Tips, and tricks to connect with your customers

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

Ever feel like your customer surveys are giving you the polite answers, not the honest ones? You know, the kind where everyone says they are “very satisfied,” but you have a nagging feeling you are missing the full story.

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If you are a Brand or Insights Team in retail or insurance, you know customer loyalty and trust are everything. But getting to the real truth of what your customers think can be tricky, especially when traditional research feels a little dated.

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This is where the real magic happens. It is time to move beyond the “what” of survey data and into the “why” of social data.

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The Problem with "Stated" Opinion

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For too long, brands have relied on what customers say in a structured survey. But here is a simple truth: what they think, and what they are saying to their friends online, is often completely different.

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This gap is your blind spot. While your brand chatter might seem healthy on the surface, it is not the same as true brand health. Traditional methods often miss the nuance, the sarcasm, and the genuine, unfiltered context of a customer’s experience.

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We get it; you live by your data, but are you getting all the data?

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👉 Read next: Social Listening vs Social Monitoring: What is the Difference?

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The Power of the Unfiltered Voice

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This is where social listening becomes your new best friend. It is like having a real time focus group running twenty four seven, without the bias.

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With platforms like Brandwatch, you can dive deep into conversations happening across the internet to uncover the truth your customers might not share directly with you.

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Historical Insights

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Want to know what people really thought about that new policy change or product launch? We can tap into historical data to show you how public sentiment has shifted over time. No more relying on a single moment in time, we will show you the full journey.

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Spotting the Signals

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It is easy to get caught up in the noise, but our technology knows how to spot the signals. Our platforms use anomaly alerts to flag unusual spikes in conversation that could signal a looming crisis or a new trend that is about to take off.

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Contrasting Opinions

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Let us say a survey tells you customers love your new loyalty programme. But a deep dive into social conversations reveals they love the idea but dislike the app’s user experience. Suddenly, you have a clear, actionable insight that goes beyond a generic “very satisfied” answer.

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👉 Related: What is Social Listening and Why Fintechs Need It in 2025

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Better Insights with All the Social Data

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Building true customer loyalty is not just about listening to what they say. It is about understanding what they think, feel, and do. It is about connecting the dots to see the full, authentic picture.

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Next Step: Find Your Blind Spots

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Ready to uncover the real customer truth?

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👉 Download: Social Health Check: Self Assess Your Listening and Trend Tracking

If you work in social or content, you already feel the squeeze.
“We need five TikToks by the end of the day.”
“Why did we not spot that trend before our competitor?”
“Reporting takes longer than the campaign did.”

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At YOUKNOW Technologies, we live this reality daily. We have seen our clients cut hours, save budget, and reduce stress by pairing Brandwatch’s AI powered listening with Hootsuite’s publishing and engagement tools.

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Here is your practical, no fluff playbook to do the same, whether you are a two person fintech team or a twenty seat retail command centre.

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1. The 60 Minute AI Content Sprint (Hootsuite + Generative AI)

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Old way: brainstorm, write copy, design, get approvals, three to four hours.
New way: Hootsuite’s OwlyWriter AI drafts captions and hashtags in minutes.

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Use the Canva plug in to auto format for each channel.

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Schedule two variants and let Hootsuite’s AutoSchedule pick the best times.

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Pro tip
Prompt example: “Draft a LinkedIn post for CMOs on how AI reduces reporting time by 30 per cent, friendly South African tone.”

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Related read: Social Media Metrics That Actually Matter for Banking

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2. Topic Clustering in Brandwatch: Turning Noise into Narrative

Pain point: “We have 50,000 mentions, where is the insight?”

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Set up Brandwatch to:

• Connect X, TikTok, Reddit, Instagram, and review sites.
• Query product names plus pain keywords like “overdraft fee” or “card decline”.
• Enable AI Topic Clustering to reveal themes like Pricing, UX Bugs, Loyalty Points.
• Turn on Spike Alerts to Slack so you are notified if a cluster grows by more than 40 per cent in 12 hours.

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This means less time tagging spreadsheets and more time fixing the issue before it blows up.

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3. Image and Logo Recognition for Always On Brand Health

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Brandwatch Visual AI can:

• Detect ATM photos with your logo and flagged keywords for fintech.
• Audit in store shelf compliance for retail.
• Auto tag client logo appearances for agencies to showcase earned media.

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Train it with twenty reference images. No coding required.

