Viralheat — OK To Monitor, But Not To Measure

Last month, we reported that social media metrics site Viralheat is in the Experimentation Phase of their New Media Life Cycle. Now let’s take a closer look at what Viralheat actually provides. Here’s a demo from the site:

When you’ve subscribed to Viralheat, you select a number of keywords to create “profiles” that you’d like to receive data about. Then for each keyword you receive data culled from Twitter and many blog and video sites where your profile keyword appeared.

All those numbers — now what?

Suppose you’re tracking your brand through Viralheat. The first data provided form an overview of your profile mentions on Twitter, including the tone of discussion (positive vs. neutral vs. negative associations in the mentions) and the busiest day of discussion. It’s a fine snapshot, but it represents only a fragment of the ongoing discussions on Twitter. There’s no context for a brand mention. What was the discussion? Were competitors involved? Or a potential support issue you should fix?

Displaying the latest tweets that fit your profile seems to defeat the purpose of Twitter itself. If you’re going to the trouble of monitoring what people are saying about a brand or product on Twitter, you’d get more value out of monitoring Twitter with a desktop client like TweetDeck so you can actively participate in the conversation. Viralheat puts an unnecessary step between you and Twitter.

And this might be valuable if Twitter ruled the world

Twitter is not the internet. Measuring a brand’s reputation on the volume of discussion in this one broad channel yields only part of the story and could foster a false sense of security that your good name is doing OK on the web.

Participation in the channel is the only way to gauge the real value of it.

People are talking … about something

Viralheat’s site says that the service “covers hundreds of viral video destination sites, Twitter, and millions [of] blogs & websites.”

I do like this part of their data. It’s like a Google Blog Search with a little extra in the form of basic statistical data. But to assume that a bevy of mentions on blogs is an indicator of positive online reputation is a mistake. Volume isn’t an indicator of success. The links to these brand mentions are where Viralheat data represents an opportunity for brands to participate in conversations and learn from them.

Final verdict

If you want to judge the volume of online discussion about your product or brand, Viralheat is an OK start. It offers a very top level view of the overall tone of discussion of your selected profile. But beware the temptation to believe that simple numbers — like mentions on Twitter and blogs — indicate the scope of your online reputation.

Don’t use Viralheat as an ROI tool. Do use it to find new, influential channels that may recognize value in your product or service. Viralheat can spur your own participation in social media.

Where Viralheat offers value is as a statistics channel that can help companies determine where to participate online. I hope that Viralheat will continue to develop their service. Numbers and graphs relating to social media and blog discussion are just the beginning.

About the author

Brad Schwarzenbach -

As an analyst on the Tippingpoint Strategy team, Brad explores new opportunities for clients to build relationships with their customers. He’s always testing new social media channels, poring over analytic data, and identifying emerging trends. He also speaks at conferences & events about uncovering powerful messages hidden within brands' unique values.

Brad’s research has contributed to the development of content & contributor strategies for such clients as Breville, Rodale, Long’s Jewelers, and Fusionapps, as well as being a frequent contributor to the Tippingpoint blog. He’s been “listening” to the way we communicate online since the old AOL People Connection days and watched the way that digital communication has evolved.

An English and Creative Writing major at the University of Connecticut, Brad’s spent most of his career creating web content and becoming intimately familiar with web theory for Bayard, Inc. and TomTom Inc., giving Brad keen ears and eyes to what, exactly, makes web content valuable.

Outside the office, Brad feels most at home with his beautiful wife-to-be Kristina, or on the golf course. “There’s a distinct pace and rhythm to the way people communicate online.  Understanding and taking part in them yields amazing opportunities for my clients to not only grow but to improve their business. I’m constantly looking for those opportunities.”