by Patryk Le The | Nov 30, 2021 | Categorising comments, Politics and Social, Sentimenti research
Progressive climate change is already visible with the naked eye. In Poland, weather anomalies such as droughts, tornadoes or cloudbursts appear more and more frequently. Especially the latter have become a scourge of the last several weeks: as a result of excessive rainfall many regions of Poland, especially in the south, have been flooded. When in 1997. When the then prime minister Włodzimierz Cimoszewicz, when asked about compensation for flood victims, stated that it was necessary to insure oneself, this (seemingly) obvious issue almost cost him his position, and as a result of the unfortunate statement, his party lost the upcoming elections. How is it today? We checked what Internet users say about insurers in the context of the flood.
Circumstantial opinions about the industry
The insurance industry for a long time aroused mixed feelings among Poles. As a part of the financial industry it enjoyed low social trust for several reasons: this result was sustained by reluctant payments of claims, their amount, the way of calculating premiums, long-lasting and incomprehensible claim validation procedures, etc.
Only the change of the above determinants combined with the increase of social awareness and understanding of the impact of the insurance industry on social and economic security of Poland resulted in gradual but regular increase of confidence in the insurance sector.
Today, the offer of insurers covers a very wide area and Poles themselves insure much more willingly. Although not as willingly as people in Western Europe (in Poland, additional insurance is still seen as a luxury), but the increase in the number of countrymen insuring their life and property is noticeable. In addition, their consumer awareness is also growing, as evidenced by the popularity of various types of insurance comparison sites, ranking machines, etc. and, consequently, changing the insurer to one that offers more favorable terms.
Insurance and floods: a controversial topic
Two catastrophic events, the floods of 1997 and 2010, had an impact on the increased awareness of Poles of the need for flood insurance. This awareness extended not only to the necessity of insuring against the devastating effects of nature, but also to the circumstances surrounding the policies in question: insurance rules, rates and payments due to flood damage.
Poles are now more willing to find out which buildings can be insured and which will be excluded by the insurer, what risk assessment criteria are used in the event of flooding, and to check the properties they buy from this point of view – the low price is no longer an indicator of the attractiveness of a plot of land or of a construction project (e.g. a house, a terraced house etc.), but has become a warning light – buyers check such offers in the flood database with the knowledge that an appraiser from the insurance company will also carry out an analogous procedure.
And there is a lot to fight for: in case of a flood, the insurance may cover not only the losses caused to the property itself, but also to its attached outbuildings and movable equipment: furniture, household appliances, works of art, plants, interior decoration (floors), items used for business activities (e.g. machinery), etc.
Finally, it is worth mentioning that apart from the growing awareness of consumers and effective sales work of insurance agents, there is another aspect – legal regulations. Since 2003, it has been obligatory for farmers with a farm of more than 1 ha to insure themselves against natural disasters. However, according to the insurers’ data, the policy covers mainly residential and farm buildings (90% of farms). In 2020, only 30% of farmers insured their crops and livestock against natural disasters.
The government’s policy plays a major role in this situation – it pays out targeted benefits to help the most affected regions or municipalities, regardless of whether a given household is insured or not. These benefits cover both reconstruction of destroyed houses and temporary support. In part, they make Poles insure themselves only to the mandatory extent.
Insurance. How do internet users discuss them?
We decided to take a look at the emotions that insurance companies and the issue of flood and flood-related repair evoke in the Polish Internet. We checked and researched articles, posts, comments etc. between June and August (15.08) of this year. To begin with, we confronted with each other two simple phrases – “insurance” and “compensation”. This allowed us to get a general idea of the mood of Internet users and the context of mentions (e.g. on forums or web portals) concerning the insurance industry.
Figure 1: Dynamics of mentions of the phrases “insurance” and “compensation” in the period 06-08-2021.
Let’s take a look at the chart: it shows the intensification of insurance discussions in the period 12-26 June and 14-24 July this year, with much less intensity in the phrase “compensation”. The basis of these discussions was, among other things, the catastrophic weather situation in Europe and partly in Poland: a tornado with winds blowing at a speed of over 300 km/h (!) passed over the Czech Moravia, there were also hailstorms, including in Poland – in Tomaszów Mazowiecki the diameter of hailstones amounted to as much as 13.5 cm.
Similar hailstorms occurred in Italy and Switzerland. In addition, thunderstorms and storms caused devastating floods in Belgium, the Netherlands and – above all – in Germany. Slightly weaker, but also powerful rainfall and windstorms were recorded at that time in the country, including Kujawy, central Poland (Lodz), Lesser Poland (Małopolska), Silesia and Podkarpacie.
For these reasons, dozens of articles, analyses, news and reports appeared on the Internet, but also heated discussions under the articles, on forums and in social media: there were requests for help to victims of flooding, criticism of sly car traders hunting for the so-called. There were also intensive criticisms of the government’s assistance to the victims in the context that the victims should have insured themselves earlier, and not now beg for help from the state budget (i.e. “FROM OUR TAXES”). Part of this context were comments on crop losses suffered by farmers.