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4. Cross Stack Workflow: Listen, React, Publish

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When Brandwatch alerts you to a sentiment spike around “mobile app error”:

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• The alert posts to Slack with three examples.
• The social lead jumps into Hootsuite Inbox, where OwlyWriter AI drafts a sincere apology.
• You schedule a follow up carousel, “How to report bugs”, using the same sprint process.

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Time saved: three hours per mini crisis.

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Reputation saved: priceless.

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5. Change Management Checklist (Because AI is Not Magic)

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Do not

• Dump AI tools on the team and expect instant results.
• Measure only likes and views.
• Assume AI generated content is compliance ready.

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Do

• Run a 30 minute “Prompt Café” each week to share what works.
• Track hours saved and time to insight for leadership buy in.
• Keep a human in the Hootsuite approval chain.

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Download: Social Health Check Worksheet to benchmark your gaps before rolling out AI workflows.

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Key Takeaways

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• Hootsuite speeds creation and distribution. Brandwatch sharpens insight. Together they create a closed, AI ready loop.
• Start small with one workflow and one insight task, then expand.
• Measure hours saved, speed from trend to action, and risk mitigation.

Social Listening in 2025: Why Your Brand Cannot Afford to Ignore It

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Let us be honest. In 2025, you are not just competing with the brand down the road. You are competing with every brand for attention, loyalty, and that precious place in your customer’s mind.

One viral post can flip your brand perception overnight. That is why social listening is not just a “nice to have”. It is the strategic edge smart brands use to keep customers loyal, catch issues early, and build the kind of trust you cannot buy with advertising spend.

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Understanding Social Listening: Your Brand’s Real Time Ear

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Think of social listening as your brand’s ear to the ground, tuned into everything that is being said, not just direct mentions or hashtags. It systematically tracks customers, critics, and casual observers across your industry, whether they tag you or not.

It is like having a focus group that is bigger, faster, and brutally honest. This constant stream of data surfaces signals about your brand’s health and customer sentiment.

👉 Want to see if your brand is genuinely connecting? Read: Is Your Brand Really Listening? What Social Chats Reveal

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Social Monitoring versus Social Listening

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They sound similar, but they are not. Explore our explainer Social Listening vs Social Monitoring: What is the Difference? for the full detail.

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Here is the quick take:

• Social Monitoring: Tracks direct mentions, tagged hashtags, comments, and direct messages.
  
  
• Social Listening: Goes deeper, picking up conversations on forums, review sites, and untagged posts that reveal the bigger picture and sentiment.

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Those subtle whispers often hold the most valuable insights.

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Why You Cannot Ignore Social Listening

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Spot Issues Before They Escalate
Service glitch? Product recall? In 2025, one unhappy post can trend in hours. Listening allows you to step in early.

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Gauge Sentiment in Real Time
Launching a product or campaign? Social listening reveals authentic reactions so you can adapt quickly.

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Understand Your Competitive Landscape
Identify where competitors are thriving and where they are falling short to capture opportunities.

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Uncover Hidden Opportunities
From unspoken feature requests to shared frustrations, listening helps you act on what your market truly wants.

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The Power of Local Context

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In South Africa, relevance means understanding diverse communities, languages, slang, and cultural nuances. Social listening captures these signals, the ones global reports often miss, so you connect authentically and avoid costly missteps.

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Next Step for Your Brand

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If you want to remain relevant and trusted in 2025, social listening is your safety net, your trend radar, and your competitive advantage.

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👉 Take our Social Health Check: Self Assess Your Listening and Trend Tracking to see where you are strong and where blind spots might be hiding.

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For a deeper dive, explore:

• Your Guide to Building a Social Listening Keyword List

Most teams today say they're data-driven, but if you look beneath the surface, many are stuck in old habits wearing new tools. Data dashboards don’t automatically create data-savvy behaviour. Culture does.

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In this blog, we unpack six cultural signals that might be slowing your team down, even if you're armed with the latest analytics stack. Spot them early, shift your approach, and set up a strategy that’s behaviour-led, not just buzzword-heavy.

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1. Data is guarded, not shared

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The signal: Insights live in silos. Dashboards are locked down. Reports are treated like power moves.

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Why it matters: Data is meant to unify teams, not drive territory wars. If your data strategy is built on gatekeeping, collaboration and momentum suffer.

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What to try instead: Build shared dashboards across marketing, product, and CX. Schedule open insight sessions monthly. Reward transparency, not secrecy.

