A quick look at trending topics these days will immediately throw up the Coronavirus crisis as the number one discussion, for obvious reasons.  Hot on the heels of the ‘corona-crisis’ is finance – again, for obvious reasons.  Since the world went into lockdown, money has never been far from our minds.  From closed businesses and lost jobs to the bigger picture of the world economy, money talks – and it does it on the internet. 

Banking on sentiment analysis

Whatever kind of brand you’re in, knowing what’s going on in finance is always good for business.  Right now, your customers and clients will have questions and concerns about the future – including that of their bank account.  For your brand, this means that now, more than ever, you need to be using sentiment analysis in two ways.  

Sentiment analysis is the act of using an online tool such as Brand 24 in order to see what people are saying about a product, service or company. It is also used for media monitoring and analysis.

In a nutshell, these tools scour the internet for mentions and then sort them into three categories; positive, neutral and negative.  

For a while now, brands have been using sentiment analysis to see what their customers are saying about them and, what their customers are saying about the competition.  This remains an incredibly important part of any brand’s strategy but, at the moment, there’s more to be done.  The following will highlight the two ways in which you should be using sentiment analysis right now. 

“Following your competitors’ mentions can also help you identify areas where you can improve. If a competitor’s marketing campaign is getting higher marks than yours, examine it in detail and identify what tactics are most effective. Use these insights as inspiration for your next campaign.”

Milosz Krasinski, Sentiment Analysis: What Marketers Need to Know, Social Media Examiner; Twitter: @SMExaminer

What’s the worry?

As we’ve mentioned, your customers are worried right now.  Really worried.  Whether they’re freelance, furloughed or on the front line, cash concerns are likely to be at the forefront of their minds.  Although you’re no doubt aware of this, it won’t do you much good unless you know what it is, specifically, that’s keeping them awake at night.  This is where sentiment analysis comes in.

Sentiment analysis tools

…are the perfect way to get to the heart of customers’ – and potential customers’ – financial woes.  Whereas you would normally be setting your tool to search for the name of your brand or product or, that of a competitor, you now need to widen the parameters.  By including further search words such as ‘furlough’, ‘coronavirus + money’ and ‘government aid’, you’ll reach a whole set of people talking about their specific financial issues.  

Having identified these specific pain points, you can then examine the ways in which you can address these within your marketing.  For example, you can target these demographics by offering a one time discount to those who have been furloughed or, reach out to them with some great content which offers advice and tips on getting through this difficult time. 

Breaking news

In a time of uncertainty, it pays to know the score when it comes to what’s happening in the world of finance – as it happens.  Brands can keep on top of this – and therefore communicate important information to their customers – by harnessing the power of sentiment analysis.  

Although Financial Market Analysis may sound like a super impressive job title, what these people actually do is to make predictions on the performance of the stock market based on opinions and happenings in the daily news.  

At a time…

When national – and global markets are being constantly scrutinised, the internet is a treasure trove of expert predictions and fintech breaking news and, it’s your job to find it and see where you can use it to offer value to your customers.  

You can do this by setting your sentiment analysis tool with ‘positive’ words such as ‘growth’, ‘benefit’ and ‘recovery’ as well as negative words such as ‘bankruptcy’ and ‘risk’.  

This will usually reward you with up to date news stories and opinions.  You can then put together content which includes the very latest financial news and events which will be of value to your customers and will help your site to gain authority.  

Although your job is to sell your product or service, once all of this is over, your customers will remember that you supplied really useful information at a worrying time. 

Keeping it real

Sentiment analysis remains really important as a way of finding out what customers and potential customers are saying.  Although this is great, it’s also important to use that information wisely.  

Sentiment analysis gives you a unique opportunity to manage public opinion about your brand and, to respond directly to those customers where appropriate. 

At the end of the day, a business is about making money and, so, it just makes good business sense to know the score both for your own brand and for that of your customers.