Part of the discussion also referred to the state of flood protection in the country, with commentators criticizing the government’s ad hoc actions, ineptitude and lack of long-term plans. Finally, the media in general used the opportunity to recall the tragic floods of the past years, which effectively heated the atmosphere of public opinion and the temperature of various discussions.
The temperature of water, or discussants in emotion
Our next activity was to determine the average of the most important emotions of the discussion, and then to show the dynamics of change of these emotions during the period studied. Let’s look at the graph – it perfectly shows the whole situation:
Figure 2: Averaged emotions in discussions with anger, joy, anticipation, and surprise indicated.
The results obtained in the study were basically to be expected. In the graph we see a high level of anger and a similar level of surprise; there is even some overlap in the dynamics of the two emotions. The peaks indicate the intensity of discussion during the period of natural disasters. The level of joy is of course also unsurprising, while it is interesting to note that the joy and expectation graphs coincide in terms of dynamics. This is most likely caused by the reaction to the actions taken by the authorities and, at the same time, hope for a change in the situation.
Insurance. Do internet users have sentiment for the companies?
Nowadays, a popular solution in the market for content analysis using artificial intelligence is the analysis of texts for the sentiment contained in the utterances. Sentiment analysis is also a part of our offer, however, it is only one of the elements of cross-sectional content analysis: without taking into account emotions and the level of emotional arousal, sentiment analysis gives incomplete results, which can also be misinterpreted – two so-called negative emotions (e.g. sadness and anger) will cause the sentiment of an utterance to be determined as negative. Meanwhile, these emotions are significantly different from each other – their impact on the person feeling them will cause different types of behavior (anger – attack, sadness – freeze or flee).
As stated above, as part of the analysis, we also conduct a sentiment study of the text under review. For the purposes of this article, we conducted such a study on a sample of 7901 mentions. Here, too, there were no surprises – insurance companies are not given sentiment by internet users, although we should have said otherwise – the dynamics of mentions indicates the significant presence of negative sentiment. Let’s take a look at the chart:
Figure 3: Sentiment dynamics in mentions of insurance during the study period.
What we see is an intense discord between the number of negative and positive mentions: the dominant sentiment towards the topic is minor, and the dynamics of the negative sentiment is basically inversely proportional to the positive sentiment; the moment when this dynamics is particularly well visible is between 25.06 and 7.07.
Significantly (and this trend is repeated across survey stages and is confirmed in the mentions we collected), much of the negative sentiment about flood insurance is driven by commenters’ anger directed at the uninsured who are demanding that the authorities compensate them for their material losses. Mentions also indicate the frustration, anger and disgust of Internet users with the authorities in general – not only for paying targeted benefits to the victims, but also for systemic negligence in water management and flood control policy.
Finally, a large part of the statements are reminiscences of Internet users about unfortunate speeches of politicians (lack of empathy), misguided visits to disaster sites (only to improve their own image) and statements of a political trolling nature: Internet users leave malicious, often hateful comments about previous governments and their various moves, e.g., migration and foreign policy, migration and foreign policy, and the policy of the Polish government. Internet users leave malicious, often hateful comments about the previous governments and their various policies, such as migration and foreign policy, and criticize the victims for certain political choices – disasters particularly affect areas considered to be bastions of the current government, although these areas are most vulnerable to flooding, waterlogging and floods.
A word of summary
The above analysis of publications and discussions found on the Internet showed us that the topic of insurance in general, and in the context of natural disasters in particular, is still controversial and stirs up a lot of emotions among Poles. First of all, because the progressing climate change causes more and more frequent occurrence of such weather anomalies as tornadoes or flash floods, which are widely commented on in social media, forums, articles and news.
Insurance companies are still not very trusted, although the trend of them building a positive image is growing. They are hindered by … their fellow countrymen, who insure themselves to a minimum extent and usually when required by law. On top of that, according to internauts, there are high premium prices and often difficult loss adjustment procedures. The icing on the cake is the belief that flooding or similar damage caused by a natural disaster will not happen to “us”.
Finally, the government and local governments are not helping insurers to change the current situation. This context is evident from the huge number of mentions – it is emotionally charged and generates a lot of negative emotions – mainly anger, but also fear and surprise. It is little consolation that people who have already experienced a loss of property take care of proper insurance.
Methodology
The study used content obtained through internet and social media monitoring.
- Number of mentions and comments examined: 7991
- Study period: June 1 – August 15, 2021.
- Number of unique discussion sites: 179
- Discussion sites and number of views surveyed. news portals: 6287; Facebook: 1237; Forums and blogs: 223; YouTube: 120; Twitter: 94, Other: 30
by Damian Grimling | Nov 6, 2021 | Sentimenti research
When sentiment analysis began to be used for marketing activities in the early 2000s, it opened up vast opportunities for the marketing and advertising industries. Understanding consumer sentiment allowed for better validation of actions and more precise targeting of target groups. Today, 20 years later, new doors are opening—rather than just measuring sentiment, we can now analyze emotions, and this offers even more benefits. What are they?
