Listening to the Audience
In today’s whirlwind of social media, brand perception can change within minutes, and the ability to “listen” to the audience in real time is invaluable. Every comment on social media is a piece of valuable information, as it can shape perceptions, emotions, and behaviors.
This is where Social Media Monitoring comes in. It’s the first step to gaining an immediate understanding of how the public perceives a brand. Through specialized tools, such as the Clip News Portal and Brandwatch, PR and Marketing experts can track what people are saying on social media about brands and competitors, identify growth opportunities, or avoid publicity crises.
From Monitoring to Listening
Social Media Monitoring is the collection of posts from social media channels, such as LinkedIn, X, Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, YouTube, through the search of specific keywords in dedicated platforms. This process is not limited to owned posts but extends across the entire spectrum of social media.
However, the power of knowledge does not have to stop at monitoring (or tracking). Social Listening goes beyond data; it analyzes the context of the discussion, the social media channels, top users, sentiment, trending topics, and more. It is the tool that enables communication teams to understand:
- How the audience reacts to a campaign
- How reputation evolves over time
- Which influencers align with the brand’s values
- Which influencers align with the brand’s values
SoMe & Influencer Marketing Conference
At the “Social Media & Influencer Marketing Conference 2025” organized by BOUSSIAS at OTEAcademy, Clip News Vice President of Media Intelligence, Katerina Kechagia, highlighted the capabilities of Social Media Monitoring and Social Listening through real case studies.
- In a campaign with over 2M impressions, sentiment analysis showed that most posts were sarcastic.
- During the recent publicity crisis of Pizza Fan, social media posts skyrocketed to 8,434 within just a few hours.
- The well-known Pepsi x Kendall Jenner campaign was considered superficial by the public despite the influencer’s millions of followers, leading the company to withdraw it.
Numbers, in order to gain real meaning, need to be combined with qualitative evaluation and turned into insights derived from public opinion. Because, as Ms. Kechagia characteristically stated, “Your brand is not what you say it is. It is what others say about it when you’re not in the room”.
Why It Matters Today
In an ever-changing communication environment, Social Media Monitoring and Social Listening offer:
- Real–time alerting for immediate crisis management
- Benchmarking against competitors
- Sentiment analysis and audience understanding
- Data–driven insights for strategic planning
The future of communication belongs to brands that truly “listen” to the audience, leveraging real-time monitoring solutions and analyzing social media discussions. Turning these into actionable insights results in deeper audience connection and more targeted campaigns.
The article was published on Daily Fax on October 21, 2025.
We were delighted once again this year to support Greece Race for the Cure®, the leading race-event against breast cancer, which took place on Sunday, September 28, setting a new record in participation.
More than 60,000 people of all ages filled the streets of Athens -and the internet through digital participation- sending the loudest message: TOGETHER we are stronger than breast cancer.
The event kicked off on Saturday, September 27, with prevention and awareness activities, sports and creative programs, while the Zappeion was illuminated in pink as a symbol of hope, remembrance, and solidarity. On Sunday, September 28, the symbolic 5 km run and 2 km walk turned the city into a grand celebration of life and strength.
Greece Race for the Cure®, organized by the Hellenic Association of Women with Breast Cancer “Alma Zois” in collaboration with the City of Athens and approved by Think Pink Europe®, is the largest sports event for a social cause in Greece and the second largest in Europe. The net proceeds from the race support programs offering free psychosocial support, prevention, and early diagnosis, as well as the ongoing advocacy for better care for women with breast cancer.
At Clip News, we are proud to stand beside such an important initiative, which is not merely a race but a collective act of life and solidarity. As a service sponsor, our company has undertaken the comprehensive monitoring of the race’s publicity, as well as all the activities of the “Alma Zois” Association, covering every communication channel, from television, radio, and print media to websites, blogs, and social media. In this way, we ensure complete tracking of the event’s visibility and its impact on a national level.
Information and prevention save lives. Together we continue stronger!
