Consumer Sentiment

‘Share of Voice' illustrates the impact that a brand has on the general Online conversation.  It provides the starting point for understanding how consumers or businesses feel about a brand.  Using this information, as well as observing who is leading these conversations and how they are linked, it is possible to identify which types of Social media, such as blogs, Networks, forums and wikis, a brand must monitor and engage with to help enhance advocacy and understanding (of the brand and its goals).

Merely quantifying a brand's share of voice is not enough. One must go further and understand the tone of the conversations that are taking place.  Having a large share of voice does not guarantee brand equity if the overall sentiment of the conversation is negative.

It is easy to think of different social media being separate entities; however the Content within the disparate media is highly connected through Links, Tags, and key words, all of which are picked up on by Search Engines.

The result of this is that the total body of content relating to a subject, or a brand, will be aggregated on search engines, such as Google, creating greater visibility for your brand. However, it is also important to realise that negative sentiment can often make its way on to the first few search pages, as well as positive, and this will affect the way in which a brand is perceived by the consumer.

Social network Groups on sites such as Facebook and MySpace provide incredible insight into consumer sentiment about a brand.  Social networks allow their users to publicly share photographs, videos, messages, and groups that they are members of, with their Friends.

Every day people are interacting within brand focused social networking groups that have been set up by other consumers.  Popular groups can Reach numbers in the hundreds of thousands and carry great influence as a result.

Consumer sentiment in social network groups (click to enlarge)

The consumer sentiment chart highlights the top 25 brands (in terms of social media share of voice and the sentiment towards them) across these social network groups. The conversations have been examined in greater detail, to further explain the above results.  

Starbucks tops the table in terms of positive sentiment, with the coffee house earning high levels of praise from its customers online. Initiatives such as offering two hours of free wi-fi per day, and My Starbucks' Idea http://mystarbucksidea.force.com/home/home.jsp (where members of the public can suggest ways of improving the service, with the best ones actually implemented), have been well received by the online public.

Pepsi has raised levels of positive chatter online for its brand through various online projects. The drinks brand launched a new Campaign to encourage consumers to engage with a new social site Pepsiyouniverse. Using footballers David Beckham, Thierry Henry, Ronaldinho, Cesc Fabregas, Lionel Messi and Frank Lampard, the network allowed users to discover their 'visual DNA' - a set of images that define their personalities.

There has been a strong response to the recent linkup between Pepsi and the BMI Foundation, Inc., to announce the opening of the Music Enrichment Fund Scholarship (a competition for young songwriters and composers). Pepsi has also launched a campaign in the U.S. to both communicate the benefits of aluminium can recycling and encourage consumers to make recycling a part of their daily routine.

By engaging with social media, Pepsi has amplified the conversation in social network groups and created positive brand sentiment online.

The Automotive sector holds one of the strongest positions, with Honda, Porsche, Ford, Mercedes and Toyota all showing high positive brand sentiment and, crucially, low negative reaction. This is possibly due to cars being a strong consumer passion point, offering powerful emotional engagement.

Honda has championed technology, reliability and longevity in its activity. It has also proactively engaged with Online communities and this strategy now appears to be paying off - with increased chatter. This year, Honda has clocked the best performance of any major player in the U.S. market.

Nintendo features (favourably) in a number of groups, following the success of the Wii. A recent video of a girl hula hooping whilst playing the Wii Fit has received two million Hits on YouTube and the figures are rising rapidly (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v31qxrXsxv0).

This is a great example of how an audience, strongly advocating a brand, creates content. Nintendo's constant innovation and its continual release of new games and products provides its customers, online communities and fan bases with the necessary stimuli to generate Buzz and chatter. 

The results for Canon are interesting, as there seems to be a very positive sentiment both towards the products and the brand itself. However, there was a growth of negative chatter in January 2008 when Canon, a major sponsor of projects to save endangered species, refused a Greenpeace request to condemn the Japanese government's whaling programme.

Greenpeace launched a worldwide appeal, calling on Canon's customers to urge the company to change both its own and the government's minds and add its voice to the international call for an end to the hunt. Immediately, more than 138,000 people joined the Greenpeace petition, which was executed in an extremely timely tactical manner online - via various social networks (such a Facebook and Bebo) and through relationships developed with passionate bloggers. The result was a strong wave of negative sentiment towards the brand.

McDonald's, Microsoft and eBay all suffer as a result of strong negative sentiment towards them. In the case of eBay, one of the root causes of this negative dialogue is its partnership and affiliation with PayPal. PayPal receives a huge amount of criticism online, with many active forums and communities of disgruntled customers (and ex-employees) exchanging details of their negative experiences (e.g. www.paypalsucks.com). For example, a recent announcement that eBay had forced Australian users on to a PayPal-only system was met by a barrage of online criticism (http://www.theregister.co.uk/2008/04/10/ebay_australia_paypal/). Also, reports of phishing emails targeted at PayPal and eBay users have triggered negative online conversations, which reflect the unease and uncertainty of users.

Buzz and sentiment in social media

Social media is not only changing the face of marketing but also the manner in which news is disseminated and brands are perceived. Kevin Rose, founder of Social bookmarking site Digg, explained, "People want to have a voice and a say in what is news. (...) It's about seeing what the masses want to surface, which articles they are finding the most interesting, and oftentimes they unearth and promote stories to the front page that you wouldn't find anywhere else; that would be buried on a traditional news site."

The ‘brands in social media' research document is a snapshot into a world that is ever changing. Social media evolves continuously, with new tools, forms and consumers appearing every day.

Brands wanting to fully understand their position in social media should treat this document as raw, topline information. Comprehensive research into influence and sentiment, as well as stakeholder analysis, is required for a more accurate picture of a brand's online share of voice and the type of sentiment expressed towards it within social media conversations.

Social media is a global phenomenon in which old demographics no longer apply. Conversations happen at the click of a button. New communities are born every day and brands need to be involved; in the first instance to listen, and then to participate.

Brands need to offer consumers reasons to initiate and continue conversations and, eventually, become advocates. It is important to realise that brands cannot and should not try to control conversations. However, through a proper understanding of the environments which they enter and the tools which they use, brands can develop a powerful network of advocates who will, in turn, continue to spread the message on their behalf.

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