FROM THIS ARTICLE, YOU WILL LEARN: |
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What is the difference between sentiment and emotion? -
What is the difference between sentiment analysis and emotion analysis? -
How do the results of both algorithms look in practice? -
Emotion analysis is not only effective in content marketing -
Perspectives on the development of emotion analysis tools |
Differences Between Sentiment and Emotions: Full List of Emotions
First, let’s define sentiment and emotions—the most important differences arise at this basic level because sentiment and emotions are two distinct phenomena.
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- Sentiment is the state in which a person experiencing emotions can name what they are feeling, connect that experience with thoughts about it, and then make a conscious decision regarding the source of the stimulus. Sentiment, therefore, is the sum of physiological reactions (from the body) and cognitive processes triggered by the experience of emotions. Since it is a conscious state, it can be sustained by the person experiencing it. In general, sentiment is a broad mental attitude towards a particular experience.
- Emotions, on the other hand, are the physiological and, consequently, psychological brain responses to an external stimulus or an experience related to such a stimulus. The combination of the experience and the body’s reaction (hormonal activity) causes a short-lived and unconscious state, leading to specific actions such as fight, flight, freeze, awe, disgust, etc. What’s more—each emotion is tied to a different type of reaction, resulting in different behaviors.
As you can see, without experiencing emotions, you cannot enter a state of sentiment. Emotions operate at the lowest, behavioral level, while sentiment is their reflection, consideration, and evaluation by the person experiencing them. Emotions cause spontaneous reactions, while sentiment leads to conscious and controlled actions. The most significant difference: there are only eight basic emotions (according to Plutchik’s theory: joy, sadness, anger, fear, disgust, surprise, anticipation, and trust), which, when combined, form secondary, higher emotions that lead to the creation of feelings. In the case of sentiment, we are dealing only with positive and negative sentiment, sometimes also neutral.
Exploring Emotions: Media Monitoring vs. Sentitool – A Tool Comparison
Just as the phenomena of sentiment and emotions differ, so do the tools used to analyze them. These tools leverage advanced technologies such as neurolinguistic programming, machine learning, and other AI algorithms. Currently, in the Polish market for sentiment analysis in online content, several reputable companies exist, but in the field of emotion analysis, only one stands out as a true pioneer—Sentimenti. Below is a comparison of the general capabilities of sentiment and emotion analysis tools.
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examining the general tone of statements made by Internet users, article authors, etc. -
determine the user's impression and attitude after reading the text -
ease of processing and estimation of analysis results -
Useful for evaluating online brand mentions, social media management and customer communications, including complaint handling -
crisis communication support -
comparing consumer attitudes toward our own and competitors' products | -
to examine the instinctive reactions of Internet users and the intentions of the creators -
The ability to get to the emotions behind a particular sentiment and determine the future actions of those commenting -
Much greater range of information collected (8 emotions, sentiment analysis and emotional arousal) -
ability to work on huge groups of respondents -
assessment of consumer sentiment before and after the advertising campaign -
validation of marketing strategies -
monitoring emotions about the company in online mentions -
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comparing brand perceptions -
analysis of emotions associated with influencers, YouTubers, bloggers, etc. to accurately select a brand ambassador |
Conclusion: The common (even within the industry) usage of the terms sentiment analysis and emotion analysis is incorrect. Sentiment is a much narrower concept, indicating in practice only the tone of a statement and possibly the mood of the author. Emotion analysis, on the other hand, describes the level of individual emotions (providing a percentage result for eight components, as well as the type of sentiment and the level of emotional arousal); with this data, consumer reactions and behaviors can be predicted with high accuracy.
As you can see, this data is more detailed; its analysis is more challenging, but it is also more accurate and comprehensive. Sentimenti’s algorithm includes as many as 30,000 words and phrases collected from a group of 22,000 people. The algorithm itself was developed in collaboration with the Wrocław University of Science and Technology and the Brain Imaging Lab of the Polish Academy of Sciences.
How Do the Results of Both Algorithms Look in Practice?
Time for some practice! Take a look at the following analysis of a real review:
I will never buy anything from smelly V(…) again. I recently decided I didn’t want to buy tragic clothes from chain stores, so I bought from there, and the supposedly perfect condition item, without signs of wear, had a stain that was visible. The woman claims that when she sent it, the stain wasn’t there.
This review is authentic and taken directly from a portal. What can you read from it when measuring sentiment versus emotion?
Results: Anger – 70%, Fear – 45%, Anticipation – 24%, Surprise – 57%, Trust – 14%, Sadness – 60%, Disgust – 62%, Joy – 10%, Positive sentiment – 10%, Negative sentiment – 70%, Emotional arousal – 72%.
