do not track everything. Focus on what matters to your goals. Are you aiming to improve engagement? Enhance brand sentiment? Prove customer service efficiency?

Key areas to consider:

• Engagement rates: Are posts connecting with the audience through likes, comments, and shares?
• Share of voice: How much of the conversation do they dominate?
• Sentiment analysis: Positive, negative, or neutral – what does it say about customer experience?
• Content performance: What formats perform best – video, blogs, polls?
• Customer service responsiveness: How quickly do they respond to customer queries? This can also surface early warnings such as fraud signals.

-> For more, see 5 Ways Social Monitoring Helps Banks Spot Fraud Signals Fast.

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Step 3: Gather the Data – Let the Tools Do the Heavy Lifting

Manually tracking competitors is near impossible. Social listening and benchmarking platforms do the hard work, pulling data on mentions, hashtags, sentiment, and engagement.

They simplify the process so you can focus on action.

But choosing the right tool matters. Beyond features, look for solutions that match your team’s size and capacity. For a practical guide, see Choosing the Right Social Tech for Your Team’s Size.

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Step 4: Analyse Like a Pro – What Is the Vibe?

Once you have the data, dig into it:

• Strengths and weaknesses: Where do competitors excel or struggle?
• Opportunities: Are they missing segments or trending topics you can claim?
• Threats: Are new campaigns or players disrupting the market?
• Lessons: If a competitor’s campaign goes viral, study why. If they stumble, learn from their missteps.

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Step 5: Act on the Insights – Time to Get Moving

Benchmarking is not about reports gathering dust. It is about taking action:

• Refine your strategy and content.
• Innovate and differentiate.
• Set goals benchmarked against leaders.
• Solve problems before customers even raise them.

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The Takeaway: Competitive Advantage is a Continuous Process

Competitor benchmarking is not a one-off task. Consistently monitoring rivals and using insights keeps you a step ahead, turning competitor activity into your advantage.

👉 Book a consultation to build your benchmarking strategy or explore our Solutions Page to see how we help businesses turn insights into growth.

In today’s fast-moving world, scams pop up as quickly as taxis during peak hours. Traditional fraud detection methods struggle to catch the early warning signs that often show up first on social media.

Customers share their experiences every day, from glowing reviews to frustrations about fraud. Social monitoring is not a nice-to-have, it is a frontline tool for spotting small signals before they grow into serious issues.

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1. Spotting Unusual Patterns: The Fraud Detection Radar

Fraudsters often test new tricks, and their early attempts leave digital traces. Social monitoring helps pick up unusual spikes in complaints or keywords linked to suspicious activity.

A sudden rise in mentions of “unauthorised transactions” or “phishing SMS” tied to a service can act as an early alarm bell. That gives teams time to investigate before a minor issue snowballs. Think of it as a fraud radar powered by real-time social data.

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2. Identifying Emerging Scams: Staying Ahead of Trends

New scams emerge constantly, often faster than traditional systems can adapt. By keeping track of live conversations, banks can spot fraud trends as they gain momentum.

That early visibility makes it easier to warn customers, tighten security protocols and work with law enforcement before the damage spreads. The benefit is simple: you see what is coming, not only what has already arrived.

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3. Assessing Customer Sentiment: Detecting Issues Early

A sharp drop in positive sentiment, or a spike in negative mentions about a product, service or branch, can be a red flag. While not every change signals fraud, major swings are worth investigating.

Are customers reporting unexpected charges? Are they discussing compromised accounts? Social monitoring connects the dots quickly, turning quiet warnings into insights you can act on.

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4. Geographic Hotspots: Identifying Localised Threats

Fraud often follows geographic patterns. A cluster of similar complaints from a particular region can highlight a localised attempt.

Visualising those mentions helps banks allocate resources effectively, issue targeted warnings and partner with local authorities. Knowing where threats are building means you can respond decisively.

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5. Competitor Insights: Learning from Others’ Challenges

Sometimes the best lessons come from watching how others are tested. Monitoring competitors’ social mentions can reveal fraud signals that have not yet appeared on your radar.

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The Takeaway

Fraud signals often start as scattered whispers online. Social monitoring pulls them into focus, giving banks the clarity to act early and protect their customers.

Book a consultation on banking-specific social monitoring or explore our Solutions Page to see how connected insights can strengthen fraud prevention strategies.

