What’s the buzz? The opportunities in online media monitoring

Are your ears burning? They should be. Because right now, people are talking about you. At their desks, on the phone, in meetings, online…especially online.

Whether or not you’re actively engaging directly with your audience through social media channels, there could be thousands of conversations taking place every day just about you. It’s almost feels a bit creepy, doesn’t it?

Since one of our clients asked for our help in monitoring what was being said about them on the web, the FreshMinds Research office has been, well, buzzing with chat about online media monitoring, or ‘buzz tracking’ as we call it. By being flies on the walls of conversations about our clients and, indeed, their competitors, we can give them unique insights into how they are perceived in the cyber marketplace, which marketing messages are resonating with consumers and which individuals and groups have the power to drive sentiment towards their brand. More importantly, perhaps, we can use what we find to help them understand what they can do to develop their brand and where they should be focussing their efforts.

For this method to have any longevity, the conversations have to be ongoing. Which means social media needs to be more than just a flash in the pan. So is it?

According to web whiz Erik Qualman’s recent post on his socialnomics blog, we have nothing to worry about on this front. Far from being just a fad, social media represents “the biggest shift in communication since the Industrial Revolution”. It’s a big claim. So where’s the proof? Qualman offers up the following (admittedly rather U.S.-skewed) stats:

• While radio took 38 years, TV 13 Years, the internet 4 years and the iPod 3 years to reach 50 million users, Facebook added 100 million users in less than 9 months during the last year
• In fact, if Facebook were a country it would be the world’s 4th largest between the United States and Indonesia
• YouTube is the 2nd largest search engine in the world
• 80% of US companies use LinkedIn as their primary tool for sourcing employees
• 1 in 8 couples married in the U.S. last year met via social media
• In the year to April 2009 Hulu (a free online video service only available in the U.S.) grew from 63 million total streams to 373 million

And those with particular relevance to our buzz tracking work:

• There are over 200 million blogs on the web (clearly a lot of people with a lot to say!)
• 54% of bloggers post content or tweet daily, with 34% posting opinions about products and brands (so the conversation really is ongoing…)
• 25% of search results for the world’s top 20 largest brands are links to user-generated content (so the impact on your brand really is significant)
• 80% of Twitter usage is on mobile devices (which means people can update anywhere, anytime…every emotion / thought / criticism can be charted)
• Only 14% of consumers trust advertisements, compared with 78% who trust their peers’ recommendations (they really are listening to what other people have to say…and so should brands)
• Only 18% of traditional TV campaigns generate a positive ROI
• More than 1.5 million pieces of content are shared on Facebook every single day (so make sure they’re positive!)

Taking all this into account, there’s an argument that, before long, rather than searching for products and services ourselves they’ll find us via social media.

While Qualman’s stats can’t promise social media’s sustained dominance, the signs are good. Growth in usage continues apace and, more importantly where buzz tracking is concerned, it seems people are increasingly using the web to gauge and form opinion, especially where consumer issues are concerned. The socialnomics stats, while not all relevant or correct (I felt compelled to cull the biggest offenders), serve to support the growing belief that a brand can be built or broken by the word on the (cyber) street. The web affords brands invaluable insights into consumers’ thoughts, emotions and behaviours. And it can do so in real time. Where brands are concerned, therefore, I think it’s fair to say that, contrary to the old adage, talk isn’t cheap – if anything, if listened to and acted on ‘appropriately’ it can be priceless.

Read more here

• Socialnomics: it’s a people driven economy, stupid
• Social media: is it a fad?
• The cultural divide in the social media evolution

About the author

Emma Barker’s route to FreshMinds Research has been somewhat circuitous. Having earned a degree in Philosophy at the University of York, she spent a couple of (ill-advised) years as a Tax Consultant before moving through Conference Production to her current (rather enjoyable) role as Marketing Associate at FreshMinds. Responsible for this blog, she gets to choose most of the pretty pictures, but is also to blame for any incorect speling. Outside work she enjoys punting, pilates, Pimms and Poirot (although rarely manages all four at the same time).