The comment comes from a disappointed customer who, instead of making a purchase from one of the popular boutiques, opted for what she considered higher-quality used clothes. The purchase turned out to be unsuccessful, and the item was stained despite being described as in good condition. The buyer is clearly upset (emotional arousal at 72%), angry (a high 70%), feeling disgust (62%) and sadness (60%)—as she expected a good purchase. Notice that the woman also exhibits a high level of surprise (57%) and fear (45%)—when you add the disgust result, you can understand that this is her physical reaction to the experience of being deceived.
Now look at the same review from a sentiment analysis perspective: you receive two results—negative (70%) and positive (10%). The negative sentiment is evident even without automatic analysis, given phrases like smelly, tragic, stain, woman. The phrases supposedly perfect condition and without signs of wear build the low positive sentiment score.
The key information, however, is hidden—the phrase smelly refers directly to the shopping platform, tragic to the quality of chain store clothes, and woman to the seller. The overall tone of the review is set by the epithets unrelated directly to the purchased item, yet the sentiment analysis result remains negative.
Conclusion: With percentage results for basic emotions and knowledge of the typical physiological reactions they correspond to, you can estimate consumer behavior in this situation. Anger is associated with an attack response (hence the comment on the portal), disgust and fear with flight, and sadness with freezing. The emotional consumer will likely switch to another platform or opt for in-person shopping. She will probably not use this platform again.
Emotion Analysis is Effective Beyond Content Marketing
You’ve just seen how sentiment and emotion analysis results are interpreted in a specific example, and what kind of insights you can gain from them. As you’ve likely noticed, emotion analysis is a far more comprehensive, complete solution tailored to customer needs. But are emotion analysis algorithms limited to marketing, PR, or customer service?
Definitely not. With the development of machine learning technology and the implementation of increasingly sophisticated AI algorithms, the possibilities of emotion analysis extend into other industries. Today, emotions can be analyzed, for example, to forecast stock market prices or investment opportunities in the cryptocurrency market.
Future Prospects for Emotion Analysis Tools
If the above information hasn’t convinced you of the superiority of emotion analysis over sentiment analysis, look at the development potential of the former. Artificial intelligence is already highly advanced. Today, AI is being implemented not only to study but also to create emotionally engaging content aimed at achieving set goals.
These goals include increasing conversion rates from marketing activities, acquiring more effective leads, or providing customer service tailored to consumer needs (including potential crisis situations and ways to avoid them). The latter goal significantly improves user experience, increasing customer loyalty to the brand, which, in turn, strengthens the brand’s position in the market. That’s the potential of this technology—sentiment analysis can’t do that.
by Damian Grimling | Nov 6, 2021 | Categorising comments, SentiBrand
Shopping is a constant part of our lives. Every day, we come into contact with a huge number of more or less recognizable brands and companies. However, only some of them we choose more often and more willingly. Sometimes it happens completely automatically. Why does this happen and what determines our choice? It is probably emotions.
Brand loyalty vs. brand strength. What determines our choice?
There’s no denying and it’s been proven that our purchasing decisions are mostly influenced by emotions and the bond that a brand has developed with us. A recent study conducted by Deloitte entitled “From disparate signals to transformative action. The latest research by Deloitte “From disparate signals to transformative action” shows that emotional attachment to a brand is a decisive factor when making purchases for a group of 80% of consumers. In turn, 62% of them declared that they have some kind of relationship with a given brand.
– The brand-consumer relationship is a particularly important factor in sales strategy because it is directly related to customer satisfaction. We as manufacturers are constantly challenged to create better and better offers that meet consumer expectations,” – reads the report.
For what purpose do we shop? Consumers often shop primarily to improve their mood. Nowadays, the purchase of a particular good or service does not have to be dictated by discounts, promotions or low prices. The key here is the mentioned emotions. They are the reason why some of our purchasing decisions are not very rational, made on impulse and at the moment.
So, what can a brand do to generate emotions and become even more liked and recognized by consumers? What is the secret and power of the biggest brands and their messages? Apart from emotions, it is important to build positive associations in the recipients. It is worth remembering to adjust the communication strategy to the target group. An advertising campaign addressed to teenagers should look different from one addressed to people aged 40+.
Visual identity also plays a huge role in consumers’ perception of a brand. We live in a world of short information, slogans and signs. That is why logos, colors, symbols and general aesthetics of products are important. All this also creates the image of the company according to the buyer and has a bearing on building a relationship between him and the brand.
The basis is brand loyalty and trust
Today’s market abounds in various brands, and more and more are created all the time. We are almost flooded with various products and symbols, often not knowing what it all means. However, companies that enjoy the greatest recognition and consumer choice are not resting on their laurels and are constantly developing their offers. The key is to constantly work on the image because without this, it is impossible to maintain the leadership position.
In the aforementioned Deloitte report we read that if a brand wants not only to stay on the market, but above all to boast of constant trust, it needs constant work and listening to consumers. This means staying up to date with the ever-present changes and new trends. Without this, it will not be possible to maintain the highest standards and respond to the preferences of as many customers as possible.