Remember when customer service was purely call centres and email support? Then social media came along, and suddenly every direct message and public comment became a new frontier for customer care. Many businesses thought simply responding to DMs and mentions was enough to tick the box.

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But in 2025, that approach is a bit like driving with one eye closed. Social customer care has evolved far beyond just hitting reply. For South African businesses looking to truly connect, build loyalty, and get ahead, it is about understanding the entire conversation and that means doing much more than answering direct messages.

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Beyond the Inbox: What is Comprehensive Social Customer Care?

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At its core, social customer care is about providing support and service through social media channels. However, a truly comprehensive approach goes beyond reactive replies. It is about:

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• Proactive engagement: Reaching out to customers who mention your brand (even without tagging you) or express frustration about an industry pain point you can solve.
• Sentiment analysis: Understanding the mood behind conversations, not just the words. Are customers feeling frustrated, delighted, or confused?
• Issue resolution: Not just answering questions, but actively resolving problems publicly or privately for a positive outcome.
• Insight gathering: Using every interaction as an opportunity to learn about customer needs, product issues, or service gaps.

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With a complete view of your customers’ social experience, you can turn potential frustrations into moments of brand delight.

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Why Basic DM Replies Are Not Enough

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Simply responding to direct messages and tagged mentions leaves huge blind spots. Here is what your business might be missing:

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• Untagged conversations: Customers often vent, praise, or ask questions about your brand without tagging your handle. Without social listening, you miss this feedback entirely.
• Pre-emptive crisis management: A single public complaint can quickly spiral. Detecting issues early lets you step in before it becomes a viral headache.
• Root cause identification: Multiple similar complaints, even if untagged, often signal a bigger problem. Spotting patterns allows you to fix the source, not just the symptom.
• A proactive reputation: Brands that reach out before being asked, or publicly resolve issues, gain trust and a customer-first image.

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The Real Power of Social Customer Care

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A robust social care strategy delivers more than happy customers, it delivers measurable business value:

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• Elevated customer experience (CX): South African customers expect fast, seamless support on their preferred channels.
• Stronger brand reputation: Quick, transparent responses build trust, even in tough conversations.
• Actionable insights: Every interaction provides data to refine products, marketing, and service.
• Operational efficiency: Resolving issues on social can be faster and more cost effective than call centres.

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Lessons for South African Businesses

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South African consumers are vocal, social-first, and value authenticity. To win them over:

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• Speed is king: Delayed responses risk frustration and public backlash.
• Local context matters: Understand slang, cultural references, and seasonal nuances.
• Transparency builds trust: Own up to issues and be open about fixes.

How to Move Beyond Basic Social Care

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To truly excel, you need:

• A clear strategy: Define response times, escalation protocols, and brand tone.
• Skilled, empathetic teams: Train agents to listen, understand, and solve.
• The right technology: Tools like [Brandwatch] (Partner Page) and [Hootsuite] (Partner Page) help you unify conversations, track sentiment, and automate workflows so nothing slips through the cracks.

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Ready to Deliver Exceptional Social Care?

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If your strategy stops at replying to DMs, you are leaving loyalty, trust, and revenue on the table. Modern social customer care means spotting untagged mentions, detecting crises early, and using insights to improve your entire customer experience.

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For more on why ignoring social conversations costs more than you think, read: [5 Hidden Costs of Ignoring Social Media Conversations] (Consideration).

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👉 Book a consultation on scaling your digital customer care strategy and transform every social interaction into a business advantage.

You have seen it happen before.

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A quirky snack flavour lands on Woolworths’ shelves, goes viral on TikTok, and suddenly every competitor is scrambling to “launch” their version. By the time you are briefing the design team, the hype has already peaked.

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That is the cruel truth about trends: they do not politely wait for your approval process. They move quickly, they are unpredictable, and if you are not spotting them early, you are playing catch up.

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But here is the upside: you can see the signals before they break. All it takes is the right [social listening platforms like Brandwatch] (Awareness) and a mindset shift from reactive to proactive.

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Why Early Trend Detection Wins in Retail & FMCG

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For Insights Teams in retail and FMCG, speed is not just about launching first, it is about being right first.

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Early trend detection means you can:

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• Align stock and supply with what is about to hit demand.
• Refine messaging while the conversation is still fresh and uncluttered.
• Secure partnerships or influencer tie ins before competitors flood the space.

