In today’s hyper-connected world, news travels at the speed of a click. One moment, everything’s fine, and the next, public opinion can shift. Keeping your brand’s reputation in good standing requires being fully aware of what customers are saying online.
That’s where brand sentiment analysis comes in. It helps you tap into what people say about your company in real time. This way, you know what your customers think, so you can pivot away from trouble and lean into what’s working.
Now, let’s be real—you can’t always please everyone. But with brand sentiment analysis, you can aim for that coveted “trending positive” status. It’s not just about short-term victories but ensuring lasting success over time.
Understanding brand sentiment
At its core, brand sentiment is the overall feeling people have toward your brand. It’s a measure of how your audience perceives you based on their interactions, experiences, and opinions. Think of it as the collective emotional temperature surrounding your brand.
Brand sentiment typically falls into 3 main categories:
- Positive: People like your brand, showing loyalty, excitement, or appreciation.
- Neutral: People know about your brand but don’t feel strongly one way or another.
- Negative: People are unhappy with your brand, expressing frustration or even anger.
Keep in mind that brand sentiment analysis isn’t always straightforward. People can have mixed feelings, like appreciating your brand values but not agreeing with your prices. Or they might love your product quality but be disappointed with the delivery time.
Why is brand sentiment analysis important?
Want to know how your customers truly feel about your brand? Brand sentiment tracking and analysis go beyond surface-level metrics, offering a window into the hearts and minds of your target audience. Here’s why it’s become a must-have for modern marketing.
Go beyond basic customer feedback
Brand sentiment analysis takes you far beyond traditional surveys and comment cards. Instead of only reading individual comments, you examine feedback from all over the internet. This broader view lets you see patterns in customer opinions that you might miss by looking at just one source.
Identify areas for improvement
With this broader view, you can also spot where your brand might need some work. Whether it’s customer experience, product quality, or pricing, tracking brand sentiment helps you zero in on what needs fixing. Understanding where you’re falling short gives you the chance to improve and meet customer expectations.
Monitor your brand’s reputation
Brand sentiment monitoring helps you see how people feel about your brand in real time. By tracking what customers are saying on social media, online reviews, and other platforms, you can quickly spot any shifts in opinion. This lets you fix problems quickly and respond to negative feedback before it harms your brand reputation.
Measure campaign effectiveness
Monitoring brand sentiment shows how people react to your marketing campaigns. It tells you whether your campaigns create a positive brand sentiment or spark negative feedback. This lets you quickly understand if your campaign is working or needs changes, helping you stay on track with your audience.
Capitalize on sales opportunities
Brand sentiment monitoring and analysis help you find ways to boost sales. They show you what customers like and where there’s room for improvement. With this info, you can find ways to cross-sell or upsell products, create new offerings, or adjust your approach to match customer needs.
Dive deeper into the data
Subscribe to get more marketing insights straight to your inbox.
How to measure brand sentiment and analyze the results
Raw data is just noise until you know how to interpret it. This section will show how to measure brand sentiment and turn that data into useful insights. Just follow these steps to get started.
Step #1: Choose the right brand sentiment analysis tools
To effectively analyze brand sentiment, you’ll need the right tools. While dedicated sentiment analysis platforms are a good starting point, they often give a limited view.
These platforms typically offer an overall score, like positive, negative, or neutral, but don’t always explain why. For example, a positive score might mask underlying issues like pricing complaints.
To get the complete picture, consider combining many different tools. Here are several options to explore.
Social listening tools
Social listening tools monitor brand mentions across social media platforms. They scan social media posts to find mentions of your brand, even if you aren’t tagged directly. Many tools also offer social media sentiment analysis, giving you a score showing whether the feedback is mostly positive, negative, or neutral.
Text analytics tools
Text analytics tools analyze large amounts of written content, like online reviews, social media posts, and blogs. These tools break down text to identify patterns, key phrases, and overall sentiment. They can also pick up on emotions, sarcasm, or repeated concerns, providing additional insights into customer feedback.
Customer surveys
Sometimes, the easiest way to understand your customers is to ask them. Customer surveys let you gather direct feedback about their experiences and preferences. Consider using a mix of scales and open-ended questions to get both big-picture insights and specific details.
Net promotor score (NPS) emails
NPS emails ask customers one simple question: “How likely are you to recommend our brand to others?” Based on customers’ answers, you can categorize them as promoters, passives, or detractors. To get deeper insights, you can add a follow-up question like, “What’s the main reason for your score?”
Forums and blogs
Think of online forums and blogs as virtual town halls for your industry. Your target audience gathers on these platforms to discuss trends, share opinions, and ask questions. By listening to these conversations, you can better understand your audience’s needs, pain points, and perceptions of your brand.