The consumer who has established a bond with the brand is then not only a recurring generator of profit, but also an engaged recipient. Building long-term partnerships with consumers means, above all, responding responsibly and effectively to their needs. More and more companies emphasize personalization and considering individual preferences of consumers to provide them with the most suitable benefits.
Many factors contribute to the choice of a particular brand, but first there are positive emotions and associations. To build them, we need a dialogue with consumers, a trusting answer to their needs as well as building the opinion of a unique brand, positively distinguishing itself from the competition. We can easily learn about emotions by analyzing media, including blogs, news portals, internet forums and most of all social networking sites. That’s what Sentimenti tools are for.
by Sentimenti Team | Sep 30, 2021 | SentiBrand
The study of emotions contained in content is today eagerly used, among other things, to analyze and predict consumer behavior. No wonder. Reading the motivation of internet users helps to better define the target group of a given product or service and then facilitates more precise construction of marketing communication. One of the parameters that should be taken into account when analyzing the emotions contained in the text is emotional arousal. Why? What benefits do we get from it? Check it out in this article!
What should you know about emotional arousal to begin with? Let’s start with a definition. In a previous article, we pointed out that emotion is an experience and also an affective stimulus, causing an action to be taken.
One component of this experience is emotional arousal (arousal).
This arousal reflects the degree of activation of the central nervous system. It directly affects the way (intensity) of feeling a particular emotion. However, it is not a state that is always reflected in the dynamics of a particular person’s behavior. It can lead to increased liveliness, but it can also cause apparent calmness, indifference or even its withdrawal.
Interesting fact. The nature of the emotion experienced has no effect on the value of emotional arousal. Sadness, disgust, or joy can have the same arousal value.
Emotional arousal in terms of content emotion analysis means the level of intensity of a given reader’s emotions towards a particular event or information read. It can be zero, in which case we speak of indifference. It can also be measured and felt as strong: for example, excitement or agitation.
Emotional arousal is a state whose symptoms can be observed in the body. Noticeable physiological reactions include:
- elevated heart rate,
- more frequent and more intense heartbeat,
- accelerated breathing,
- increased perspiration,
- goose bumps on the skin,
- dilation of the pupils and accommodation of the eyes to see at a distance,
- dilation of blood vessels in the external genitalia.
These symptoms may be accompanied by other, less obvious visceral reactions, that is, reactions of internal organs:
- due to the activity of the adrenal glands, adrenaline is secreted into the blood,
- the liver releases glucose into the bloodstream,
- intestinal peristalsis is reduced and bronchial tubes dilated.
As you can see, this is atavism. The so-called reptilian brain is at work here. In the body, mobilization occurs, leading to an immediate reaction to the occurring changes. For example, in the case of fear it will be flight, and in the case of anger or rage – aggression, fighting.
Unlike sentiment analysis, emotion analysis can indicate the level of emotional arousal in statements or other types of content published by internet users. For analysts, communications professionals, marketers and even salespeople, this is a very important factor. Why?
Measuring arousal, sometimes called the temperature of an utterance, gives those measuring it the ability to determine the overall strength of all emotions. It additionally conveys two pieces of information:
- it indicates the severity of the tendency to perform the response attributed to a particular emotion,
- and, at the same time, it shows the magnitude of the obstacles that may block a person from taking a particular action.
The analyst thus gains knowledge of the person’s propensity to act. If, in addition, he knows what emotion is behind the statement, he will also know what action to expect. He will also learn about the extent of the blockages inhibiting the person. With knowledge of the emotions involved, he will be able to more easily determine whether it is an external obstacle or rather a mental block.
What do we gain by having our level of emotional arousal examined in conjunction with a given emotion?
First, we gain the ability to identify the emotional state that results from the content examined, in terms of its intensity
Thus, we distinguish between:
- mood – when the intensity of the emotion is low but can last for a long time,
- emotion – sudden and short-lived emotional states,
- affect – a sudden physiological state of short duration but high intensity, ending in passing and a phase of weariness.
Second, when combined with a given emotion (or compilation of emotions), the analysis will make it easier to determine the source of that emotion
Depending on the type of emotion, the arousal will be sensory or internal, visceral (i.e., aggregated due to the body’s biological imbalance, deprivation of needs, etc.).
And we are only talking about emotions in a primal, animal context! When we begin to operate with derivative, complex emotions, a more complicated and simultaneously more desirable picture will emerge. For we will enter into the so-called reasons of reason, emotions of a transgressive, reflexive character.
Their level and intensity may even give the researcher an idea about the system of values adhered to by the commentator, its violation or realization. It is probably not necessary to convince anyone about the importance of such data for their interpreter.
Third, and finally, the juxtaposition of emotion and arousal allows the analyst to estimate the impact of a given piece of information on an individual’s cognitive development
In what ways? First of all, we know that cognitive processes are connected to emotional processes. The latter affect cognitive processes by giving them a sui generis emotional coloration that stems from the emotions that we are experiencing.