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In retail, that could be the difference between selling out in a week or running a clearance sale in six months.

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From Noise to Signals: How Social Insight Does the Heavy Lifting

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Scrolling your own brand mentions will not cut it. You need to look at the broader cultural conversation.

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That is where platforms like Brandwatch come in. With access to billions of online conversations, including official data from TikTok, LinkedIn, and Instagram, you can:

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• Spot niche hashtags and content formats before they trend.
• Track product mentions and sentiment shifts in real time.
• Set alerts so your team never misses a spike in conversation.

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Think of it as moving from “Oh no, we missed it” to “We called it first.”

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The Woolworths Example

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Woolworths has built a reputation for being ahead of the curve, from ready meal launches to limited edition treats.

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They are not guessing. They are using social and market data to anticipate what customers will want, not just what they already buy.

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By monitoring conversation patterns and pairing them with seasonal insights, they can confidently launch products that feel instantly relevant. The [FOMO drives the sales]

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Turning Trends Into Action

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Spotting a trend is one thing. Knowing how to act is another.

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Here is how to go from detection to domination:

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• Use trend cards to summarise what is emerging and why it matters.
• Alert the right teams, merchandising, marketing, supply chain, the same day you spot it.
• Experiment small before scaling. Pilot campaigns or limited drops can test if the trend has legs.

A Quick Litmus Test for Your Social Strategy: What Are You Missing?

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As a leader, you know your brand’s social presence is no longer just a communication channel. It is a critical source of consumer intelligence and a key driver of your business strategy. But in the fast paced world of digital, getting an honest, objective view of your social health can be a challenge.

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At YOUKNOW, we believe scaling your social strategy should not be daunting. We have spent over a decade in the social game, and we understand the first step to unlocking significant growth is a clear, data driven understanding of your current position. As we always say, “if you can name it, you can tame it.”

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The Challenge of Honest Assessment

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It is tough to be truly self critical, and even tougher to get a neutral perspective on your team’s efforts. We know you need to see beyond vanity metrics and gut feelings to confidently make strategic decisions.

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That is why we designed our Easy Peasy Social Health Check. Think of it as a quick litmus test for your social strategy. It is a fuss free way for you to honestly assess where your team is at, identify potential gaps, and reaffirm where you are already excelling.

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The quiz is built for busy leaders like you who are curious about the gaps they might have in their strategy.

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What the Litmus Test Reveals

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This brief assessment gives you a quick temperature check on your brand’s maturity across critical functions:

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• Social Listening: How effectively are you capturing and understanding conversations about your brand and industry? If you are curious about the mechanics, read our blog on: What is Social Listening and Why Your Brand Needs It in 2025
• Digital Customer Care: How streamlined are your processes for engaging and supporting customers across all social touchpoints? Explore our piece on: Do You Need Community Management at Scale?
• Strategic Reporting: How well are you connecting social data to your broader business objectives and measuring true impact?

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As you go through the quiz, your score will be calculated and you will receive a personalised assessment that helps you articulate your brand’s strategic strengths and weaknesses. You will also gain a vision of what success could look like with the right strategy and support. Besides, we made it kinda fun 😉.

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Gain Clarity. Articulate Value. Take the Test.

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At YOUKNOW, we do not just get social. We get results. A robust social strategy empowers your entire organisation, from product development to risk management.

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Our Easy Peasy Social Health Check is the quickest way to gain clarity, equipping you with the insights you need to make informed decisions and build a more resilient and responsive brand.

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Ready to gain a strategic edge?

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👉 Take the Easy Peasy Social Health Check today

A practical guide to proving value beyond likes with Brandwatch, Hootsuite, and YOUKNOW’s local expertise.

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1 | Vanity metrics are dead. Here is why your board no longer buys them.

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There was a time when “Followers are up three per cent” got polite nods in the Monday meeting.

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Now? Finance and merchandising teams want a clear line from post to profit.

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• 73 per cent of South African marketers say the C-suite demands proof that social drives revenue (Brandwatch Retail Pulse, 2025).
• Yet only 29 per cent feel confident in the metrics they present (YOUKNOW Benchmark, Q1 2025).

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The good news: most of what you need is already in Brandwatch Consumer Intelligence and Hootsuite Impact. You just need to surface it in a way that lands with the board.

