Social Intelligence and online reputation: how to build and protect brand image

In recent years, we have witnessed a digital revolution driven largely by the rise of social media. Undoubtedly, these communication channels have transformed different aspects of our lives. If we focus on the corporate sphere, most companies have abandoned their physical space and moved exclusively into the digital world, demonstrating the importance of having a good online reputation management.

To succeed in this digital journey, it is essential to have effective strategies and tools capable of analysing all types of information. This is where Social Intelligence comes in. But what is this market research tool about? How can companies benefit? And how can it be applied in business strategy?

What is Social Intelligence?

To understand what this tool is all about, it is fair to start by defining its concept.  Social Intelligence is a market research tool that allows you to monitor social networks, collect information and analyse their content. In other words, this function can leverage the data provided by these platforms to generate experiences and services that match user preferences, being able to transform a business accordingly.

This audience research, as we will see, is a source of information that in essence generates a great competitive advantage. By identifying the profile of users, their interests, affinities and curiosities, more effective and profitable campaigns and commercial strategies can be generated. As a result, the possibility of market growth is much greater.

Social Intelligence monitors social networks, collects information and analyzes their content.

What are the advantages of Social Intelligence?

Thanks to the analysis carried out, it is possible to obtain a very accurate picture of the state of the brand, its strengths, weaknesses, and customer preferences, as well as the main competition. With all these data in hand, professional strategies can be developed that adapt to the interests of the market and stand out from other brands. In this way, the decisions taken are much firmer, more stable, and informed, and less risky.

Social Intelligence also stands out for its ability to combine technological knowledge, understanding of the business environment and marketing techniques, thus finding innovative and effective solutions to drive companies forward. In addition, it is considerably easier to spot business opportunities in the market by identifying emerging trends.

Uses of Social Intelligence: the road to business reputation

But what can we use this tool for in building and maintaining the reputation of a business? The truth is that there are several uses that can be made of it at the corporate level for this purpose:

• Recognition of the audience: knowing their tastes and preferences to adapt to them. This provides valuable information and products that meet their needs.
• Audience division: if it is a broad audience, it can be separated into segments, depending on how users connect with each other and interact with the company. This allows the creation of personalised strategies, achieving greater results.
• Identifying influencers: in a hyper-connected world like ours, it is essential to know how to reach the audience in a close way, and there is no doubt that influencers are a unique opportunity in this regard. Social Intelligence allows to detect small, medium and large influencers that align with the marketing strategy of the business and the goods and products offered. This opens the possibility of collaborating with them to enrich the commercial campaign.
• Demographic segmentation in society: in other words, classifying users into specific groups based on characteristics such as age, location, gender, and interests. Social Intelligence helps to delve deeper into these groups, investigating their online behaviours, opinions, preferences, and social connections.
• Segmentation of social networks: not all social networks are the same, and neither are the regular users who use them. In order to generate effective marketing strategies, it is essential to analyse the trends in each of them and how customers respond on the different platforms, something that Social Intelligence makes possible.
• Media management: Social Intelligence allows you to set and determine campaign budgets more efficiently, thereby improving advertising, content, and PR results.
• Creation of specialised content: Social Intelligence facilitates the identification of relevant topics, popular keywords and content formats preferred by the target audience. This allows the creation of specialised and personalised content that generates greater engagement and connection with users, thus boosting the effectiveness of online marketing strategies.

The metamorphosis of companies: real success stories with Social Intelligence

At Izertis we help to transform and boost more and more companies every day, helping them to increase their competitiveness and improve their positioning in an increasingly demanding market. Through our digital marketing solutions, we offer businesses a strategic and deep insight into their corporate environment and audience behaviour. This enables them to make informed and timely decisions, identify new niches and strengthen their business.

We offer a strategic and deep vision of your corporate environment and the behavior of your audience.

Do you want some examples? Here are three:

• TotalEnergies: It is not a secret that the energy trading sector is extremely competitive, especially when it comes to online trading. Izertis proposed a strategy to optimise the online positioning of the TotalEnergies website, creating content and introducing SEO strategies, with the aim of increasing the brand's visibility in the organic channel and obtaining quality traffic. The result: organic traffic grew by 50% in the first half of 2022, making TotalEnergies one of the six largest energy traders in Spain.
• Fotocasa: in this case, a social media and digital communication strategy was designed to bring the brand closer to users in order to boost commercial activity. To this end, a study of customer perceptions and business needs was carried out, based on which a strategy with great appeal and visual potential was designed. As a result, visibility on social media grew by 250%, traffic to social channels increased by 80% and the community started to grow by 5% every month.
• UCB Pharma: this brand sought to raise awareness of one of its medicines: Zyrtec. With this objective in mind, Izertis has carried out several strategic actions to strengthen its online presence. This included designing a website with allergy and allergy care information, developing a communication strategy, including an editorial plan and specialised content on their corporate blog, creating online advertising campaigns, and managing social media to increase brand trust. As a result, the website receives approximately 40,000 visits each month and social media has grown exponentially, generating more than 28,000 new followers on Instagram.

This article was written jointly by Aida Fernández and Estela Carcedo, digital communication consultants in the Digital Experience area.