Business

BRAND MONITORING: Definition and Detailed Guide

Monitoring how the general public perceives your brand is essential for the health and longevity of your company. Your audience discusses your brand in different places, fortunately, online brand monitoring makes it simpler to keep track of all brand mentions and gain a thorough picture of consumer sentiment. Firstly:

What is Brand monitoring?

Brand monitoring is a business analytics technique that involves keeping an eye on various media or digital channels.  It is a technique of tracking various channels to find out where your brand is discussed. Understanding where and how your brand is being discussed will help you better understand how consumers feel about it and enable you to gather insightful customer feedback. You can keep an eye out for issues and reply to inquiries or criticisms before they spiral out of control.

Top 5 benefits of brand monitoring 

Every brand needs monitoring irrespective of its size and industry. The benefits of brand tracking cannot be overemphasized. Keep reading to learn about the top 4 benefits of brand tracking.

  1. Identifies infringers

Identifying and dealing with infringers is important since they use a brand’s reputation and popularity to their advantage. With brand tracking, a company can identify infringers by monitoring those who use domain/brand names similar to theirs. Brand tracking is a means to enforce trademark law, which is intended to protect consumers and brand owners from unfair competition.

2. Crisis and reputation management

Maintaining control over your brand can help you manage consumer complaints and maintain a positive reputation. Audiences’ trust in your brand can be increased by paying attention to online reviews and feedback and having a process for handling those problems. This demonstrates that you genuinely care about what customers have to say.

3. Creates a two-way communication

It is easier to reply when you are aware of where consumers are talking about your brand. Responding to reviews or comments in the open demonstrates to your audience that you are interested in what they have to say. Also, it demonstrates your availability to assist clients and respond to inquiries. It may appear like your brand is unavailable or not paying attention to feedback if you skip the opportunity to respond to inquiries or criticism posted online.

4. Identifies users generated content

Your content strategy may benefit greatly from the addition of user-generated content. You may find out who is distributing content about your brand through brand monitoring. This is a fantastic way to obtain fresh content for your social media platforms as well as new influencers to collaborate with who will truly represent your business.

READ MORE: What Goes Into Functional Office Design?

What are the brand factors to monitor?

It’s tempting to keep an eye out whenever your brand is mentioned wherever people are discussing it. Yet, it’s crucial to be deliberate about what you’re watching and the channels you want to follow. This keeps you from gathering an excessive amount of data that would be difficult to interpret and enables you to make greater sense of the findings. Among the most important channels to watch are:

  • Online news sources
  • Social media channel
  • Online discussion boards like Reddit and Quora
  • Websites for online reviews
  • Print media (if you have the resources to check relevant publications)

Essential brand components to watch for in conversation mentioning your brand.

  1. Name variation

Create a list of every citation used to describe your brand. This can include nicknames, blog names, and other word variations that are connected to your brand. It’s crucial to keep note of all the different spellings and abbreviations of your name because some individuals might use them. You can find variations and even common misspellings by conducting keyword research on the searches that lead to the web presence of your businesses.

Besides keeping note of variations of your brand name, it’s a good idea to keep track of variations of the names of your campaigns or products. These will help you stay informed about the debate surrounding your brand.

2. Competitors

To make sure you’re up to date on the recent business news, be aware of what your rivals are doing and what their audience is talking about. Evaluate your competitors to establish a standard for weighing how your brand compares to other similar brands in your industry. 

You can carry out s competition study with many online brand monitoring tools to see how your social media activity stacks up against others’. You can track how your performance evolves over time by comparing your presence to that of competitors with competitor reports across all platforms.

READ MORE: GRANTS FOR WRITERS: Top 50 For Poets, Fiction &  Nonfiction Writers In 2023

Others include:

3. Industry keywords and buzz

It’s a good idea to follow trends or keywords in your sector if you work in a certain niche. Even if your brand isn’t specifically mentioned in these discussions, it helps to be aware of what is being said about your sector. This may also serve as an excellent source of fresh content ideas or creative approaches to participating in the conversation.

4. Public figures and CEOs

Keep an eye out for references of celebrities who are serving as brand ambassadors or campaign spokesmen. Be sure to keep an eye on any talks involving your CEO or any other well-known individuals who are connected to your brand. Even if the news surrounding the individual has no direct bearing on business operations, how a firm employee is depicted in the media can affect how the public perceives your brand.

Participating in conversations that aren’t only about customer service or complaints can help your business come out as engaged in the industry. This makes you equally interested in the newest developments as the devoted audience in your specialty.

The bottom line

Finding out what consumers think of your brand can be made easier with brand monitoring. This information can assist you make smarter marketing choices and develop campaigns that your target market will adore. When you get remarks, you can effectively provide support, respond, and manage the message being spread. You’ll learn more about your industry and how your brand compares to the competition the more you observe.

About the author

Zainab Olatunji

Leave a Comment