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👉 Related: How Social Listening Transforms Retail Customer Experience

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2 | The five social KPIs every South African retailer should track

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3 | Benchmarks: what “good” actually looks like

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• CTRevR: Fashion retail benchmark is 1.2 per cent (Brandwatch Retail Index, SA Q2 2025). Below one per cent? Check UTM tracking through checkout. Many lose attribution at payment gateways.
• pSOV: Stay at least +3 points ahead of your closest rival for four consecutive weeks. Use Brandwatch’s sentiment model to exclude neutrals.
• Stock-out alert ratio: Anything above 0.35 means replenishment cycles need tightening. Route alerts to Slack so merch teams act quickly.
• TTR: Leaders operate under fifteen minutes; most start at 25–30 minutes. Quick win: set up auto-assignment in Hootsuite Inbox.
• IABV: Look beyond clicks. Tie affiliate codes to order values to see if creators fill baskets or just your feed.

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4 | From zero to board-ready dashboard in 14 days

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👉 Explore more: Why Social Customer Care is More Than Just Replying to DMs: Essential Lessons for SA Businesses

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5 | Results from the shop floor

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• National grocer cut TTR from 28 minutes to 9 minutes and reduced call-centre volume by 18 per cent.
• Local fashion e-commerce doubled CTRevR from 0.7 per cent to 1.4 per cent in three months.

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👉 Read the full stories in our Success Stories.

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6 | Why YOUKNOW’s local touch matters

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• Rand-based invoices keep budgets predictable.
• On-site bootcamps from Johannesburg to Nairobi mean your teams get hands-on training.
• More than 140 certifications across Brandwatch, Hootsuite, and data-visualisation tools ensure your set-up keeps delivering long after launch.

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👉 See the full menu on our Solutions page

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7 | Three quick wins for this week

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• Set a Brandwatch alert for “out of stock” + 😡 (10 minutes).
• Add a fifteen-minute SLA timer in Hootsuite Inbox (5 minutes).
• Export weekly pSOV deltas to executive Slack (7 minutes).

Remember when customer service in retail meant answering the phone or helping a shopper at the till? Those days are over. In 2025, customers are not only engaging directly with your brand, they are creating a digital town hall around your products and stores.

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They are far more likely to post online about a poor experience or stock query than to call and wait on hold.

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Keeping pace can feel like managing thousands of conversations while balancing your online and in-store reputation. Ignoring them is not an option. Digital customer care at scale is not a buzzword, it is a strategic necessity that separates retailers leading in engagement from those falling behind.

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👉 Related: How Social Listening Transforms Retail Customer Experience

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What Is Digital Customer Care at Scale for Retail Brands?

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At its core, digital customer care is about delivering support and service across all online channels. It is about maintaining strong relationships with shoppers and prospects.

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When we say at scale, we mean managing a high volume of interactions across multiple platforms while ensuring brand consistency, operational efficiency, and a seamless link between online and in-store experiences. This is no longer one staff member checking notifications; it is a structured operation supported by the right technology, processes, and people.

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Why Your Retail Brand Needs to Master Digital Customer Care at Scale

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Modern shoppers are active participants, expecting fast and informed responses. Here is why scaling your digital care is essential:

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• Build and Protect Shopper Trust: Trust is the lifeblood of retail. When shoppers feel heard during a negative experience or delivery delay, they are more likely to return and recommend your brand.
  
  
• Gather Unfiltered Product and Store Insights: Your online community offers a constant stream of feedback on product quality, service, and store experience. At scale, you can spot recurring complaints, discover demand for new products, and capture fresh ideas for merchandising and marketing.
  
  
• Prevent Crises Before They Escalate: A single post about a faulty product or poor service can quickly snowball. Scalable care enables you to detect and address issues early, preserving your reputation.
  
  
• Enhance CX and Reduce Support Costs: Responding quickly to queries such as “Is this item in stock?” online reduces pressure on call centres and boosts customer satisfaction.
  
  
• Drive Engagement and Sales: Well-managed digital spaces inspire conversations around new arrivals, encourage user-generated content, and fuel your marketing campaigns.
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The Challenge: From Connection to Chaos Without the Right Approach

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Retail moves fast. Without a scalable, structured system, your team risks inconsistent responses, missed opportunities, and declining trust. High volumes of digital chatter can overwhelm staff, and without robust tools, valuable insights may be lost in the noise.

