Sentiment analysis
What is sentiment analysis?
Sentiment analysis is the automated classification of text by the feeling it expresses, usually positive, negative or neutral. Methods range from word lists to machine-learning and language models.
It is never perfect: sarcasm, comparisons and mixed opinions are hard. It works best as a way to sort and spot trends, with a human reading the important posts.
Why sentiment analysis matters
Reading every mention stops scaling quickly. Sentiment lets you find the complaints that need a response and track whether brand sentiment is improving.
Related marketing terms
Brand sentiment is the overall feeling people express about a brand online, the balance of positive, negative and neutral talk.
Social listening is tracking public conversations about your brand, competitors and market, then learning from and acting on what people say.
Voice of customer is gathering what customers say they need and feel, in their own words, from interviews, surveys, reviews and conversations.
Net Promoter Score asks customers how likely they are to recommend you from 0 to 10, then subtracts detractors from promoters.