Cheap and Easy Brand Monitoring

Image by Whirling Phoenix via Flickr

The more I see new tools that more I want.

I am a Technology Junkie for sure. Much talk online today revolves around what is being said about my brand or about a company, big and small. So how can you get started today understanding what is being said about your organization? Let’s have a look:

First, the free, fast and easy way to get a snap-shot into what is being said.

Google. Yes, Google has stepped up their game when it comes to searching and leveraging mass amounts of data. If you have a website, you gotta have Google Analytics, easy to implement with little to no tech experience necessary. Understanding what your traffic looks like, where it comes from and how effective it is matters-simply put. Even if you run a blog. And if you place any Ads with Google try their Google AdPlanner-nice new shiny application for us to place Ads, targeted to the audiences, and easy enough to use while saving you money.

Next, you need to do a search for where people are talking about your business. Easy hey? Try Social Mention to begin with, and type in your Brand name, and have a look at what comes up. This tool reveals some good information about Blogs that mention your brand. Be sure to watch the Top Users who mentioned your company and download the CSV file as well for future reference when you go to engage them on their blog with a comment to anything they mention about you. Note too the types of sites that mention you. This will begin to build a roadmap of where the people live that discuss your products and services.

Next, search on TweepSearch for keywords that are your Brand, your specific products by name to determine who some of the top people are, by followers (Reach) that may discuss your stuff. You will need to click on the “Followers” link at the top of the search to determine who has the most followers. Make notes about these people for relevance, their followers and friends and what they talk about (Listening).

Let’s start with these first, then have a look at other topics I have posted along with Chris Brogan, Jason Falls, and the other thought leaders as to how you want to engage these crowds to begin the relationship. More to come.

What works for you? Remember, we are all learning this business everyday.

Tagged as: Brand, Chris Brogan, Google, Google Analytics, Jason Falls, Social Mention, TweepSearch, Website