Agency to help firms keep track of online comments
Worried about what bloggers are saying about you? Digital agency ICAN is offering a new online reputation tool, ICAN Listen, which it claims can track all online references to your company and let you know if they are positive, negative or neutral.
The service has been tested on several of ICAN’s clients for a number of months and is now ready for launch.
ICAN managing director Shenda Loughnane said many brands were unaware of just how many conversations were taking place about them. As an example of this she related the story of Southwest Airlines in the United States, which recently delivered an in-flight apology to a customer after he made mention on Twitter of the rudeness of staff as he waited for his flight to take off.
‘‘Every brand is talked about online, and I know this surprises some people,” she said. ‘‘In a more competitive world you need to keep an eye on it.”
ICAN said the service was mainly designed to help companies decide what role they should play in social media.
‘‘Social media has become such a buzzword for all clients right now,” said Loughnane.
‘‘It’s important for people to stand back and see what is being said about them and they can then work out how best to use these media.”
She said the service would also support the development of PR and marketing strategies and aid customer service.
‘‘It’s very good for damage limitation,” she said. ‘‘This could help you to identify problems at a very early stage.”
The service will monitor thousands of Irish blogs and discussion boards, Loughnane said, and would cost customers a €350 monthly fee.