Online reviews
Online reviews are like a public report card for your business. Sites like Yelp and Google Reviews give you valuable feedback, and it’s not just from star ratings. The comments people leave provide specific examples of what they like and dislike, giving you a clear direction on where to improve.
Focus groups
Want to have a real conversation with your customers? Focus groups let you do just that. You can hear customers’ stories, ask questions, and better understand their feelings. These sessions provide in-depth insights that are hard to get from surveys or online feedback.
Customer service interactions
Your Customer Service team is constantly gathering valuable information. Whether on a call, through live chat, or by email, every interaction provides clues about what’s working and what’s not. These conversations are a direct line to your customers, highlighting their concerns, frustrations, and unmet needs.
Step #2: Gather both negative and positive sentiment data
Using all the tools at your disposal, collect a wide range of feedback about your brand. Don’t just focus on the good stuff. Negative feedback is just as valuable, if not more so.
Pay attention to:
- Compliments about your products or services
- Complaints and criticisms
- Suggestions for improvement
- Comparisons to competitors
- Emotional responses, both good and bad
Remember, the goal is a balanced view of your brand sentiment. Positive feedback shows what you’re doing right, while negative sentiment data tells you where to improve.
Step #3: Conduct a full brand sentiment analysis
Now that you’ve gathered data from various sources, it’s time to bring it together and analyze your brand sentiment. Begin by assessing your overall brand sentiment. Is it mostly positive, negative, or neutral?
Then, break down the sentiment by:
- Products or services: Are people happy with your product quality, features, and value?
- Pricing and sales: How do customers feel about your pricing strategy?
- Customer support: Is your Support team perceived as responsive and helpful?
- Website or app: How easy and enjoyable is it for customers to use your website or app?
- Customer experience: Do customers feel valued and supported throughout their journey?
- Marketing strategies: How is your target audience responding to your campaigns?
- Brand mission and values: Do customers connect with your brand’s purpose?
- Community involvement: How do people view your brand’s impact on the community?
Also, consider that not everyone cares about the same things. Some customers might care about your high-tech product features, while others just want the best deal. To understand what’s going on, you need to look at different groups of customers separately.
You can break your data into customer segments in a few ways. You could look at customer demographics like age and location to see how each group feels about your brand. You might also compare new customers with returning ones to see if their opinions differ. Additionally, check if sentiment changes based on what people buy, how often they shop, or their support history.
Step #4: Compare your brand sentiment to competitors
Using your brand sentiment analysis findings, see how your brand stacks up against the competition. This gives you a benchmark to measure your success in your industry.
Are you keeping up with your competitors or even doing better in some areas? Look for where you’re winning and where you could improve. Are your competitors failing to meet customer needs that you could fulfill? If so, that’s an excellent opportunity for your brand.
For example, if customers complain about slow shipping from a competitor and you offer faster delivery, highlight that in your marketing. On the other hand, if you notice the same complaints for your brand and your competitors, it’s a sign to fix those issues before they worsen.
Step #5: Use insights to improve sentiment about your brand
Now that you’ve done all this digging, you can put your insights to work. Look where your brand is falling short. Maybe your customer support is a bit slow, your prices are too high, or your marketing strategy just isn’t clicking.
Take these weak spots and turn them into your next big wins. If people want better support, consider hiring more Customer Service Reps or retraining existing ones. If your prices are too high, think about offering more value, explaining your pricing better, or using limited-time offers.
But don’t stop there. Your analysis might show that customers care about things like community involvement or sustainability. If so, why not launch a local volunteer program or switch to greener packaging? It’s all about giving people what they want.
Don’t forget to close the feedback loop. Get your Customer Success team on the phone with those unhappy customers. Sometimes, a simple “We hear you, and here’s what we’re doing about it” can turn a critic into a fan.
Step #6: Continuously monitor and analyze brand sentiment
Brand sentiment analysis isn’t a one-time task. You need to stay on top of what people say about your brand because the conversation never stops.
Make it a habit to check your sentiment scores and keep track of brand mentions across all platforms. Whether you do this monthly or once a quarter, the key is to stay consistent.
Pay particularly close attention after making changes based on customer feedback. Did the new feature solve the problem? Are people happier with your customer service now? This feedback loop helps you fine-tune your strategies and show customers you’re truly listening.
Start measuring brand sentiment for actionable insights
Ready to get the inside scoop on what people think about your brand? Brand sentiment analysis turns online chatter into valuable info that can improve your business. By listening to your audience, you can build a stronger brand that people love. So, what are you waiting for? Start measuring brand sentiment today and watch your company thrive.