What are the best platforms and tools for monitoring online sentiment in real-time?

1 Define your goals

Before you start monitoring online sentiment, you need to define your goals and objectives. What are you trying to achieve by tracking online sentiment? Who are you targeting and what are their pain points, interests, and preferences? How will you measure and analyze online sentiment? How will you use the insights to inform your decisions and actions? Having clear and specific goals will help you choose the right platforms and tools for your needs and avoid getting overwhelmed by irrelevant or inaccurate data.

3 Use the right tools

Once you have chosen your platforms, you need to use the right tools to monitor online sentiment in real-time. There are numerous tools available, from free to paid, from simple to complex, from general to specific. Common features of online sentiment monitoring tools include keyword tracking, which allows you to track specific words or phrases related to your brand; sentiment analysis, which measures the tone and emotion of conversations; social listening, which allows you to listen to what people are saying about you and your competitors; and social analytics, which measures the performance and impact of your online presence.

4 Analyze the data

After collecting data from online sentiment monitoring tools, you need to analyze it and extract meaningful insights. Going beyond the numbers, you should consider the context, nuances, and implications of online sentiment. Ask yourself questions such as: what are the main themes and topics of online conversations? How are people feeling and why? How are people reacting and what are they expecting? How do you compare to your competitors and peers? How are your online activities affecting online sentiment? What gaps and opportunities for improvement exist?

5 Act on the insights

The final step is to take action based on the insights you have gained from analyzing online sentiment. You should use these insights to inform your strategy, optimize your tactics, and enhance your communication. This could involve responding to feedback and addressing issues or complaints, engaging with your audience and building relationships, creating and sharing relevant and valuable content, adapting and innovating your products or services, and leveraging positive online sentiment to amplify your brand advocates.

6 Here’s what else to consider

This is a space to share examples, stories, or insights that don’t fit into any of the previous sections. What else would you like to add?