The high intensity of a given emotion will therefore restrict cognitive processes, because these processes will be, as it were, filtered through the filter of the emotions experienced. However, positive stimulation (“reward” that introduces a positive feeling in the subject) improves the process, while the expectation of unpleasant consequences slows it down.
The analysis of primary and secondary emotions in combination with emotional arousal will allow the researcher to attribute specific actions to the results obtained. It will give him a specific picture of the structure of needs behind the analyzed statement. As a result, it will be possible to tailor a marketing message that is much more personalized. If we gather a sufficiently large group with similar results (i.e. similar needs), with such data we can begin designing marketing strategies.
Let’s proceed to test the knowledge described here in practice. As a basis for the analysis we will take comments and opinions from the Internet. They were scanned with SentiTool for the emotions they contain. Sentiment and the degree of emotional arousal were examined. We will see the relationship between emotional arousal and predicted action.
Example 1:
Panel prices drama – just like any other store. I will never again buy anything from the damn XX. This floor is crap, and the company that produces this crap is a huge failure.
Message analysis results:
- anger – 51%,
- fear – 31%,
- anticipation – 30%,
- surprise – 52%,
- trust – 20%,
- sadness – 45%,
- disgust – 42%,
- joy – 19%,
- positive sentiment – 18%,
- negative sentiment – 45%,
- excitement – 59%.
In the results obtained, the high scores of anger, disgust, sadness and surprise are immediately striking. However, these are obvious in a consumer disappointed with a purchase. These values are supported by a strong negative sentiment, which hints that this state will persist and can be nurtured in the way people harbor resentment.
The emotional arousal of the Internet user is high here and will certainly lead to impulsive actions. What are they? The anger factor (51%) may indicate a desire to take retaliation, probably in the form of leaving aggressive, unfavorable comments and opinions online and among people familiar with the author of the post in question.
However, the most important part of the statement is the author’s identification of the “guilty” of the whole situation and, at the same time, the one responsible for his emotional state. And it is … no, contrary to appearances, not the manufacturer of “crap and junk”, that is the company “great failure”. The culprit is a popular DIY store!
We are witnessing an interesting shift of aggression from the manufacturer to the distributor of floor panels. The reason for the transfer is the unattractive price of the purchased product. As a punishment, the customer threatens to give up shopping in this chain. It can be considered that the quality of the product in this statement is of secondary importance. The customer guessed what he was buying and probably had an internal agreement about not the best specification of the product, but he expected a much lower price.
How do we know this? He did some consumer research and compared prices in other stores, he probably checked opinions of other users about given panels. Finally, despite everything, he bought this particular product. The first two sentences of the internaut’s statement (out of three!) refer to the store’s activity, and only the last sentence refers to the low quality of the floor panels. Something tells us that if the author of the opinion had bought the panels in the promotion, the above entry would not have been written at all.
What about the threat of a chain boycott? This boycott will last with the consumer… until they need to make their next purchase. There are a limited number of players in the building and finishing products market, and the aforementioned market is well established and has the fourth largest distribution network in the country. The results of the emotion analysis are not so high in this case as to suggest abandoning the relatively convenient (and, paradoxically, price-competitive) market in favor of seeking similar merchandise in other chains.
Example 2:
Anything better than G… and their latest “toxic masculinity” anti-male campaign, spreading propaganda saying that whites are responsible for all the evil and hate in the world. I will never buy anything from this crappy company again.
Message analysis results:
- anger – 58%,
- fear – 43%,
- anticipation – 24%,
- surprise – 53%,
- trust – 13%,
- sadness – 52%,
- disgust – 50%,
- joy – 10%,
- positive sentiment – 10%,
- negative sentiment – 57%,
- emotional arousal – 64%.
In the message examined, we immediately see a contradiction. The high levels of anger, fear, surprise and sadness are a reflection not of the products themselves, but of the mission or idea that the concern represents. This mission does not agree with the commenting consumer’s vision of the world.
The man is filled with anger (58%). He had largely identified the company with masculinity and suddenly this image began to change. This thesis is supported by high rates of surprise (53%) and fear (43%).
Fear, however, reveals something more to us. It appears because of the blow to the consumer’s fundamental values, which are hidden in the words: whites are responsible for all the evil and hatred in the world. What we get is an image of a conservative person who will not necessarily be appealed to with facts, but who will not mince words when it comes to defending his or her rights or values.
What action can such a consumer take? Anger combined with fear is an explosive mixture – with increased arousal, it can and will lead confidently to an attack. After all, the first step was to post the comment in question. There are bound to be other posts: people with high levels of anxiety are closed to change and are very aggressive in public discussions that undermine their higher values.
Such a person will opt for a consumer boycott (arousal 64%), although we are not sure they will persist in it. Why, you ask? The commentary begins by saying that the campaign is anti-male, showing the toxicity of masculinity. But all the anger focuses on the message of white guilt for the evils of this world. This consumer may nevertheless return to the brand’s products in some time, because he is used to them. He is, after all, masculine.