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2. Gut still wins in key decisions

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The signal: Big product changes or campaign ideas are greenlit based on "feeling right" or "past experience."

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Why it matters: You open your business to bias, ego-driven decisions, and inconsistent performance. Data can guide instinct, but it needs a seat at the table first.

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What to try instead: Introduce pre-mortems with data checkpoints. Align every big idea with at least one measurable insight before execution.

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3. Your teams speak different metric languages

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The signal: Marketing is chasing impressions. Product cares about DAUs. CX is looking at NPS. No one's sure who’s actually winning.

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Why it matters: Without shared KPIs, teams run in opposite directions. It becomes hard to prioritise, measure outcomes, or tell a unified story to leadership.

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What to try instead: Define a single source of truth and a few cross-functional KPIs that everyone rallies behind. Start small, then build out.

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4. Nobody knows the North Star

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The signal: Ask five people what success looks like, get five different answers.

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Why it matters: A North Star metric helps teams make tradeoffs, align roadmaps, and understand progress.

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What to try instead: Run a workshop to define or revisit your North Star. Then socialise it. Print it. Put it in presentations. Make it visible and referenced often.

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5. You have the tools, but barely anyone uses them

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The signal: You’ve bought great platforms like Amplitude, but adoption is low. A few champions do all the work, and everyone else waits for screenshots.

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Why it matters: Tools are only as powerful as the behaviours they enable. Shallow adoption means missed opportunities and wasted budget.

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What to try instead: Nominate department champions to run internal demos and success sessions. Build a habit of insight-sharing at every meeting.

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6. Feedback flows one way (or not at all)

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The signal: Teams don’t review what worked or what didn’t. Retros are skipped. Feedback is top-down only.

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Why it matters: Without feedback loops, your team doesn’t learn or evolve. Innovation slows, and problems repeat.

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What to try instead: Build in lightweight feedback moments into every sprint or campaign. Make retro meetings non-negotiable, and ensure everyone’s voice is heard.

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Why Culture Eats Toolkits for Breakfast

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You can’t fix culture with a platform. Even the best tools fall flat in teams where data is feared, not followed. Cultural maturity looks like:

• Data being a default part of conversations
  
  
• Teams asking better questions
  
  
• Metrics being understood, not just reported
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Being data-driven is less about dashboards and more about mindset. If your team is struggling to act on data, it’s often a people issue, not a tech one.

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YOUKNOW’s Take

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At YOUKNOW, we help businesses build the habits, rituals, and behaviours that turn data from a cost centre into a growth engine. Before we talk about implementation, we talk about alignment.

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That’s why we recommend starting with the Amplitude Maturity Assessment, a helpful first step to understanding your organisation’s readiness for data-led growth.

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If you’d rather workshop your way forward, that’s where we come in. As your local Martech experts, we can help map the gaps, build the rituals, and set the strategy.

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Ready to Change Your Data Culture?

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Let’s run a quick maturity check together. Take the Amplitude Maturity Assessment or chat to us about a workshop to shift the needle.

‍Are You Just Posting or Actually Performing?

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Social media today is about more than “being online.” It’s about being effective. Whether you’re a fintech startup trying to build credibility, a telco managing crisis comms, or an FMCG brand launching your next big campaign, the question isn’t “Are you posting?”

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It’s “Is it working?”

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That’s where the right social tech stack comes in.

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At YOUKNOW, we help businesses move from reactive to strategic using tools built to handle more than hashtags. Whether it's publishing smarter, listening harder, or reporting faster, our local teams implement tech stacks that actually move the needle, not just the likes.

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This guide? It’s your go-to map to navigate social tech in 2025. We cover five top platforms, the good, the powerful, and the "best fit for the right use case", with a full-featured buying guide, expert POVs, and practical next steps.

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Social Tech 101: What It Is (and What It Isn’t)

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Social tech isn’t just a content calendar. It’s the collective power of platforms designed to help your brand do five key things:

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• Plan & Publish
• Engage & Support
• Listen & Monitor
• Analyse & Optimise
• Amplify through Advocacy & Influence

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Think of it as your digital command centre, helping you know what’s being said, shape what’s seen, and show what worked.

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Before You Compare: Know Your Goal

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Your best-fit platform depends entirely on your use case. Here’s a quick alignment checklist:

📌 If you're focused on reputation management → prioritise advanced listening, sentiment tracking, early alerting.

