Track Consumer Sentiment Across the Blogosphere and Beyond

The rapidly changing face of social media - blogs, twitter, wikis and other interactive media – has completely reshaped branding. Any message an organization puts out can now be picked up and re-shaped – occasionally to even greater impact than the original message – by consumers or even competitors active on social media platforms:

In November 2008, a surge of protest broke across the internet when the makers of the painkiller Motrin released an internet video directed at mothers who practice “babywearing:” carrying their infants in slings or backpacks. The ad touted what the makers of Motrin claimed were the inevitable back and neck pains from babywearing, and Moms who felt their choices impugned struck back, starting on the microblogging site Twitter. The server hosting the ad crashed, a YouTube response received over 3200 views in just a few hours, and McNeil Consumer Healthcare, maker of Motrin, promptly pulled the original ad and posted an apology.
Monitoring online conversations about your company, your brand and your products is no longer a luxury.

During the 2009 Super Bowl, GoDaddy competitor Network Solutions monitored Twitter for responses to Go daddy’s racy ads. Network Solutions’ “Social Media Swami” Shashi Bellamkonda, noticing the growing chorus of objections on Twitter, created and posted to Twitter a dedicated email address for GoDaddy clients wishing to change companies. By midnight he had gotten approval to post a “Twitter Special,” offering a discount of $10/year for transfers. In a tweet (twitter post) the next day, Bellamkonda noted, "The world today has changed. Companies can no longer hope to lob a message across high walls hoping that it reaches some part of the audience and not have a channel to get feedback on it."

Data from the new 2009 Edelman Trust Barometer Executive Summary hints at why episodes like this are more important than ever. Edelman researchers note that “Sixty percent (60%) of our respondents said they need to hear information about a company three to five times before they believe it.” Elsewhere, the same report notes that only 29% of respondents worldwide view information as credible when coming from a CEO; in the US, that number hits a six-year low of 17% among 35-to-64 year olds.

So who do consumers believe? According to the 2006 Edelman Trust Barometer, “A ‘person like me’ has become the most credible source of information about a company or a product, increasing from 22% in 2003 to 68% today.” And in 2009, Edelman reports that “Outside experts remain the most trusted purveyors of information about a company, with 59% of 35- to 64-year-olds saying an academic or expert on a company’s industry or issues would be extremely or very credible.”

Where do consumers turn to find the outside voices that are actively shaping opinion of your products?
They turn to social media platforms throughout the internet. “Companies will be well served by moving from a mind-set of control to one of contribution. …Companies should inform …the conversations among the new influencers—always under way on blogs, in discussion forums, and bulletin boards. Every company can be a media company by creating easily accessed, substantive online content that can be improved by the public.” (Edelman Trust Barometer 2009 Executive Summary)

In this environment, monitoring online conversations about your company, your brand and your products is no longer a luxury. In today’s market, it’s a necessity. ReputationConnect™ – NSI Partners’ reputation management solution - can help you make sense of the wide array of online conversations that have the potential to impact your bottom line significantly.

What’s the Buzz Online? Ask ReputationConnect

We actively track consumer sentiment across not only the blogosphere and throughout the social media arena, but on almost all websites as well. In fact, we cover 90% of the entire Internet, excluding private email. ReputationConnect can help you pro-actively manage your company’s reputation while at the same time helping you to build customer profiles and refine your marketing messages. ReputationConnect does this by:

Identifying consumers who are already talking online about your organization or products
Discovering competitive threats and expanding competitive intelligence
Providing easily sliced and diced, real-time data essential to creating relevant marketing messages
Alerting you to fraudulent claims about your company
Identifying customer service issues before they become widespread
Helping you to engage opinion-makers directly

Track, Analyze, Act

ReputationConnect Connects You With Your Audience

ReputationConnect’s data collection and tracking capabilities represent the foundation of our service. Our industry-leading reporting and analysis can help you with the important task of turning data into decisions. The result? Enhanced customer relationships and increased sales and impacts.

Included with ReputationConnect is NSI’s Analysis Service which provides:

Customized Reporting: Track trends with overview reports, or drill down to individual mentions in blogs, press releases, reviews, etc. ReputationConnect provides customized reporting so you receive the information you need for actionable decision making. NSI will monitor the results, alert you when needed, and forward quarterly reports that show trends and recommend responses.

Expert Recommendations and Analysis: Once you have solid data in your hands, you need to decide how to act on it. NSI can help you create an Engagement Plan to reach out to those who have questions or need assistance, and especially influencers who guide public opinion. We will consult with you to develop, customize and implement responses to online mentions–yielding positive feedback.

Protect Your Bottom Line:
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