Google Alerts is one of the best free listening tools on the web.  Many business professionals still do not understand the value that these alerts can bring them when they do client research and build content for their own social media voices.  (This is important for everyone…not just for those professionals “in charge” of social media.)

You define what’s interesting and Google Alerts finds it and brings it to your inbox as it happens, daily, or weekly.  If you don’t know how to set one up, visit www.google.com/alerts and enter your search terms, decide what you want to see (type), how often you want to see it, and how much you want to see (volume.)  Depending on the subject, you may only want news or you may want to also get blogs and videos, it’s all up to you.  You also may want to receive this information daily or weekly or narrow it down to what Google considers the best stuff, but for reputation related searches I suggest as-it-happens and all results.  I certainly want to know everything said or posted about me or my brand.

How Can I Use Alerts for Client Research?

• Identify the clients you want to monitor.
• What do you want to know? (Examples: awards, openings, reviews, etc.)
• Monitor client successes to give you a reason for contacting them.
• Monitor for client failures to help you in making sales.

Consider not only what’s relevant to you, but what’s relevant to the client.

• Monitor industry news so you know what’s relevant to them.
• Monitor location business news so you know what’s relevant to their business climate.

How Can I Use Alerts for Social Media?

• Who is your social media audience and who do you want it to be?
• What content can you provide that is relevant to this audience?
• This is value-added content that has nothing to do, in most cases, with your specific company.

Monitor alerts for relevant content and consider sharing on social media.

• Which social media voice is appropriate for this content?
• Has someone already shared the same content? I can still re-share or re-tweet.
• Does this content inspire me to create something for my company, such as a blog post or video?

Keep yourself in check.

• Is what I am sharing relevant to the audience?
• Is what I am sharing appropriate for the audience? 

Share good ideas and content internally.

• Take the time to forward good links and relevant content to other employees or on the employee Facebook page or intranet.
• Share ideas on generating new social media content to the relevant social media leaders in your company.

Final Thoughts

• Google Alerts are one of the best free listening tools for the web.
• Add and refine alerts as needed to help you on a daily basis or to help with specific projects or initiatives. They are customizable to your needs!
• If you do nothing else today, create Google Alerts for your name and for your company name.  This is essential to reputation management.