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How to Approach Digital Customer Care at Scale for Retail

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Scaling digital care effectively is about process, not just headcount. Consider:

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• Clear Strategy: Define your tone of voice, target response times per platform, and escalation protocols for sensitive issues.
  
  
• Robust Technology: Use tools that centralise communication, automate common queries, and provide analytics to connect online interactions with in-store activity.
  
  
• Skilled, Empathetic Teams: Equip staff with the training and resources to manage fast-moving conversations, from product availability to returns, with confidence and consistency.
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Ready to Nurture Your Digital Retail Community?

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Scaling digital customer care turns countless interactions into trusted, profitable relationships. For retail brands, this means being visibly present, responsive, and consistent, in every channel and at every stage of the customer journey.

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For more practical strategies, read: [Building Loyalty Online: Connecting Digital Engagement with In-Store Experience] (Consideration).

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👉 Book a consultation to scale your retail customer care with us and see how YOUKNOW can help you turn digital conversations into long-term customer loyalty.

Remember when customer service meant call centres and email support? Those days are long gone. In 2025, your audience is not just interacting with your brand, they are creating a digital town hall around you across dozens of platforms, from social media to review sites.

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They would rather complain publicly in seconds than spend twenty minutes on hold.

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Keeping up can feel like herding digital cats, but ignoring these conversations is not an option. Digital customer care at scale is not a buzzword, it is a strategic imperative that separates thriving brands from those missing out on vital connections.

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What Is Digital Customer Care at Scale?

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At its core, digital customer care is about providing support and service across all your online channels. It is about building, nurturing, and maintaining relationships with your audience.

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When we talk about at scale, we mean managing a high volume of interactions, from quick queries to complex issues, across multiple platforms with strategy and consistency. It is no longer one person manually checking notifications, it is a sophisticated operation that creates a legitimate new channel for your business.

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Why Your Brand Needs to Master Digital Customer Care at Scale

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The digital landscape has transformed customers into active participants, not just passive consumers. Here is why mastering digital customer care at scale is non-negotiable:

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• Build Authentic Loyalty: When customers feel heard and valued in a public town hall space, they often become brand advocates.
• Gather Unfiltered Insights: Your digital community is a goldmine of genuine feedback on your products, services, and brand.
• Proactive Crisis Prevention: A small complaint left unattended can snowball into viral outrage.
• Enhance Brand Reputation: Consistent, empathetic engagement builds a positive image and proves you genuinely care about your customers.

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👉 Read next: What is Social Listening and Why Your Brand Needs It in 2025

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The Challenge: From Conversation to Chaos Without the Right Approach

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Without a scalable approach, digital customer care can quickly become overwhelming. Teams get bogged down by sheer volume, responses become inconsistent, and valuable insights get buried.

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This can lead to missed opportunities and frustrated customers.

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How to Approach Digital Customer Care at Scale

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Mastering digital care is not about simply adding more people. It involves:

• Clear Strategy: Define your brand voice, response guidelines, and escalation paths.
• Smart Technology: Leverage platforms that unify communication channels, automate routine tasks, and deliver actionable analytics.
• Skilled Teams: Equip your community managers with the right training and tools to handle diverse interactions effectively.

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👉 Explore more: Social Media: The New Frontline for Customer Experience

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Ready to Nurture Your Digital Community?

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Effective digital customer care at scale is about turning high volume interactions into meaningful relationships and actionable insights. It ensures your brand is not just present, but truly engaged, no matter how large your audience grows.

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For a deeper dive, read: Why Social Customer Care is More Than Just Responding to DMs: Lessons for SA Businesses

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👉 Book a consultation on scaling your digital customer care strategy to see how YOUKNOW Technologies can help you transform conversations into connections.

New report unpacks the digital signals shaping the fast food market

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Issued by: YOUKNOW Technologies in collaboration with Rogerwilco and MoyaApp

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The 2025 South African Fast Food & QSR Digital Trends Report is here, the most in-depth, signal-based analysis of the country’s fast food and quick service restaurant (QSR) sector to date.

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This industry-first collaboration brings together:

• Rogerwilco’s award-winning digital analytics,
  
  
• YOUKNOW Technologies’ advanced social sentiment expertise, and
  
  
• MoyaApp’s unique access to mass-market consumer data.
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The result? A multi-dimensional view of how South Africans choose where, and why, they eat fast food, revealing not just what’s trending, but what’s truly driving today’s digital-first, value-seeking consumer.