Learn more about the purpose and actions of the Hellenic Association of Women with Breast Cancer “Alma Zois” here.
At this year’s FIBEP World Media Intelligence Congress 2025, held in Düsseldorf (September 30 – October 2), the Vice President of Clip News, Katerina Kechagia, was re-elected FIBEP Vice President for a second consecutive term, remaining responsible for the State of the Industry Survey. This honorary distinction reflects the international community’s trust in her work and dedication to the media intelligence sector.
The new Board of Directors of the International Media Monitoring Association (FIBEP) brings together the experience of professionals from across the globe. Alongside Katerina Kechagia, continuing their terms are Todd Murphy, Magdalena Horanska, Christophe Dickès, Natan Edelsburg, Steffen Egelund, Carlos Alfredo Diaz, Oresti Patricios, and Romina Gersuni, while the new members Anna Tsenova and Jon Anders Tangnes received a warm welcome.
During the Congress, Katerina Kechagia presented the results of the State of the Industry Survey 2025, the annual study that maps the evolution and outlook of the industry. Some of the key takeaways included:
- The industry maintains strong foundations and continues to demonstrate resilience, supporting growth prospects.
- The adoption of artificial intelligence and technological innovations is accelerating, transforming media monitoring services.
- Alongside progress, new challenges are emerging: intense competition, pricing pressures, changes in copyright regulations, and dynamic developments in human resources.
- Long-term success will depend on achieving the right balance between technology and human expertise, which remains irreplaceable.
Katerina’s contribution to FIBEP’s State of the Industry Survey highlights the importance of international collaboration in understanding the trends shaping the future of media intelligence.
Learn more about the purpose and initiatives of the International Media Monitoring Association (FIBEP) here.
Pizza Fan’s decision to end its collaboration with stand-up comedian Paris Roupos turned into one of the most intense communication crises recently recorded in the Greek market. The incident began as a reaction to one of the comedian’s jokes, but it quickly grew into a social and political phenomenon, sparking a flood of comments on social media and news websites. This incident serves as a reference point for how a brand can find itself -within just a few hours- at the center of a PR crisis that tests its limits, reputation, and communication strategy.
The total mentions on social media and websites reached 11,700 in the past week, with 8,400 mentions appearing in a single day (September 25)! It is truly difficult for a communication and marketing team to handle such a volume of publicity without having previously set up a media monitoring account with the appropriate keywords and alerts.
It should be noted that these 8,400 mentions of Pizza Fan do not concern comments under the company’s posts (owned media) but any reference to the brand elsewhere on social media, forums, websites, and blogs. For a brand to have a complete picture of its publicity and the extent of a communication crisis, it is not enough to monitor only the comments under its owned media; it must track the entire spectrum enabled by platforms such as Brandwatch.
Roupos’ comments during a stand-up performance, which included references to the Greek flag and historical events, were deemed offensive, leading to backlash against the pizza delivery chain. The company’s announcements on Facebook gathered thousands of user comments, many of which were negative. However, there were also positive, supportive, and neutral humorous comments.
X (formerly Twitter) fueled the discussion with numerous individual comments and hundreds of reposts. Prominent websites (based on Impact) amplified the incident through relevant publications, including protothema.gr, gazzetta.gr, news247.gr, iefimerida.gr, lifo.gr, and newsit.gr. These well-known websites also shared related posts on their owned channels on Facebook and X (Twitter). The topic was also discussed on Reddit in a thread titled “Pizza Fan fired Paris Roupos: What happened with the well-known comedian”.
Following Roupos’ dismissal, social media became a battleground for opposing opinions, with some praising Pizza Fan for its stance and others condemning it. Many supporters of Roupos called for a boycott of Pizza Fan using hashtags such as #Pizzaban and #boycottpizzafan. They argue that the company’s decision reflects a capitulation to extreme pressures and emphasize the importance of protecting comedians’ right to satire and critique without fear.
