How to Generate Greater Insight into Corporate Reputation Management
Social media analyses have become routine, especially in bigger organizations. Organizations keep tabs on metrics and response times. Companies have access to real-time knowledge on what topics are currently trending and can analyse volume graphs to make decisions. Now the brand reputation assessment is mostly tied to what online data is saying. And yet we don’t really trust our own capacity to interpret big data. In this field, specialized expertise is necessary.
Many corporate communications departments are looking for a button to press that will improve their reputation. However it actually boils down to finding a few key factors in the ocean of data that is being streamed every day. The vital aspect is how to connect these factors to generate a useful insight. The tips below provide skills you need to apply in your structural reputation analysis.
Look Beyond Quality
A sudden increase in volume could have several underlying factors. Maybe someone repeatedly sent out the same tweet, there was a giveaway or your brand received a mention in the context of a related topic. Perform a qualitative analysis of peak activity levels. See what the trending topics are. Do you perceive a change in sentiment? Were any stakeholders involved?
Further, you can also look beyond just volume. An issue could have reputational consequences without necessarily amassing high volume. The post’s reach, source category and source are other parameters you should consider in your analysis.
Measure Your Core Values
Monitor any changes in sentiment that are connected to your core values. Your corporate communications strategy was created with a vision and plan in mind. It entails all core values that you would want to show up in your analysis. With the help of a social media monitoring tool it is relatively easy to measure these values: map the keywords that are being used related to these values and perform your analysis on that basis.
The Impact of Press Releases
Writing and publishing press releases is a major job component of communications professionals and spokespersons. Usually, you will have an idea of how a press release will be received. However, many times companies forego analysing the impact of their press release past a day of publishing. The lack of monitoring means you lose out on collecting insights that could help you optimize your PR strategy.
Proactive and Reactive Coverage
Proactive and reactive coverage is another aspect to look out for. Mapping this in a structured manner will give you an indication of which coverage comes out of the blue, unlike coverage that you can control to a certain extent. Monitor hashtags and mentions related to your company brand and how these relate to content that was published from your corporate accounts.
The Hot Topics within the Industry
Media monitoring should not be limited to just your own company. A brand’s reputation stretches beyond the brand itself, as it could be affected by the overall reputation of the industry. A crisis situation for a competitor could lead to an increase in conversations about your brand as well. It’s important to monitor and understand which issues have an impact on the industry as a whole. It will help you to act promptly and actively manage these conversations to maintain your brand reputation.