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“In a market where value, trust and context now matter more than noise or sheer reach, marketing teams must tightly align digital presence, influencer activity and product innovation with real consumer intent,” says Mongezi Mtati, Senior Brand Strategist at Rogerwilco.

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Key Findings

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Share of search leads the way

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Share of search is becoming one of the most reliable leading indicators of market share. In a sector built on habitual, instant decisions, it’s a strong predictor of which brand wins the sale. KFC and McDonald’s lead with almost 11% of total search share each, yet over a third of consumer attention is shifting to alternate brands and aggregator apps, a clear opportunity and warning for incumbents.

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Social sentiment slows, expectations rise

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Online mentions of fast food brands dropped 32% year-on-year, as consumers become more selective about sharing experiences. Using Brandwatch for sentiment analysis, the top drivers of brand favourability emerged as trust, speed, and value, while poor service and safety concerns dominated negative sentiment.

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“Consumers are talking less, but expecting more,” says Shaun Pearson, Product Owner at YOUKNOW Technologies. “They want to feel heard, respected, and served with consistency. Brands that lean into value and authenticity will win.”

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‘Near me’ searches and aggregators reshape competition

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More than 90% of searches now include “near me”, underscoring the importance of proximity. Aggregator apps intercept these high-intent searches, making digital ordering visibility a competitive priority.

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Mass-market consumers drive disruption

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Data from 3,500+ households earning under R10,000 a month via MoyaApp shows value combos between R50–R100 and local flavour dominate. While KFC tops actual purchases, township favourites like shisanyama and kota retain strong loyalty — proof of the power of cultural relevance.

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“In South Africa’s fast food economy, it’s mass-market consumers who are setting the pace,” says Donald Mokgale, Managing Director at MoyaApp. “Their decisions reflect deep-rooted preferences for flavour, reliability, and dignity — and they’re increasingly digital, deliberate and discerning.”

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Women as the decision-makers

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Mothers and caregivers emerge as key household decision-makers, prioritising dignity and value over just price. Brands delivering taste, reliability, and respect will earn long-term loyalty.

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Why This Matters for Marketers

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This research signals a fundamental shift: visibility alone won’t cut it. Brands must be relevant, reliable, and responsive to evolving digital and cultural touchpoints.

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“This report empowers fast food and QSR brand leads to target, message, and activate audiences at the moment of purchase — not just during awareness,” adds Mtati.

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The findings highlight the impact of integrated data intelligence. By blending search trends, authentic consumer voices, and advanced social listening, marketers can see exactly what South Africans want now, and where the market is heading.

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For marketers, the takeaway is clear: Loud campaigns aren’t enough. To stay top of mind and top of wallet, fast food brands must be discoverable, dependable, and deeply connected to the communities they serve.

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Read the full report: Click here to access the report

Social media moves fast, and so does your audience. One day they are celebrating your latest update, the next they are calling you out because you did not respond to a comment they expected you to see.

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That leads to a common question: “Do we not already monitor our social channels? Is that not enough?”

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The short answer is not quite. The longer answer is that social listening and social monitoring are not the same. Understanding both is essential if you want to connect with your audience and stay ahead in 2025.

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What is Social Monitoring? Your Brand’s Daily Check In

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Social monitoring is where most brands begin their social journey. It is the day to day tracking of direct mentions, tags, comments on your posts, and direct messages. Think of it as your brand’s inbox and notification feed.

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This is the reactive part of your social strategy, replying to what comes directly to you.

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Examples include:

• Responding to a customer query on Instagram.
• Liking a positive shout out on X.
• Jumping in when someone tags your brand in a post.

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Monitoring keeps your audience feeling heard, addresses customer service needs promptly, and manages immediate interactions.

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👉 Related read: What is Social Listening and Why Your Brand Needs It in 2025

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What is Social Listening? Going Deeper for Real Insights

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Social listening takes things a step further. It is about systematically tracking and analysing what people are saying about your brand, your industry, your competitors, and emerging trends, even if they never tag you.

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This is the proactive side of social strategy, where you look beyond direct interactions to spot broader patterns, gauge sentiment, find opportunities, and anticipate shifts in public perception.

