02 Oct Brand Sentiment and Social Media

In our ever-connected, social media world, have you ever wondered how much positive word-of-mouth matters to your organization? Here are some significant clues.

1. 53% of people on Twitter recommend companies and/or products in their Tweets, with 48% of them delivering on their intention to buy the product. (Source: ROI Research for Performance, June 2010)

2. The average consumer mentions specific brands over 90 times per week in conversations with friends, family, and co-workers. (Source: Keller Fay, WOMMA, 2010)

3. Consumer reviews are nearly 12 times more trusted than direct company recommendations, according to a survey of US mom Internet users by online video review site EXPO. (Source: eMarketer, February 2010)

4. In a study conducted by social networking site MeetMe, 81% of respondents said they’d received advice from friends and followers relating to a product purchase through a social site, and 74% of those who received such advice found it to be influential in their decision.

Translation: if you don’t have good word-of-mouth via your social channels, you’re getting killed by competitors that do. And to know where you’re going, you’ve got know where you are.

So how do you measure your brand sentiment? Start by paying attention to what’s being said about you and your company. One of the best tools to use is Socialmention.com, which has great controls and metrics for setting benchmarks.