Example 3:
Irrigation of our greenery is important. At this point I too am going to buy a rotary sprinkler and have already seen several models in the store.
Message Analysis Results:
- anger – 16%,
- fear – 15%,
- anticipation – 41%,
- surprise – 40%,
- trust – 34%,
- sadness – 19%,
- disgust – 13%,
- joy – 35%,
- positive sentiment – 37%,
- negative sentiment – 6%,
- emotional arousal – 48%.
In contrast, the text to be analyzed is seemingly unemotional, neutral. The results of expectation, surprise and trust stand out the most, supported by a not inconsiderable (48%) arousal factor.
What do these results say? The person who left the comment is in the process of buying the product. Heightened anticipation (41%) combined with joy (35%) indicates that she is somewhat excited about the search, checking out the available options and looking out for the optimal offer (again, anticipation).
She is also surprised (40%) but still not frightened (15%) by the number of solutions available on the market. She believes she will find the right device (confidence – 34%). Agitation indicates an advanced process that is likely to end in a purchase.
The statement does not contain many details. You can see from its shape that it is a response to a comment from another person looking for such a product. It starts with a truism and, after a slightly stylistically convoluted construction, quickly moves on to the substance – a declaration of a common goal of the search. Now it is enough to add a link to the relevant product to the entry and… we have a typical whisperer’s comment.
If you would like to know, practitioners of whisper marketing, how your work looks like from the point of view of the study of emotions by artificial intelligence, it looks like this.
Example 4:
I bought such a decanter for my father and am eminently pleased. It is so beautiful that I myself gladly reach for it sometimes just to admire it. Lovely!
Message Analysis Results:
- anger – 12%,
- fear – 14%,
- anticipation – 61%,
- surprise – 50%,
- trust – 65%,
- sadness – 12%,
- disgust – 12%,
- joy – 72%,
- positive sentiment – 75%,
- negative sentiment – 1%,
- emotional arousal – 72%.
The statement is made by an extremely satisfied consumer who chose the product as a gift for his father. We will not find out whether the gift was to the liking of the recipient. Probably neither does the commentator himself. As evidence we have high expectation supported by surprise at 50% and slightly elevated indices of anger, sadness and fear. For the same reasons, we also don’t know if the gift performs well as a decanter.
What we do know is that the purchaser himself certainly enjoyed the purchase. He exalts the beauty of the product, describes holding it in his hands, and we sense the desire to repeat this action. Such emotional state of the commentator towards the product will last – this thesis is supported by our high positive sentiment (75%).
The arousal factor in such conditions can mean a desire to return to the store and buy the same product. Well, unless the son finally gets up the courage to ask his father what he thinks of the gift. There is a chance that he will get this decanter for himself…
The analysis of the comments described above is detailed, almost meticulous. So you may be tempted to respond: This is impractical! What about processing large amounts of data? After all, in order to prepare the communication strategy, monitor the brand image in the network, social listening, advertising campaign, etc. we will need thousands of mentions. How to deal with them?
It’s simple – the analysis of emotions contained in the content is automated. Content is analyzed by AI algorithms operating on the basis of deep neural networks. All mentions or posts are in turn categorized in such a way that a person starting to analyze the data has a simplified task. In addition, the analysis tools used today can be calibrated to the needs of a specific task or use selected classification systems.
So if you need to take your work to the next level with data analysis for marketing, advertising or communication projects, consider analyzing emotions in content.
by Igor Starczak | Sep 30, 2021 | SentiBrand
Advertising, marketing, and communication activities based on influencing the positive emotions of the audience are used frequently today because they are effective. Why? Such emotions can be easily transferred directly to the brand, and thus build a positive image of the brand. Besides, influencing the emotions of the audience allows not only to better anchor the brand in their consciousness, but also to stimulate them to a certain action. But are positive emotions really always positive for a brand?
Positive emotions are generally those emotions that we experience with pleasure. To put it in scientific jargon, they are pleasant or desirable situational reactions, distinct from pleasant sensations and undifferentiated positive affect. Such emotions include love, joy, satisfaction, contentment, interest, amusement, happiness, peace or delight, among others.
How do they work? Experiencing positive emotions:
- expands a person’s set of values and beliefs,
- stimulates openness,
- makes it easier to find solutions in a difficult situation,
- makes it easier to get out of one’s comfort zone and pick up ideas or take actions that are not typical for a person.
This very mechanism is used by advertising, marketing and communication campaigns to strengthen the relationship of customers with the brand, encourage them to buy products and services, join newsletters, etc.
However, what specialists do not want to remember is that every stick has two ends. Yes, yes: positive emotions also have their dark side. Take joy – an emotion with a clear positive connotation. As research shows [1], people who intensely pursue happiness have a greater ease of experiencing depressive states, feeling unhappy and being depressed. They also tend to be more selfish and feel lonely.