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Examples include:

• Finding conversations about your brand in forums where you were not tagged.
• Tracking a surge in complaints about an industry wide issue.
• Spotting an emerging trend that competitors have missed.
• Understanding sentiment around a campaign from people who never engaged with it directly.

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👉 See also: Is Your Brand Really Listening? What Social Chats Reveal

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The Core Difference: Response vs Insight

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• Social Monitoring is about response, managing immediate interactions and keeping community management sharp.
• Social Listening is about insight, understanding the broader conversation to make your strategy smarter and drive decisions.

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The real advantage comes when you use both.

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Why Both Matter

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Imagine a customer tags you on social media with a complaint. Your monitoring team replies quickly and resolves the issue. Great. Crisis averted for that one customer.

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Now imagine five others had the same problem but never tagged you. They discussed it in a private Facebook group or on a review site. Without social listening, you would never know and the root cause might remain unresolved.

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Listening picks up the signal early, allowing you to address the problem before it escalates into a bigger crisis.

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👉 Explore more: [Social Media: The New Frontline for Customer Experience] (Awareness)

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What Social Listening Can Do for You

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• Crisis Prevention: Spot small issues before they escalate.
• Trend Spotting: Discover what your audience wants next, ahead of competitors.
• Reputation Management: Track sentiment shifts in real time.
• Competitor Tracking: Understand what is being said about others in your space.
• Smarter Campaigns: Use genuine audience insight to create content that resonates.

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Tools for the Job

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Monitoring can be done with basic notifications, but listening requires more advanced tools. Platforms such as Brandwatch, Audiense, Hootsuite, and Rival IQ collect and analyse conversations you would never catch manually.

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Do You Need Both?

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Absolutely. In today’s fast paced digital world, it is not a choice between the two. It is about ensuring you are both reacting to what is in front of you and learning from the wider conversation. That is how you turn social chatter into a competitive advantage.

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Next Step

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If you are only monitoring, you are hearing half the story. Do not leave critical insights undiscovered. Ready to uncover? Chat with us.

If you’re reading this, chances are you're already building or tinkering with your app. So, why not snag some prizes while you're at it? South Africa's been on a proper winning streak lately, hey? Our Boks are world champs, the Proteas bagged the ICC World Test Championship and Dricus brought home UFC gold. All that's missing now is someone to put Mzansi on the map for app development. And that’s where your app comes in…

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‍So, What Exactly is Shipaton Hackathon?

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We just heard about Shipaton through our awesome partners at OneSignal, and we knew we wanted to share the love. It is an annual global hackathon run by our friends at RevenueCat, with OneSignal as a headline sponsor. It's designed to give developers that final push to build and launch a brand-new app. Think of it as a supportive challenge to get your awesome idea out there, compete for some incredible prizes, and connect with a global community. It's all about shipping amazing apps and seeing them grow.

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At YOUKNOW, we're all about helping product teams and app builders grow their apps properly. That's why we're seriously keen on Shipaton 2025. If you're in the app space, this is definitely one to watch. You know how it goes: you've got a banging app idea, but then the real mission starts, getting it out there, finding your audience, and keeping them hooked. Shipaton’s designed to help you smash those hurdles, with solid support and some proper prizes on the line.

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What's the Challenge?

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This global hackathon is for developers building the next generation of mobile apps. It's your opportunity to create a new app for the App Store or Google Play.

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1. Build a brand-new app on the App Store or Google Play. 
2. Use the RevenueCat SDK to handle subscriptions or in-app purchases (Afterall, a good revenue model is key for sustainable growth).
3. Integrate OneSignal to engage, retain, and connect with your users. Effective messaging is crucial for lasting user engagement, and OneSignal provides the tools to connect with your audience. 

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Need help with OneSignal integration? Chat to us :)

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You can win HOW MUCH? 

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Wanna be as big as Apple in the Big Apple? We're talking over $355,000 in prizes. Yes, dollars. This includes a $65,000 (Over R1,1 mil) grand prize and, notably, a Times Square billboard feature for the 1st place winner. 

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OneSignal Boost Award: Master Messaging, Win More

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We're particularly thrilled about the OneSignal Boost Award. Our partner OneSignal is offering over $50,000 in additional prizes to apps that use messaging most effectively and creatively. 

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Why are we so into OneSignal? They’re our partners and their platform solves omnichannel messaging headaches. No need to jump between a bunch of different tools just to talk to your users. It just makes building those slick, automated customer journeys so much easier, and it helps your app look good and keep your users happy.

