5 Platforms for Location-Based Listening & Analytics

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my_locationSocial media monitoring is a useful way for companies to track conversations and gauge customer sentiment, but the reality is that not every opinion deserves equal weight. A retailer in Los Angeles generally cares more what people in Southern California think of his company than about what people in Iowa think — since those physically located nearby are significantly more likely to become potential customers.

With more than 400 million tweets being sent worldwide each day, merchants and brands are desperate to cut through the clutter. A number of platforms are being developed that combine social media monitoring with location-based analytics, helping marketers pinpoint relevant messages in their own cities and regions. Here are five examples of these hybrid tools.

1. Geofeedia: Create location-based social media streams.
Brands, media agencies, and public safety groups can use Geofeedia to monitor and analyze conversations happening on a number of platforms (including Twitter, Instagram, Flickr, YouTube, and Picasa) within key geographies. This allows businesses to filter out complaints coming from people who’ve never been into their establishments, and hone in on the comments coming from actual customers. Map views show the precise location where content originates from, and the platform’s location monitoring service automatically collects all social media content from specified locations. Geofeedia offers free 30-day trials to “qualified applicants.”

2. Sysomos: Learn where conversations are happening.
Sysomos offers two monitoring products, MAP and Heartbeat. Both products offer location-based monitoring tools, allowing companies to drill down into the conversations people in specific cities are having on blogs, forums, Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn. Conversations can also be filtered by age, gender, or profession, which means a yoga studio in Seattle could use Sysomos to find out what women in their 20s and 30s who live in Seattle are talking about on social media this week. These conversations can then inform the studio’s online marketing tactics. All of Sysomos’ software licenses are purchased on a monthly subscription fee.

3. uberVU: Get geo distribution data down to the city level.
uberVU helps brands wade through the millions of tweets, comments, and updates posted on social media each day to pinpoint the specific messages and larger social trends that matter most. The platform automatically analyzes all of a brand’s social media data, filtered by geolocation down to the city level. uberVU uses a combination of geolocation tags, profile descriptions, and language processors to make an “informed” decision on where a particular message is most likely coming from, and then places the data from those messages onto interactive maps. uberVU offers subscriptions starting at $499 per month.

4. Radian6: Filter social media users by location, gender, age, education, or career.
Radian6 is a social listening platform from Salesforce that businesses can use to see what people in specific locations are talking about. Real-time conversation tracking helps businesses detect trends and emerging issues. A clothing retailer in Austin who notices an increase in the number of women in Texas tweeting about their search for the perfect leather belt, for example, could quickly add more leather belts to her store shelves. She could then respond to specific social media users to let them know she has exactly what they’re looking for in stock. Radian6 offers multiple pricing options. The Business Model plan costs $600 per month.

5. Simply Measured: Measure audience interaction across social platforms.
Simply Measured is a social media and analytics tool that provides brands and agencies with analysis and insights into the online behaviors of their target consumers. The platform uses data to identify online influencers based on geographic location (targeting by country, state, or city), and segment follower growth by regional market. Simply Measured then takes this data and uses it to generate in-depth reports for clients. Simply Measured offers a free 14-day trial for new users.

Know of other platforms that combine social media listening and location analytics? Leave a description in the comments.

Stephanie Miles is an associate editor at Street Fight.

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Stephanie Miles is a journalist who covers personal finance, technology, and real estate. As Street Fight’s senior editor, she is particularly interested in how local merchants and national brands are utilizing hyperlocal technology to reach consumers. She has written for FHM, the Daily News, Working World, Gawker, Cityfile, and Recessionwire.