For one day, practice less talking and more listening.

World Listening Day, hosted on July 18th by the World Listening Project, honors the birthday of Raymond Murray Schafer. A Canadian composer, and environmentalist, he is seen as the founder of acoustic ecology - the soundscape between humans and their natural habitat. This year's theme is "Listening Across Boundaries."

Companies that listen can more effectively promote services, expand brand awareness and recruit influencers. Most businesses claim to put their customers first; however, according to HubSpot research, 42% don't collect data.

Listening to feedback unlocks the door to managing customer experience and satisfaction. The three tips you need to hear - dialogue, discussion, and discourse - have the power to build relationships and strengthen brand partnerships.

DIALOGUE

In business, dialogue is a vital, two-way conversation where participants exchange information. Social listening utilizes conversations to optimize business decisions to help better understand how customers think and act. It helps form campaigns and content strategies and builds stronger brand partnerships.

There are social listening tools to help track metrics. Backlinks are critical in developing website authority, especially within relevant communities. Unlinked brand mentions on published sites do not link back to websites. To spread the word about your product, service, or content, tools such as Awario monitor millions of sources, keeping track of brand mentions on websites, Facebook, and Twitter.

DISCUSSION

With the emergence of audio-based social networks, users can now discuss and communicate in mass. Twitter Spaces, a tool to better understand audiences, is Twitter's newest feature. Officially launched in May 2021, Twitter expects its listeners to reach 315 million by 2023.

Brands can engage in real-time live conversations for open, authentic, and unfiltered discussion. You can hold panel discussions about hot topics in your business industry. The goal is to build an image of your brand. An online presence provides an opportunity for positive narratives to potential customers to make confident product purchases.

DISCOURSE

Discourse is a cooperative, one-way conversation. The goal is to deliver information from speaker to listener. This verbal interchange of ideas, especially podcasts, can help build trust in your brand. This industry has grown tremendously over the years as listeners find their community.

According to Influencer Marketing Hub, more than two million active podcasts exist. Almost 60% of American consumers older than 12 listen to podcasts; in Australia, 91% of people know about this type of discourse.

Podcasts establish authority by providing a personal connection. They can uniquely connect listeners, allowing businesses and brands to communicate to a captive audience, telling a story anywhere, at any time.

Companies need to hear what customers are saying and take action. Loyalty should be a priority, and negative customer experiences can easily damage your business. The most profitable business decisions are based on data, not guesses.

OBCIDO believes listening to dialogue, discussion, and discourse ensures you don't miss a word!