Monitoring Your Brand Doesn't Have to Be a Hassle

How do you monitor your brand? How do you ensure your company is represented in the best possible light?

Many businesses turn to Web analytics, but wrongly assume the task has to be messy and complicated. Even if you're monitoring data about your brand, you probably get more than you know what to do with — and once you have it all, you still have to decide what it means. As a result, you may seek professional help (of the data-monitoring kind). And you understandably seek to invest your precious dollars wisely.

The good news: Some Web analytics firms can help you take some pain out of your data-crunching process.

Consider Synthesio, for example, a Web monitoring/analysis firm that tracks online conversations, then creates visualizations that help you understand your data at a glance. Its services include:

* International monitoring of Twitter, forums, news, reviews and blogs (in 50 languages)

* Detection of topics and trends most associated with your brand

* Identification of influencers shaping your brand

* Alerts, ranging from crisis-mode (instant) to monthly

* A conversation digest that detects emerging trends and the sentiments surrounding them

You can slice-and-dice any of the above, or order an a-la-carte package catered specifically to certain industries.  Play with data, crunch it down, go straight to current mentions or extract to Excel. It's as simple as drag-and-click. Check out this video on Synthesio's Twitter monitoring tool.

Not a fit for you? There are other cool, easy analysis tools out there. Comparable products include Radian6, (register for a demo); Sitelynx (priced by consultation); and ViralHeat  (free trial available!), which offers Google Buzz monitoring. Check 'em all out!

Don't let analysis paralysis get the best of you. As Web analytics morphs with the times, so do firms like these.