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Whether you’re keen on push notifications, a slick omni-channel strategy, or crafting clever user journeys with OneSignal Journeys, this is your chance to show off some seriously powerful messaging. NB: Just make sure OneSignal is integrated before you submit, so you qualify.

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Need Help? Join Office Hours

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Sometimes you need a quick answer or some guidance. The Shipaton support team is hosting two open Q&A sessions to assist with setup, strategy, and any competition-related questions:

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• Session 1: Wednesday, August 13th at 3:00 AM SAST
• Session 2: Wednesday, September 3rd at 5:30 PM SAST

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Important Dates

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Submissions open on August 1st, 2025, and are due by September 30th, 2025. This is a significant opportunity for app builders, product managers, and SaaS brands to innovate, gain visibility, and potentially win substantial awards.

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Ready to take your app idea further?

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• Register now to receive all Shipaton updates, resources, and perks.
• Find more details on the official website: Shipaton Official Website
• Check out the full details and register your team: RevenueCat Shipaton 2025 Devpost

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We're looking forward to seeing what you build.

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In 2020, customer service success was measured by how quickly a call centre agent picked up the phone. In 2025, the first, most visible, and most powerful point of contact is a WhatsApp direct message, a TikTok comment, or a post on X.

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Ignore that comment for an hour and you have missed the moment to save a customer. Everyone else has seen it too.

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• Seventy three per cent of South African consumers now expect a first response on social media in under thirty minutes.
• A single public complaint attracts an average of forty two organic impressions within twenty four hours.
• Brands using Brandwatch Engage together with Hootsuite Inbox, implemented by YOUKNOW Technologies, reply in eleven minutes on average.

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The numbers speak for themselves. The question is, what will you do about them?

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👉 Related: AI for Social: How Brandwatch and Hootsuite Boost Creation and Insight

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Why Brandwatch and Hootsuite Outperform All in One Tools

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Many platforms promise monitoring and an inbox in the same package. Brandwatch offers topic level artificial intelligence that spots trouble before it grows. Hootsuite provides the most intuitive publishing and engagement workspace on the market.

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Together, they form a closed loop: listen, triage, respond, measure.

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Typical Pain → Practical Result

• Complaints spike before anyone notices → AI topic clustering and sentiment alerts flag problems in minutes.
• Agents juggle five tabs → unified queue for X, TikTok, Instagram, Facebook, and WhatsApp.
• Reply drafting is slow → OwlyWriter AI suggests an on tone first draft.
• Weekly reporting steals a day → SLA widgets and queue metrics, automated dashboards.

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Sprout Social and Sprinklr have strong inboxes, but neither combines Brandwatch grade insight with Hootsuite’s agent friendly screen, nor do they bill in rand or send a local team to Johannesburg for hands on training.

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👉 Read next: What is Social Listening and Why Your Brand Needs It in 2025

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The YOUKNOW Multiplier

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Technology is only half the story. Implementation, training, and ongoing optimisation keep the platform delivering:

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• Rand invoices protect budgets from currency swings.
• On site bootcamps from Pretoria to Nairobi using your real data.
• More than one hundred and forty certifications across Brandwatch, Hootsuite, data visualisation, and customer care workflows.
• Board pack reporting that drops straight into your executive decks.

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See the full service list at YOUKNOW Social Tech Solutions

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Three Step Rapid Response Blueprint

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1. Listen: Build a Brandwatch query for your five most common complaint terms, for example “network down”, “delivery late”, “refund request”.
2. Route: In Brandwatch Engage, tag each term, then push those tags into Hootsuite Inbox queues with fifteen minute SLA timers.
3. Report and Refine: Review a weekly dashboard with response time trends, detractor to promoter conversions, and call centre volume deflections.

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👉 Download: Social Health Check for full configuration guidance.

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Proof in Practice

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Pineapple Insurance (Short term insurance)

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• Before: 43 minute average social response time.
• After 90 days: 11 minutes.

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Top three SA Telco (Telecommunications)

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• Before: 17% of social complaints escalated to call centre.
• After 90 days: 5%.

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National retail chain (Grocery and clothing)

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• Before: baseline call volume.
• After 90 days: 18% fewer calls.

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👉 See more in our Case Study Hub