JAAR: Volume 8, Issue 1, March 2020 40 Journal of American Academic Research JAAR Publishing Center San Francisco, CA, USA https://www.american-journals.com ISSN: 2328-1227 (Print) An Analysis of Social Listening and Use of Social Media as Marketing Tools Among University Students in Nigeria Ogunniyi Matthew Babatope, Ph.D. & Economist University of Lagos, Nigeria Ogunshakin, Olanike Theresa (Miss) Communication Specialist University of Lagos, Nigeria Abstract Timeless art of listening before speaking starts from childhood, unfortunately, many listen to respond rather than listen to understand. All over the world today, so many conversations happen on social media but very few people/organisations listen to them and fewer still, learn from them. Although this problem may seem inconsequential, it has a great effect on the success of every one of us either as individuals or corporate entities. In an era where content is King, engagement is Queen and data (information) is the new Currency, this research analyses how Nigerian university students tap into this enormous data generated from the amount of time Nigerians spend on social media to advance their businesses; it also analyses how they utilise social media and social listening as viable marketing tools in running smart businesses. This study recommends that university students in Nigeria, as well as other brands, governmental and non-governmental organisations should make use of social media and the social listening aspect of it to effectively boost online presence, clientele range and record significant increase in ROI. Keywords: Social Listening, Social Media, Marketing, Social Media Monitoring, Digital Marketing. Introduction Listening to learn, understand and take strategic steps has become so rare in a world where there is an enormous amount of data to benefit from. At an early age, humans are taught the timeless art of listening before speaking but unfortunately, many listen to respond rather than listen to understand. Interestingly, so many conversations happen on social media all over the world but very few people/organisations listen to them and fewer still, learn from them. According to International Business Machines (IBM) Cloud Marketing Report of 2017, 90% of the world’s data was created in the last two years. Going by that, we can say organisations have the opportunity to tap into five (5) years’ worth of data for the advancement of their businesses in 2020. Based on the foregoing, it