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📌 If you're driven by campaign performance → look for robust analytics, competitor benchmarks, and automation.

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📌 If your team handles social support → centralised inboxes, AI-suggested replies, and workflow tools are key.

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📌 If you're exploring influencer marketing → discovery tools, campaign measurement, and creator insights matter.

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📌 If you're trying to scale smart content → focus on shared calendars, AI content support, and built-in asset libraries.

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💬 Need help mapping this to your stack? Speak to a YOUKNOW consultant.

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The Platforms: Where They Fit

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Hootsuite

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Best for: Fast-moving teams that need collaborative publishing and engagement with baseline insights.

💡 YOUKNOW Insight: Great for teams needing speed, coordination, and scalability, with AI support and custom add-ons.

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Brandwatch

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Best for: Insight-hungry teams wanting to understand sentiment, conversation drivers, and content performance.

💡 YOUKNOW Insight: Powerful for brands focused on deep listening, real-time alerts, and influencer performance.

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Emplifi

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Best for: Mid-sized to enterprise orgs bridging content, customer care, and commerce.

💡 YOUKNOW Insight: Offers a true cross-functional platform. Solid for CX, and great value when teams work across silos.

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Sprout Social

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Best for: Growing teams looking for an intuitive experience and balanced reporting.

💡 YOUKNOW Insight: A reliable choice for scale-up brands, but may need complementary tools for advanced listening or care.

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Sprinklr

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Best for: Large, global organisations with complex structures and governance needs.

💡 YOUKNOW Insight: Enterprise-grade power, but best for teams ready to invest time and resources into long-term rollout.

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YOUKNOW’s Social Tech Buyer's Guide

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Publishing – Look for multi-platform schedulers, Canva integrations, AI captions, evergreen queues.
Engagement – Centralised inboxes, comment/review/DMS support, routing and tagging options.
Listening – Real-time trends, sentiment detection, alert systems, visual tracking.
Reporting – Custom dashboards, export tools, benchmark insights, ROI tracking.
Influencer – Discovery engines, campaign metrics, brand safety scoring.
AI Features – Content writing, reply suggestions, audience segmentation, predictions.
Collaboration – Approval chains, user permissions, shared planning calendars.
Integrations – CRM, email platforms, analytics tools, customer service portals.
Scalability – Flexible plans that grow with team size and content volume.
Onboarding – Clear UI, training support, fast setup, local onboarding helps.
Pricing & ROI – Compare total cost of ownership: not just licenses, but usage, support, and automation impact.

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Tips to Maximise Your Tech Investment

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• Set goals before buying tech. Strategy should always come before software.
• Train your people. Even the best platforms flop without skilled users. We help here too.
• Tag early. Use content labels and UTM tracking from the start.
• Sync your stack. Don’t let your tools live in silos, integrate into CRM, analytics, feedback loops.
• Act on insights. Use what the tools tell you to optimise your strategy, content, and comms.

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Final Word: Tech Doesn’t Win Alone, Teams Do

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Social media is no longer just a brand channel. It’s community. It’s PR. It’s CX. It’s commerce.

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And your tools? They should make all of that easier, smarter, and more scalable.

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At YOUKNOW, we help South African brands choose the right-fit platforms, not just the most popular ones,  and integrate them in ways that make sense for their business.

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👋 Keen to chat? Let’s help you map the right social stack for your goals.

In a world where users expect instant value and brands battle for attention, Product-Led Growth (PLG) has quietly become the not-so-secret weapon of smart marketers and product teams. But what does PLG actually look like in the wild?

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In Episode 2 of The Unfair Advantage podcast, YOUKNOW Technologies' own Kelvin Jonck and Don Packett ditch the fluff and break down real-world stories that prove PLG isn’t just for Silicon Valley startups. From maxed-out loyalty tiers with no return, to gamified nudges from a wise-cracking owl, they unpack what works, and what doesn’t, when it comes to turning customer journeys into actual growth.

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What Is Product-Led Growth (PLG)?

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PLG is the idea that your product should drive acquisition, retention, and growth. It’s about giving users value upfront, through experience, not pitch decks. And that value? It’s measured by something Kelvin calls the moment of value, the feeling users get when your product actually solves a problem for them.

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The challenge? You can’t just hope they get there. You have to design for it.

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“You want to get your customer to that moment of value as often as possible. The first moment, as quickly as possible,” Kelvin explains.

