Sentiment Analysis In Advanced Social Listening was originally published on Forbes.com.
There has been a tremendous evolution in the social media marketing industry over the past few years. From the tools we use and the strategies we implement to the metrics we track, all have undergone significant changes over the years. However, one thing remains constant: the importance of understanding our audience. One way to achieve this is through social listening and, more specifically, sentiment analysis.
In brief, sentiment analysis involves interpreting and classifying emotions within social media content. It provides insights into public opinion about a brand, product, or service by evaluating whether the sentiment behind social media mentions is positive, negative, or neutral. But what does this look like?
Monitoring sentiment analysis is an important part of the overall social media work that we do for our clients. More than just writing copy and finding great visuals, we ensure that our social media management strategy always includes sentiment analysis of a brand.
Here are some ways agencies and brands can utilize sentiment analysis.
Crisis Management And Reputation Monitoring
Regardless of the size of a company, social listening plays an important role in crisis management and reputation monitoring.
For example, in 2017, United Airlines experienced a PR disaster when a passenger was forcibly removed from an overbooked flight. The incident, which was captured on cellphone video, led to a surge of negative sentiments across social media, which were detected by sentiment analysis tools. By monitoring the sentiment in real time, United Airlines could gauge the severity of the crisis, enabling them to respond to and manage the situation promptly.
Product Development And Improvement
Let’s take the case of a new product launch. Through sentiment analysis, a company can monitor and categorize customer feedback on social media about a new product.
For instance, if there are numerous negative sentiments about usability, color, size or any other aspect of the product, the company could prioritize this aspect for improvement. On the positive side, social listening also allows positive feedback to be collected and shared with the company. Social listening should be used for all sentiment—not just negative. Just as important, that sentiment should be sent up the chain of command so that it can be turned into something actionable.
Competitor Analysis
Beyond listening to what consumers are saying about your product, brand, or services, sentiment analysis is a great way to listen to what consumers are saying about competitors. Suppose Brand A and Brand B both sell organic skincare products. Both brands can use sentiment analysis to understand how consumers feel about their products as compared to their competitors. If customers express positive sentiments about Brand B’s product fragrance but negative sentiments about Brand A’s, Brand A might consider revamping its product’s scent profile.
Influencer Marketing
Influencer marketing has been a game-changer in social media. However, not all influencers will be the right fit for your brand, no matter the size of their following and the clout they hold. By conducting sentiment analysis on the comments and reactions to an influencer’s posts, a brand can assess whether partnering with that influencer will be beneficial. If the sentiment is mostly positive and aligns with the brand’s values, it’s a green light.
Conclusion
With a growing understanding of the importance of sentiment analysis for business, a quick search engine search will bring you numerous dashboards and platforms that can assist with this. Sentiment analysis brings a layer of depth to social listening that simple keyword monitoring cannot achieve. It provides invaluable insights into not just what people are saying, but how they’re saying it—their emotions, feelings, and attitudes. Harnessing the power of sentiment analysis can help us create more effective, engaging, and responsive social media strategies.
If your brand is listening but not analyzing, we can help. Reach out to the social media experts at Clearbridge Branding Agency: 856.327.4141.
