Reputation Management Analytics

If your PR report looks impressive with big numbers but still feels empty, this post is for you. Most agencies still sell visibility KPIs — impressions, mentions, share of voice, AVE, reach. These agencies aren't wrong in doing it, as these metrics are can be measured with ease. But these metrics lack meaning for clients. These numbers tell you how often your name showed up, not whether your story landed or your reputation strengthened. What you should be tracking instead are Trust Signals — the real indicators of reputation movement. Trust Signals look like this: - A journalist quoting you without you pitching them. - A client repeating your messaging unprompted. - An investor referencing your thought piece in a meeting. - Employees sharing company news with pride. These are lagging indicators of belief. They don’t fit neatly in a dashboard and that's why most agencies avoid them. But if your PR work doesn’t move trust, it’s just paid noise management. PR done right builds confidence in your name, not just coverage reports. So next time you get your monthly report, ask one simple question: “Which of these numbers tells me people trust us more than last month?” Which metric did your PR agency report last month?

How does your organisation show up in an AI large language model (LLM)? This is a question that is top of mind for corporate affairs and communication directors. AI systems have the potential to disrupt reputation in the same way digital media and search engines have over the past 25 years. They are already actively used for research and insight in both a business and consumer context. Hard Numbers 📈, a public relations agency focused on the finance and technology sectors, has taken one of the first looks at AI's impact on corporate reputation and how corporate communications directors are responding to this emerging area of risk and opportunity. Its report 'Coverage to Capital: AI and Reputation' suggests that AI doesn’t disrupt traditional media dynamics so much as reinforce them while also creating new opportunities and challenges for reputation management. Hard Numbers analysed GPT-4's responses about quality, trust, innovation, and value across Forbes' top 100 brands, tracking and categorising all cited sources. It found that traditional media dominates AI-generated content about organisations, challenging assumptions about the disruptive impact of AI on the media landscape. This effect is particularly strong when AI systems assess an organisation's trustworthiness, validate its claims about value and evaluate market positioning. It identified the following sources as driving LLM responses. 🗞 Editorial media: 61% 💻 Owned media: 44% ❓ Customer review / ratings websites: 10% 📊 Analyst reports: 10% 🏆 Industry awards / lists: 8% 📕 Books: 2% 🎓 Academic studies: 1% 📱 Social media: <1% While earned media remains the dominant source of influence, AI systems place a surprising level of trust in corporate communications and owned media channels, particularly around claims of innovation and technical capability. Social media has almost no impact whatsoever. Hard Numbers has also sought the perspective of communications leaders at organisations, including the British Business Bank, Lenovo, Rio Tinto, Vodafone and the UK Government Communication Service, to understand how they are responding to this challenge. I support Hard Numbers as a non-executive director and wrote the foreword for the report. There's a full writeup and link to the report on my blog. 📎 https://lnkd.in/ecmCh2kp

❓Tip for AIO: As GenAI helps shoppers search and shop - manage SEO + Reputation Together! Last week, I shared insights from BrightEdge Generative Parser on when Google shows AI Overviews in search results and how to use search result features to identify when AI Overviews may appear. Today, I'd like to share another strategy marketers must use to 🧭 navigate this new frontier. #futureofcommerce #SEOforAI Team BrightEdge has been tracking keywords across industries to detect AI Overview patterns. And our VP of Operations, Albert Gouyet, shared deeper insights into specific keywords that correlate with AI Overviews. These insights reveal the need to embrace AI Reputation Management. #futureofsearch #AICommerce AI Overviews Simplify Customer Decisions 🛒 🤔 When customers compare products, AI Overviews can simplify the process by distilling what they need to know into a single snippet. Unlike traditional search results with featured snippets, AI Overviews sense and respond to user intent, often providing opinions and recommendations along the way. #ReputationManagement - Why Is This Important? AI Overviews cut through the clutter ✂️ and provide your customers with succinct answers to complex queries. If not managed properly, they could steer customers away from your products or brand. Certain keyword traits correlate with the likelihood of an AI Overview offering "opinions". These can vary by industry. For instance, in B2B Technology searches, BrightEdge Generative Parser™ found that AI Overviews are more likely to appear when keywords compare products. ⚖️ Example: A search for "Volusion vs. PrestaShop," two e-commerce platforms 💰, results in an AI Overview highlighting differences in price and features. It states that users find PrestaShop more intuitive, while Volusion has a complicated interface with fewer customization options. Such subjective views could dissuade potential buyers from Volusion before they even visit the website! 🤯 💥 AI Reputation Management is real, and brands need to embrace it! #WorkflowOptimization 🛠️ Managing Your AI Reputation Here’s a workflow to help you manage your AI reputation: 1. Monitor Keywords: Track keywords likely to trigger AI Overviews, especially comparison keywords like "Vs." 2. Provide Feedback: Use the three dots next to "Learn More" in AI Overviews to leave feedback on subjective statements. 3. Adapt Content to AI Overview Formats: Create content that addresses the specs AI Overviews compare. Monitor queries with keywords likely to trigger AI Overviews for insights. Albert's blog post details potential reputation issues in other industries. Check it out and integrate these checks into your workflow! https://lnkd.in/ghXxfCuq