What are people saying about you online?

As the web continues to attract the dominant share of marketing spend it's more important than ever to ensure that your online profile is working hard on your behalf. Doing so not only helps maintain visibility, but also generates leads. Proactively reviewing how your brand is presented in search engines, and listening to how others describe your products, can be invaluable when it comes to shaping marketing campaigns.

Sites such as Twitter, Linked In and Facebook have made it easy for likeminded groups and individuals to share information, as have blogs and website forums. Many organisations are now testing these channels as part of reach and acquisition strategies. The fact that they're often free helps as budgets get squeezed. But the fact that they don't cost anything doesn't remove the need to keep a very careful eye on them.

So how do you measure your online profile? Happily, it isn't that difficult.

1. Use search engines to review your ranking

The easiest way to ensure your brands are being presented the way you want them to be is to search for them using Google, Yahoo or Bing. Are you ranked as a brand name and in terms that reflect your brand identity? If so, great. If not, then you have some work to do. Even if you are ranked, are you alone? It's important to know which competitors also appear in the same search results, and to develop strategies to ensure you consistently rank highly.

2. Set up Google Alerts

Google Alerts is a free service that allows you to monitor keywords and brand names indexed online. Real time relevant Google results are delivered as email updates on a daily, weekly or 'as it happens' basis.

3. Use content aggregators to search across digital media

There are hundreds of websites and web tools that pull together content from blogs, search engines, video platforms, social media websites and more. Addict-o-matic and How Sociable? are particularly good.

4. Use Twitter

Twitter provides a great way of listening-in to your customers' conversations, or creating a dialogue. By creating a company account you can post messages or simply follow key clients to find out what they're saying. Architects, in particular, appear to have embraced Twitter as a means of extending professional networks and linking up with colleagues. Do bear in mind that not all 'follow' requests will be accepted, however.

For further information about measuring social media visit measurementcamp.wikidot.com/tools-for-measurement.

Robert Easson is E-Commerce Manager at RIBA Enterprises. You can email him at robert.easson@ribaenterprises.com or follow him on Twitter at twitter.com/robeasson.

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