#PostAndParticipate

[laurafaritos]

HDMS054. Your Audience Is Already Talking — Are You Listening?

You ever post something and then just… disappear? No judgment — I’ve done it too. But this week’s module made something crystal clear: if you’re not listening to your audience, you’re missing half the conversation.

Earned media isn’t just about being talked about — it’s about paying attention to how you’re being talked about, and deciding when to jump in. From McDonald’s switching to paper straws after customer backlash to Oreo’s now-iconic “dunk in the dark” tweet, this lesson showed that monitoring and participating in real time can be just as powerful as any planned campaign.

So in this post, I’m breaking down what I learned, how I’m applying it as a creator with no PR team, and how comedians and creatives can start building real audience connection — not just clout.

This week’s focus was on how to actually engage with earned media — not just hope for it. Sunil broke it down into five steps (we’ll hit the rest later), but this module zoomed in on the first two: monitoring and participating.

👀 Monitoring = Listening

Monitoring means paying attention to what people are saying about your brand — not through surveys or analytics dashboards, but in real time, on social media, review sites, and public forums. Think:

Reading DMs and Threads replies

Scanning hashtags and tagged posts

Checking comments for patterns (not just compliments)

Companies like McDonald’s and Adidas didn’t change their behavior because of ads — they listened to unfiltered feedback about plastic waste and took action. Even Porsche used social media reactions to prepare for backlash before launching a family SUV. And Hawaiian Airlines found proof that their seat upgrades were working — just by reading TripAdvisor.

🗣 Participating = Joining the Conversation

Then there’s participation: stepping into the conversation without hijacking it. That means responding in real time, asking for input, and creating opportunities for the audience to lead.

Like when Oreo tweeted “you can still dunk in the dark” during the Super Bowl blackout — and their follower count skyrocketed. Or how Burberry and Apple used customer-created content as both social proof and marketing assets.

It’s not about control — it’s about responsiveness. Earned media gives you insights you didn’t pay for. But they’re only valuable if you’re actually paying attention.

So… confession time: I used to read every comment, every DM, every tagged post — but never respond. Not because I didn’t care, but because I didn’t want to mess up the vibe. I didn’t want to say the wrong thing, come off cringey, or make it too obvious I was lurking. But honestly? That was a mistake.

This module reminded me that listening is only half the job. The other half is joining the conversation in a way that adds value.

When I look back at some of my best-performing shows or posts, it wasn’t the ones with the most views — it was the ones where people talked back. They told me a joke stuck with them. They quoted a podcast moment days later. They tagged their friends with “this is so you.”

And every time I replied — even if it was just a quick “I’m crying, thank you 😭” — the connection deepened. They weren’t just watching. They felt seen. That’s earned media in motion.

I’m learning to treat social media like a green room, not a stage. A place to hang out, swap thoughts, and show up like a real human — not just a performer. Monitoring is cool. But participating? That’s where the real community grows.

Let’s be honest — most of us are way more comfortable performing than listening. But in today’s digital world, listening is part of the performance. If you want real growth, real loyalty, and real buzz, you have to do more than post. You have to participate.

Here’s how to start without feeling overwhelmed:

1. Monitor with intention (not obsession)

Set a weekly check-in where you read DMs, mentions, comments, and reviews. Look for patterns. Are people quoting you? Re-sharing a certain clip? Struggling with something your content touches on? That’s data — and it’s free.

2. Make your content comment-friendly

Ask questions. Invite reactions. Say “Tell me your version of this” or “What would you have done here?” Let the audience co-create the moment. This builds more engagement than any CTA at the end of a reel.

3. Respond to earned media when it happens

Someone makes a meme out of your joke? Repost it. Someone writes a mini-review in your DMs? Screenshot and share it (with consent). Someone criticizes something fairly? Thank them and grow. That’s public humility — and it’s powerful.

4. Turn small conversations into big ideas

Your next live show title, podcast episode, or digital product idea could be sitting in your comments right now. Mining feedback isn’t just reactive — it can be creative.

You don’t need a team or a fancy dashboard to do this. You just need curiosity, consistency, and a willingness to respond when your audience says, “Hey… this meant something to me.”

People are already talking about your work. The question is — are you paying attention?

This week’s lesson reminded me that earned media isn’t just a marketing term — it’s what happens when real humans connect with your work and decide to talk about it. You don’t need to “go viral” to benefit from it. You just need to listen, show up, and respond like the community-builder you are.

Monitoring and participating aren’t extras — they’re the foundation of a creative career that lasts.

I hope this blog post was as helpful to you as it was to me!

Tchau tchau <33