Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/191652
42 Information Technology maltatoday, SUNDAY, 13 OCTOBER 2013 The ins and outs of online brand monitoring DANIEL COLEIRO KINGSWELL Why should you monitor your online reputation? Word of mouth has always been one of the most important factors that can make or break a business. With blogs, online articles and social media, the word of mouth element just got more influential. It is a well-known fact that people trust more the opinion of those that already experienced your products or services rather than your advertisements. Whereas before one could tell his or her story to friends a few at a time, today with social media one could give an immediate review and share it either with all friends, or else publicly. Although the online reality brought about some disadvantages, it is also an opportunity for businesses to monitor and measure their brand reputation. What should you monitor? Online brand monitoring should be able to give you a clear picture of how your customers portray your business. To do this you should monitor local and international news that mention your business, blogs, and also social media such as Facebook, Twitter, and Google+. How to monitor online brand reputation? Professional companies can monitor and also measure your online brand reputation with various tools. It is not that easy to monitor what customers are saying about your products or services. For example on Facebook, if someone shares his or her review privately, you can never get the chance to answer. This is why it is of vital importance to answer when you get the chance to; for example on your Facebook page or on publicly shared posts. Monitor and measure It is not enough to monitor your brand reputation. We should also measure it. While monitoring or "listening" is concerned with the discovery of conversations with the purpose of engaging and helping customers, measuring is concerned with metrics over a specified time period. Data collected from monitoring should be sorted according to date, relevance, sentiment and other dimensions to then help us interpret it. Monitoring lets you listen and respond in real-time to protect your brand from negative word of mouth. Brand monitoring also gives businesses the chance to measure their marketing effectiveness and identify new market opportunities; for instance identify new audiences and new products or services. Another great advantage of monitoring brand reputation is that it helps you to benchmark your competition. Monitoring your competition is one way of staying ahead of the game. Measurement is critical to track your success over time. It is what helps you distil the conversations that are going on and change them into actionable strategies. One of the most important things that one has to understand is that if you don't have an online presence, such as no Facebook page or blog facility, this does not make your business immune to negative word of mouth that is going on online. The cruel reality is that today everyone is playing the game, whether you want to participate or not. Your business is playing and is being represented either by your industry, employees, or by your customers. Online brand monitoring and Measuring are im- portant for those businesses that want to be successful. There are conversations about your industry, your competitors, and your business going on right NOW; it is up to you to listen to them. They will happen whether you are listening or not. Daniel Coleiro Kingswell is a Search Engine Marketing Specialist at Alert eBusiness (Internet Marketing Division) www.alertemarketing.com Monitoring lets you listen and respond in real-time to protect your brand from negative word-ofmouth – it gives you a chance to measure the effectiveness of your branding Events Golden Daffodil Foundation supports patients travelling abroad Golden Daffodil Foundation was founded on the 14 February 2013 by Paul Camilleri, Fr Stephen Sciberras, Nadia Camilleri, Edward Briffa and Saviour Azzopardi. It is a voluntary, non-profit making organisation and is also registered with the Commissioner for Voluntary Organisations. The Foundation was officially launched on 19 April 2013 in the presence Margaret Abela, wife President George Abela, and blessed by Mgr Paul Cremona, Archbishop of Malta. Also attending the launching ceremony were Michelle Muscat, wife of the Prime Minister, Catherine Gonzi, wife of the Leader of the Opposition, the Health Minister Godfrey Farrugia, other representatives from the Health Department and local organisations as well as various members and volunteers who have already joined the Foundation. The aim of the Foundation is to provide support to all patients who need to travel abroad, mainly to the United Kingdom, in order to receive medical treatment. This support is also extended to the immediate relatives of the patients. Furthermore, amongst others, the Foundation will provide vital information to the patients, such as information with regards to travelling from Malta to the UK and vice versa, information in relation to the admission procedures at the various hospitals as well as information in relation to shopping facilities and pharmacies that are found in the vicinity of the area where the patient would be staying. The foundation works in close liaison with the Health Department, which is the competent department that sends patients to the UK and pays for their medical treatment. Such department also pays for the patient's transport to the UK and for the patient's accommodation during his/her stay there. An arrangement has in fact been done between the foundation and the Health Department whereby the latter will make patients aware of the services offered by the Foundation in order for them to be able to avail themselves of the extensive information available prior to their travel to the UK. The Foundation also works closely with the Community Chest Fund, which from its end covers a lot of expenses that the patients and their relatives have to incur whilst staying in the UK. In addition, the Foundation will also liaise with other local organisations which provide accommodation facilities in the UK, such as Puttinu Cares, the Maltese Franciscan Sisters and the Augustinian Sisters in London, the Maltese High Commission in London and the Maltese Mission in London, which is run by the Franciscan Fathers. The latter also offer spiritual and moral support to the patients. The Foundation will also work in close conjunction with certain UK charities which would be able to provide aid to Maltese patients during their stay in the UK. It is important to note that all services offered by the Foundation to patients and their immediate relatives are free of charge; this means that neither the patients nor their immediate relatives will have to pay anything to the Foundation. Moreover, the Foundation carries out its activities on a purely voluntary basis, which means that the members and volunteers of the Foundation offer their help out of their own, free time. Although the Foundation will be carrying out fund-raising activities to cover its expenses, it has already secured a number of sponsors which will allow it to carry out its core activities. Membership Anybody can become a member of the Foundation. Membership basically entails a donation of just €10 per year. By donating this amount, you would be showing support for the Foundation's cause and you would also be helping us to achieve our goal of helping those who need our help and support. For more information visit 270/1, Level One, Zabbar Road, Fgura