The same day as PubSub’s announcement about a similar service aimed at harnessing the ever-evolving information-overloaded blogosophere and using that power for good, IBM introduced new software enabling businesses to make sense of and manage information emerging from social networks about their company-a type of gossip monitor, called Public Image Monitoring Solution.
The company refers to the proliferation of blogs, news feeds, consumer review sites, newsgroups and wiki-style articles published on the Web daily as support for the need for such a services. These new facets of the Internet, which pump out incredible amounts of information about everything from daily life to political figures to products to companies, present new challenges to entities wishing to manage public image-especially as the world shifts to the Internet to find that information.
The information generated from online social networks is valuable as it gives businesses insight into public opinion and helps in the development of products, services, and business strategies.
IBM has addressed this need with its new software that provides a real-time view of commentary and opinions. Designed with Nstein Technologies and Factiva, the Public Image Monitoring Solution can be used to track the success of new products and marketing campaigns while gathering valuable consumer feedback information.
For example, in a financial services firm, an analyst can use this software to automate the manual process of collecting and analyzing data on publicly traded companies. The software can uncover potentially profitable joint ventures or marketing alliances, examine corporate news or filings in other languages, or identify organizations that meet specific criteria, such as undervalued companies with a strong technical workforce and products with strong brand equity in a specific industry.
The software could also be used in political campaigns, says IBM, to track personal branding, legislative issues, and hot topics.
“Companies are seeking new ways to better understand how they are viewed by customers, investors and other stakeholders who have an impact on their brand reputation,” said Jon Prial, vice president, IBM content management and discovery. “This solution can help clients track and analyze the pulse of the public in real-time, allowing organizations to be more responsive and deliver better service to their customers.”