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Let’s break down how brands are doing this, sometimes brilliantly, sometimes not.

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Loyalty ≠ Points: The Real Power of Redemption

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Donovan kicks off with a loyalty case study many South Africans will relate to: Kauai. After religiously scanning the app, hitting the black-tier badge (top-level status), and expecting a king’s welcome… he got nothing. No reward. No reminder. No redemption.

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"It’s not Kauai’s fault. Maybe a little. But the real opportunity is this: the customer doesn’t feel value until they redeem something, not just earn it."

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Contrast that with Kelvin’s Clicks Club Card story. No fancy app interface. No gamification. But one day, the cashier casually mentions he has R200 in his account. Boom. Instant emotional connection.

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"It wasn’t slick. But it was real. That one moment made me want to go back to Clicks over a competitor."

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PLG Lesson: Your loyalty programme isn’t about tiers or tokens, it’s about frictionless, timely, delightful redemption. That’s the moment that sticks.

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Onboarding: Your First (and Most Important) Impression

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“Just because someone downloaded your app doesn’t mean they’re going to use it,” Donovan reminds us. Which brings us to another key part of PLG: onboarding.

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Think of it as your opening line. If it doesn’t land, they’re out.

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Kelvin tells the story of learning French with his daughter on Duolingo, a brand that has nailed PLG by deeply personalising their onboarding and retention strategy. Miss a day? The app comes alive:

• “Seriously Kelvin, you came back just to ghost me again?”
  
  
• “You’re scaring me. I’m afraid of people who skip lessons.”
  
  
• “What’s wrong babe? You haven’t done French in four days.”
  
  

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These messages aren’t just funny. They’re data-driven, timed, and emotional. Duolingo watches your engagement patterns and adapts its messaging to keep you coming back.

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"Their job is to get me to do one course per day, four days in a row. If I drop off, they know their churn rate spikes. So they work to get me back in."

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PLG Lesson: The best onboarding doesn’t just show users around. It guides them, nudges them until that first value click happens. And it keeps listening.

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Use a Little More Data (And a Lot More Empathy)

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PLG isn’t just about product features or flashy campaigns. It’s about designing a journey that feels personal. That means using the data breadcrumbs your users leave behind to tailor the experience in small, smart ways.

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"You don’t have to boil the data ocean. Just use one or two more data points to test smarter and experiment faster."

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From personalised push notifications to subtle redemption reminders, every interaction is a chance to create connection. And the brands that win? They’re the ones who keep testing.

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PLG Best Practices (the YOUKNOW Way):

1. Design for Redemption: Don’t just reward engagement—reward follow-through.
   
   
2. Make Onboarding Magical: Every tap should bring users closer to a win.
   
   
3. Message Like a Human: Humour, guilt, emojis—test it all.
   
   
4. Map Value Moments: Know what your “Aha!” looks like, then make it repeatable.
   
   
5. Test Often, Learn Fast: Don’t wait for a perfect funnel. Run micro-tests and iterate.
   
   

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Final Word: PLG Is a Mindset, Not Just a Metric

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Loyalty isn’t earned through points. Retention isn’t luck. And product-led growth isn’t just for apps—it’s for any business that wants to grow by giving real value, faster.

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The question is: Are you designing your journey with moments of value in mind?

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YOUKNOW can help you map that journey, optimise it with data, and personalise it with just the right touch of magic.

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Ready to give your product the unfair advantage? Book a strategy session with YOUKNOW.

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Want more stories like these? Catch the full Unfair Advantage podcast on Spotify or YouTube.

There’s a subtle but seismic shift happening in how we think about AI, and it’s not coming from ChatGPT’s next poetry trick.

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It’s coming from AI that acts, not just chats.

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While generative tools still dazzle with dialogue, the real game-changer for digital teams lies in AI Agents: autonomous, goal-driven systems that don’t just interpret your product data, they actually do something with it.

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Last week’s Amplitude launch of AI Agents made this crystal clear: the age of intelligent action is here. And if you’re still stuck in dashboards and disconnected insights, you might be missing the moment.

From Insights to Actions, Finally...

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Product teams have spent years obsessing over analytics. We’ve got funnels, heatmaps, events, replays. But all too often, insight stops short of impact.

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You know the drill:

• Spot a drop-off in your onboarding.
• Schedule a meeting.
• Write a hypothesis.
• Wait for engineering.
• Hope it ships before quarter-end.