As the reactions continue, Roupos has stated that he intends to take legal action against those he believes incited hatred toward him, including prominent political figures such as Konstantinos Bogdanos. In a YouTube video, Bogdanos called for the comedian’s dismissal, describing his jokes as an “insult to national symbols.”
Beyond the artistic and political dimensions, this case served as a loud reminder of how crucial it is for a company to strategically plan its collaborations. Selecting the right influencer for a brand must follow an in-depth analysis using social listening/digital listening tools like Brandwatch. The content they produce and the audiences they reach must be carefully evaluated before any partnership, as the public tends to associate the creator, directly or indirectly, with the brand. In an environment where the slightest spark can turn into a PR crisis, early risk detection and strategic preparedness become critical factors in safeguarding corporate reputation.
Analysis Identity
Social Listening / Digital Listening: Brandwatch
Date Range: 19-26.09.25
Sources: Internet & Social Media*
Keywording/Analysis: Clip News
*The analysis is based solely on publicly available data from the Internet and social media channels in Greece. The search was limited to the keywords “Pizza Fan” and “Paris Roupos” in various possible variations (English, Greek, Greeklish, with or without accents, etc.).
Search Limitations: The Brandwatch platform collects data from websites, blogs, forums, and social media (X, Facebook, Instagram, Reddit, Tumblr, etc.) subject to the restrictions set by each channel. For example, discussions in closed forums and Facebook private groups, or Instagram stories, are not collected.
The above analysis represents an indicative approach, taking into account that variations in sources and timeframe may produce a different picture.
Why numbers don’t tell the whole truth
In the world of communication and PR, reports and dashboards are filled with KPIs: reach, impressions, publicity volume. However, the truth is that numbers alone are not enough. The Barcelona Principles V4.0 of the International Association for the Measurement and Evaluation of Communication (AMEC) remind us that quantitative data must be combined with qualitative analysis.
This principle needs to permeate the entire field of communication; therefore, it also concerns the measurement and evaluation of a brand’s image on social media. In other words, social listening does not simply mean measuring how many times your brand has been mentioned on social media, but understanding “the why” and “how” behind every discussion, post, and reaction from the audience.
Real-time insights
In our times, a TikTok video can go viral within minutes or a tweet can gather hundreds of reposts. Real-time monitoring is a prerequisite for the survival of brands. By utilizing social listening tools, they detect trends before they become mainstream, adjusting the message and positioning accordingly.
Of course, when we talk about social listening, we don’t mean just monitoring your own posts, but any mention of the brand, anywhere on social media:
- Owned: The posts that you upload on the official social media pages of the brand, e.g., Facebook, LinkedIn, Instagram.
- Earned: The organic exposure that the brand gains without paying, e.g., comments, mentions.
- Shared: The content that is reproduced by the public, e.g., reposts, shares.
- Paid: It differs from paid advertising and refers to paid content, e.g., an Instagram post from a fashion influencer that was made after a commercial agreement with the brand.
Benchmarking forever
One of the most underrated advantages of social listening is the comparison with the competition. It is not only important how users talk about your brand but also how you position yourself against competitors. Besides the well-known share of voice (SoV), a deeper analysis of the data is needed, with measurements such as: SoV with sentiment (positive, neutral, negative) and SoV by social channel. Through continuous mapping of the dialogue, you can identify gaps left by other players and build a more targeted strategy.
Management starts before the crisis
Crises usually catch us off guard, but they do not arise suddenly. They begin with a negative experience with a retail chain posted on X or with a thread in a forum about a new car model. The ability to detect such warning signals in time through social listening can be the difference between a manageable situation and a blow to the brand’s reputation and sales.
From data to strategy
The time when companies could rely solely on post-campaign reports is over. The leading brands are those that have the ability to understand not only what is being said, but why it is being said and how this can be reversed or leveraged. In fact, social listening is a direct “X-Ray” that reveals the health of a brand, the dynamics of a market, and the psychology of the audience. The result is a more flexible communication strategy based on data.
The article was published on Daily Fax on September 24, 2025.
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