Synthesio, Global Social Media Monitoring

Synthesio, a firm specialized in the analysis of online articles, comments and reviews, has just launched a new tool specially designed for hotel chains : Hospitality.

Already present among the large consumer brands, Synthesio has taken advantage of its monitoring expertise and technological foundation to address a sector rich in complexities.

One of the particularities of hotel management professionals is the wide range of services that they offer (overnight stays, restaurant service, recreational activities, pool and spa, etc.) that now also include the thousand and one services offered to increasingly demanding customers (handicapped accessibility, room service, group activities, etc.) without forgetting highly strategic points that may include the soundproofing of the rooms or the cleanliness of the bathrooms!

During the creation of Hospitality, the name given by Synthesio to its online monitoring tool, the difficulty was to be able to create an ergonomic and user-friendly solution given the large mass of information on topics as wide ranging as “fast check-ins”, “squishy beds” and “surly barmen”…

However, Synthesio has managed to do just this, as one of the most prestigious international hotel chains has recently agreed to use Hospitality to analyze the body of articles online relating to its various brands.

In fact, Hospitality, a true “automated focus group”, currently monitors thousands of internet users’ opinions that are published on a daily basis on more than 20,000 hotels and 40 hotel chains worldwide.

Thirty criteria of analysis are taken into account (comfort, cleanliness, location, service, etc.) and are compared with those of the competition.

In addition, the online dashboards of Hospitality display a ranking of the most popular hotels online. They also analyze rumors and trends associated with strategic decisions of the hotel management profession. Influencers (brand advocates and detractors) are identified in order to allow an immediate reaction, if necessary.

Lastly, due to their detrimental effects on the brand image of a group, extremely negative opinions are identified and reported via systematic alerts.

The innovative technologies developed by Synthesio offer marketing and operational managers the capacity to follow their brand image in real time on all forms of alternative and social media: discussion forums, blogs, consumer reviews and opinions, online shopping and booking sites (Booking.com, Expedia, Tripadvisor, etc.).

Loic Moisand, co-founder of Synthesio, maintains that “an article published on an influential site is capable of generating several hundreds of user comments in only a few hours. Warning a hotel early on gives it a chance to correct the problem, improve its service and prove to its clients its dedication to a quality experience.”

Cause marketing meets social media?

Target is one brand among several that has made the connections from social media to online reputation to worthy causes.

They just launched a campaign that will result in the donation of US$3 million to one lucky charity: they have invited Internet users to vote for their favorite charity (out of a list of 10) on Facebook to determine which one will get the money.

Of course, certain critics have attacked the campaign as being a simple “tactic to create buzz”. Nonetheless, there’s a nice little chunk of change to be donated, and the interjection of social media into charity work promises to do some good for more than just the brand

What’s the connection between the Tour de France, Nike and Twitter?

The answer? LiveStrong!

Nike has created a machine (the Chalkbot) exclusively to paint fans’ tweets along the Tour de France route all while Lance Armstrong chats with them on his own Twitter account.

The words of encouragements sent out to the Tour cyclists, then, mean that the brand interactions between Nike and Internet users are happening in real time and in a very public way. Original and neat!

Within the framework of expanding the multilingual monitoring capacities of our web monitoring platform (thanks to our R&D Universal Search Program that equally allows us to manage encoding in Japanese, Korean, Arabic, etc.), we would like to invite you to discover the new Chinese version of our corporate website!

Online brand reputation is, by definition, a global issue, and yet the majority of actors within the Internet monitoring industry hardly even monitor romance languages (i.e. English is the only language monitored by many of our American friends).

However, a brand like Nike, for example, certainly needs to know that Russian teenagers hate the colors of their new Dunk High Premium line.

Nike stockholders, at the same time, need to know that they can sell the same line of sneakers for twice as much as those made by Li Ning (a Chinese sneaker manufacturer) to consumers ready to pay anything for their favorite brand…

As one Nike manager said: “there are 2 billion feet out there: go get ‘em!”

That’s why Synthesio has spent the past few months developing our information source database to be able to provide our clients with a reliable coverage of Internet information from principal press sites, blogs, forums, etc. in Mandarin and Russian.

Information in these languages is already available for our clients wishing to monitor their brands internationally and they have been added to the list of 30 languages already monitored by Synthesio.

Luxury Brands and Social Media

Who talks about brands on the Internet? Those that have free time to do it, of course! Meaning… rich people The author of this Mashable post points out that with the affluent increasingly surfing the web, “brands with scarce products and high prices must find a way to find consumers online”.

But luxury brands have a unique issue to confront: exclusivity. Certain brands have decided to create a public Facebook page open to anyone and everyone. Gucci, for example, has done this to provide a space for all Gucci lovers to express their love for the brand.

Others, on the other hand, have chosen closed networks that ban access from those that have not yet earned their way in; i.e. if you haven’t bought your Mercedes Benz yet, don’t even try to join the online network.

Quizno’s Crowdsourcing

As we pointed out in previous posts, a brand’s Internet users’ opinions can be sources of innovation as well as ideas for improvement.

Just take a look at this Quizno’s video that kicks off a contest to find videos of sandwhich lovers eating their subs “in an unusual place or while doing an unexpected activity…”

A few (extra) reasons to monitor social media

#1 : Dave and his “blank”

The virality of this video is stunning (just as much as its content) and fully demonstrates the speed at which information spreads nowadays.

After a few moments of confusion about the product “blank”, the scenario is taken over by a certain Dave that, in one week, will become the new brand advocate of “blank”.

But first, we must answer: Which “blank”? The “blank” with all the “blanks”? Over 1,900 comments, videos on YouTube of people advising against “blank” that have since changed their minds and now suggest “blank”. One post on Twitter that received 14 replies within 2 minutes, yet Dave is still unsure if he should buy “blank”…

His uncle and a friend have “blank”: according to them, it’s “the best blank of all”. Dave finally makes up his mind and buys “blank”. He loves it. A note arrives for him in the mail saying that “blank” loves him, and he loves “blank” back . He put photos of his “blank” on Flickr and joined “blank’s” Facebook group. He tweets about “blank” and sometimes “blank” even tweets him back. He suggests “blank” to his friends and family and convinced his sister to get a “blank” of her own. He has touched 435 lives because he is a brand advocate.

The video’s ultimate question: wouldn’t you like someone like Dave to talk about YOUR “blank”?

In short, a video that offers more than a 20-page sales presentation about the impact social media can have on your product/brand/company…

#2 : Three Essential Market-Research Methods in an Online Community

The burning question : what do you know about your customers, right now, right at this moment ? This article goes directly to the heart of the issue: in order to succeed in your market, you must know your customer. Analyzing the needs of the people that use your product or service that have real needs is indeed a key issue that can make or break a company’s success.

The MarketingProfs emphasize the idea of using communities for brand management, but forget to mention, however, that in order to do just that it is often necessary to have a professional monitoring tool in place:)

Nevertheless, the essential is there: listening and understanding the conversations about your brand allows you to detect your market’s needs, purchase motivations, etc. When the consumer is on your side, you have a strategic advantage in the bag…