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AI Agents flip this on its head.

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They’re designed to detect issues in real-time, dive into relevant context (like session replays or funnel stages), form hypotheses, and launch experiments, all within the product environment. No handover. No delays. Just action.

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Let’s Break That Down:

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• Detection: A Conversion Agent flags a 17% drop in checkout completion.
• Diagnosis: It auto-surfaces session recordings with rage clicks on the payment screen.
• Intervention: It proposes two test variants (shorter form, simplified layout) and launches an A/B test.
• Validation: It monitors impact and presents the winning version.

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This isn’t a roadmap feature. It’s happening now in tools like Amplitude’s AI Agents, and it’s not just cool, it’s critical.

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Why It Matters for Your Team

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Let’s be honest: most product and growth teams are drowning in data, short on time, and stuck prioritising backlog over bold bets. AI Agents offer a way out—not by replacing humans, but by handling the grunt work so your team can think bigger.

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They’re not here to write your product vision. But they are here to:

• Scale your ability to iterate
• Reduce your experiment-to-impact cycle
• Free your team from tactical traffic jams

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The kicker? You define the guardrails. AI Agents still check in for approvals, align to your KPIs, and learn from your preferences. You stay in the loop, not out of control.

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What It Signals for the Industry

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This isn’t just an Amplitude story. Hootsuite is bringing AI to content calendars. Domo’s embedding AI into business dashboards. From martech to product ops, the shift is clear: intelligence is moving closer to execution.

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And in South Africa, where teams are navigating leaner budgets and scaling ambitions, this kind of AI-powered efficiency isn’t a luxury. It’s leverage.

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Questions We Should Be Asking

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• What’s the cost of not acting faster on our insights?
• Which tasks are eating our time but could be automated?
• How do we move from a team that tracks metrics to one that moves them?

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If you’re a product lead, growth strategist, or CXO wondering how to do more with less (without losing sleep), this is your wake-up call.

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Want to See It In Action? Watch Amplitude’s AI Agent demo here or visit Amplitude.com/ai.

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Or better yet: Book a chat with our team to explore how this works in a South African context.

Let’s be honest: most teams start with the tools. New dashboard? Let’s plug it in. New event schema? Ship it. But without clear alignment across product, marketing, and data teams, even the best analytics tech becomes just another tab in the browser.

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At YOUKNOW, we work with brands that want their tech to actually do something. And the biggest unlock for performance? Getting your teams aligned on what matters, long before the dashboards light up.

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Here are 5 ways to build that alignment early and make your analytics more than just pretty charts.

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1. Get Executive Buy-In Early

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Data maturity starts at the top. If your execs aren’t championing a data-led culture, your teams won’t prioritise it either. Get C-suite buy-in by showing how digital analytics ties to core business outcomes — not just clicks, but retention, revenue, and ROI.

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Pro tip: Use this Amplitude Digital Maturity Assessment to frame the conversation with your leadership team.

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2. Define Your North Star Metric (and Don’t Overcomplicate It)

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If product, marketing, and data teams are chasing different numbers, you’ll never get a clear picture. Define one shared outcome (like activation rate or repeat engagement) that matters most — then use that to anchor your reporting and experimentation.

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We like Amplitude’s North Star Playbook for exactly this reason: it helps teams focus on user value, not vanity metrics.

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3. Speak a Common Language

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Your product manager says “DAUs.” Your marketer says “conversions.” Your analyst says “cohorts.” Everyone’s technically right, but practically misaligned. Create a shared analytics glossary and make sure everyone understands what the metrics mean, and why they matter.

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4. Start Small, Then Scale

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You don’t need to track everything from day one. Align on the 3-5 core metrics that matter most, implement them cleanly in Amplitude, and get your teams used to using them before you expand.

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5. Create Rituals for Data-Driven Conversations

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Alignment doesn’t happen once. It happens consistently. Set regular check-ins to review your North Star, look at performance trends, and adjust your metrics as the product evolves. The magic happens when the whole team is asking the same questions, together.

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Let’s Make the Tools Work for the Team

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Tech should follow strategy. And strategy should be shared. Whether you’re just starting with Amplitude or have been using it for years, team alignment is the secret to scaling smart.

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Need help figuring out how to bring product, data, and marketing together? Book a discovery session with YOUKNOW and we’ll help you build a roadmap that works.