When I first heard the term “groundswell” I honestly thought that it had environmental implications. But then, my trusty Google bar informed me of this new trend where everyone’s “listening” to the “groundswell”. And as it turns out, “groundswell” is one way of describing the brilliant practice of monitoring what people are saying about your brand or company. How you might ask? Ask Andy Beal from Marketing Pilgrim. He has this list of the top social media sites and tools to use when it comes monitoring what people are saying about your brand.
When I first read through the descriptions of some of them, I thought, that’s a little sick. For instance, Backtype is this crazy website where you can keep track of the comments people make on different blogs. I know, I know. I thought it too: Who cares about the comments? Well, as Beal writes, “a blogger might post a positive article about your company, but your detractors [might] subsequently rip your reputation to shreds in the post’s comments.” So, not only are you able to monitor what a major blog is saying, but also what all the little people think too. And, apparently, if one particular user is constantly spitting up the haterade, you can set Backtype to monitor that user specifically. I stand by my statement: that really is kind of sick.
But for better or for worse, monitoring user generated content is where it’s at these days. I think of this whole “groundswell” extravaganza as akin to the release of the first iPhone. It’s the big new thing on the scene and everyone’s doing it, but really, it’s not much different than the lame ol’ Blackberry that’s been kicking around for years. In fact, if you asked me, I would say “listening to the groundswell” is the politically correct term for STALKING. But you know me, I’m nothing if not a PC thug, so I’ll continue to say “groundswell”.
So, why now? Why is it suddenly so important to track people’s opinions? Well, I don’t think it’s actually a new concept. I think businesses have always cared what the average bloke (P.S. I say bloke now) think about their product or brand. But recent studies have given the corporate crowd some cold hard numbers to prove that if one person hates you, they’re going to tell everyone they know. Chatter Guard, another fancy monitoring site, states that “over 60% of online shoppers and travel planners visit and seriously consider peer-written reviews prior to making their online purchase. In travel, 41% of US online leisure travelers use some form of social media tool in their travel research efforts.”
After reading that, I immediately thought, that’s so true.
On my University’s campus, there’s a diner/bar that serves mainly Italian dishes but is still pretty diverse, food wise. The food looks good, and the prices are decent. Even the location is convenient; especially when I used to live in residence, this diner was maybe 5 minutes away. However, in my four years of post-secondary education, I never once ate in this diner. Why? Because everyone I spoke to about it swore that the food was always a day away from going rancid and that the staff didn’t clean up properly at night. Thus, without any firsthand knowledge, I wrote this diner off as a dingy rat-hole worthy only of patrons who date their cousins and look to Denny’s for fine dining.
Maybe if this business had their ear to the ground and could hear what students were saying they could have made the necessary changes to improve their image.
That’s why, though I still think some of these monitoring tools are a little iffy, they can actually do a world of good for the businesses and brands being discussed.
In fact, I almost hope that in five years, there’s some sort of monitoring device that tracks what people say about other people within an office or school setting. Can you imagine all that juicy gossip? This kind of technology would have certainly saved me a lifetime of doubt as a teenager. Oh well.
So remember kids, speak up, because the next complaint or attack you post online might just turn into a multi-million dollar advertising campaign to change your mind.
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