You’ve finally wrapped your head around website traffic, put a lot of effort into getting seen online and now you’re seeing a huge spike in visitors. But you’ve got no idea what people are actually saying about your business.
The fact is, while quantitative data is vital to understanding performance, it goes hand-in-hand with qualitative insights – people trust people. And if your customers aren’t saying good things, you need to act fast.
But, like a host at a party, you’ll annoy your guests if you continuously ask everyone if they’re having a good time. So, here’s how you can keep tabs on who’s saying what.
Why is brand analysis important?
Conducting a regular brand analysis is a key part of your marketing strategy. Going beyond a spreadsheet of numbers and data, brand analysis turns confusing stats into useful insights.
1. Find out what they really think
Any marketing strategy that doesn’t consider what the customers are saying behind your back is likely doomed to make mistakes. But by monitoring their perception, you can identify strengths and weaknesses, uncover customer sentiment and make informed decisions to help shape your brand image and beat the bad press.
2. Get one over your competitors
A lot of marketing might involve trial and error – but why be the guinea pig? Track your competitor’s online activities to learn from their mistakes (and their successes). You can identify ways to compete for higher traffic keywords, differentiate your brand from others, improve your strategy and capitalise on gaps in the market.
3. Make data-driven decisions
Real-time insights and data about your performance and online presence puts you in the drivers seat to make effective marketing decisions. With keyword and ad tracking, you can identify trends, measure campaign effectiveness and optimise your strategies.
Brand analytics in action
Brand analysis is a many-headed beast – you might not have the capacity to take it all on. So, you’ll need to determine how to best make use of your time.
Customer data analysis
A goldmine of insights, customer data analysis can help you build a better, more accurate picture of who your actual customers are, compared to your target customers.
Find out where they live, how long they spend on your site, their purchasing behaviour and their preferences. And once you have your answers, you can segment your customers into different groups to tailor your marketing strategies accordingly.
For instance, if the majority of your website visitors live in the US but your product is geared to a UK audience, you might consider bidding for local SEO keywords.
Competitive analysis
The best marketers always have one eye on the competition. Understanding what everyone else is up to can inspire and inform your own efforts, so you can stand out from the crowd. Whether they’re a small business or a huge conglomerate, there’s something to learn about strategy, brand positioning and customer engagement.
What are your competitors doing well? What could they improve? What’s their USP? How are they engaging with customers online?
Social media analysis
Word travels fast online. If someone says something about your brand on one platform, it’ll travel to all corners of the internet in no time. So if you rely on social media marketing for lead generation, regular social media analysis could save you a whole lot of hassle.
So what do you need to do? Snoop through your online reviews and comments to get a sense of your brand’s perception. Actively ask your audience about their feedback in polls and posts on your socials – a setting where they feel more at home and are less likely to hold back (as much as it might sting). This can help you understand their pain points, expectations and desires.
Website data analysis
Once customers are on your website, do they stick around? Capturing their attention is where you’ll see huge conversions, or gaps if there’s something wrong. Website analytics tools allow you to measure user behaviour, engagement metrics and conversion rates.
You can identify your most visited pages, bounce rate and conversion funnels to optimise website performance for specific keywords or create a smoother user experience. Better still, combine with customer analysis to get a better sense of your consumer demographics.
Data visualisation
Presentations can be a useful tool, but they can also be very (very) boring. And if you find yourself in the difficult situation of having to present marketing stats to non-marketers, you might find data visualisation handy.
Transform complex data into aesthetically pleasing and easily digestible formats like graphs, infographics and charts. These are more likely to convince your managers to sign off on a bigger marketing budget – or at least let you set up that company TikTok you’ve been begging for.
A/B testing
While there may be a few fortunate souls out there writing perfect copy on command, most of us need to conduct rigorous A/B testing.
This enables you to measure and compare audience responses to brand messaging options, ad campaigns and landing page designs. You can then refine your brand strategy accordingly.
Monitor and measure
Brand analysis isn’t a one-and-done job. To make sure you don’t get left behind, you’ll need to continuously monitor and measure your brand performance.
Set KPIs and metrics that you can track consistently to stay on top of business objectives and targets, then identify areas to improve.
Automate analytics with Fasthosts
If that all sounds like a lot, it’s because it is. As a business owner, you can’t really afford to spread yourself too thin. But don’t worry – you don’t have to.
Our Marketing Radar will keep you in the loop about trends, competitors and company performance from just £1 a month. From real-time insights to keyword tracking and email alerts on important goings-on – all wrapped up into an easy-to-consume weekly report – you can focus on what you do best.
Get in touch to learn more about how Fasthosts can save you time, money, and stress.
