When Was Your Company’s Last Checkup?

I recently saw a press release from the Ketchum agency launching a new product for their health and wellness clients. With it, they help clients determine how their brands are perceived by consumers. It struck me in a more literal sense. When was the last time you gave your company a brand checkup?

Done in full, this can be an expensive exercise that includes surveys, focus groups, online studies and customer interviews. If you’re a billion-dollar company, you probably already have a brand reputation program and team in place managing this for you. But if you’re a small business owner or just don’t have the internal staff to spare, for a quicker study of consumer sentiment regarding your brand, just go social.

There are numerous online social media tracking tools available that even little guys can use. Some free sites to check out include: www.thecadmus.com, www.cotweet.com and www.backtype.com. These sites provide free tools that monitor online conversations taking place about your company on Twitter, Facebook, RSS feeds and blogs.

There are also companies like www.trackur.com who specialize in developing online dashboards monitoring consumer sentiment, industry trends and media mentions. They offer both free services and low-cost monthly tracking plans. An increasing number of social media tracking specialists such as Radian6, Scout Labs and Techrigy offer more comprehensive paid monitoring services as your company grows.

All these options can help track what people are saying about you and provide that ever-important brand checkup. Whether you want to quickly find out how your most recent marketing promotion is being received or if your customer service is perceived favorably, social media tracking helps you better understand your customers, industry and competition and all for the right price.

Let us know if you’ve used any social monitoring tools to track your brand’s reputation!