The study also indicated that anger may have an impact on performing certain actions more effectively, such as those of a confrontational nature (we wrote about the positive effects of negative emotions in a previous article). In contrast, emotions of a positive nature can sometimes have the opposite effect.
Positive and negative emotions are like yin and yang
They cannot exist separately, but complement each other. Sometimes people feel both positive and negative emotions simultaneously in certain situations (especially stressful ones). This happens, for example, when moving out of the family home or when graduating from college. In such moments, one may feel joy and sadness at the same time – emotions that, in the study, have opposite charges to each other.
People who have succeeded under ambiguous circumstances will have a similar emotional experience. Moreover, those who have suffered a failure, and this failure brought them a kind of deliverance from a difficult situation, or its consequences were not as terrible as it promised to be at first.
The above information shows that basing communication with customers solely on positive emotions is wrong. The study of the effects of such activities will be falsified because it is incomplete. To assess the emotionality of the recipients of marketing, advertising, PR and other activities, one needs not only a tool that cross-searches the emotions experienced by a person or group of people in a given situation. It is also necessary to take a more flexible approach to understanding the role of emotions themselves. It is best to assume that a given emotion can play several, sometimes conflicting roles.
The high effectiveness of marketing or communication activities based on positive emotions is very tempting for specialists. However, there is a considerable risk in this. Constant pumping of a positive emotional balloon causes frustration in the recipients of such communications after some time. This can lead to a loosening of the relationship with the brand, breaking that relationship, or even turning to the competition.
Imagine being in the company of an overly cheerful person for a long time, almost flooding with optimism or trying to make everyone around happy… by force. Tiring, isn’t it?
Receiving positively charged, but served in too large a dose of brand communication will work similarly. It will be perceived as intrusive, tiresome and inauthentic. Consumers will react skeptically to such actions.
Why? Because as emotional beings, we are only complete when positive emotions are joined by negative ones. When we accept their existence and integrate the whole with each other. This mechanism also translates into the reception of emotionally charged communication.
By focusing in communication exclusively on positive messages and not taking information about the negative emotions of its audience, the company commits a cognitive error (the so-called Pollyanna effect). Customers in the cognitive loop of positive emotions will contribute little analytical information about consumer behavior, and will not act. Instead, customers in negative emotions will provide this information. This is because their natural reflex will be to want to break out of the loop of negative emotions, so they will take appropriate steps to take so.
With incomplete data on negative reactions, the full potential of positive emotions cannot be realized
This reduces the value and effectiveness of the actions taken by the brand. A holistic analysis of emotions and sentiment will help in this case to identify potential changes in consumer behavior. And it is additionally important to remember that it is negative emotions that have a greater impact on changes in behavior and personality formation.
The use of only positive emotions in marketing, advertising, and communications is often due to the social stigmatization of negative feelings, and therefore fear of them. This phenomenon can be observed especially where a social pattern of functioning is translated into the way an organization operates. For example, there is regular fearmongering and manipulation in public spaces, for example, by politicians, religious leaders, etc.
Under such circumstances, negative emotions are perceived as an enemy or at least as a weakness, and these, after all, should be protected against. Choosing only positive solutions is therefore here a socially expected form of protecting oneself, the organization or the brand. A way to manage the company and a method to build an image in the public space.
However, with the simultaneous denial of negative emotions, such a model of company operation or a way of brand communication becomes a powerful ballast in development and a barrier to achieving the goals. The vast majority of energy in this case is directed at building and maintaining an illusory positive image of reality. Human resources and financial outlays are directed to this goal.
If a crisis arises, such as an image crisis, it will be much more severe and long-lasting for the organization because its symptoms will be denied and repressed. It will be much more difficult for a given company to recover from such a crisis. It will need not only to take corrective steps against misguided actions, but also to reevaluate the entire way the organization functions.
Emotions are important components in creating the customer experience (CX) with a company. Placing communication solely on positive emotions and experiences deprives a company’s analytical cells of an significant range of information regarding specific consumer behavior. This leads to an incomplete depiction and therefore incomplete understanding of the needs of that company’s customers. As a result, these needs remain unmet, which eventually results in declines in sales, an overall reduction in brand appeal and a gradual exodus of dissatisfied customers toward competitors.
Consider customers’ experience of interacting with a brand in terms of the emotions they feel
These experiences result from the interactions between the various points of contact between consumers and the company at the pre-purchase, during purchase and post-purchase stages. The experiences from these interactions can sometimes be contradictory. A customer may experience positive emotions when reading enthusiastic product reviews or watching emotionally charged advertisements. However, he or she will also experience negative emotions when waiting for a long time for an ordered product, when demand increased by advertisements causes delays in delivery.
Such impressions in contact with the company can then:
- reflect negatively on the image of the brand (it is inefficient, it does not cope with meeting the needs of customers),
- project negative opinions about the product (when the frustration caused by waiting too long outweighs the level of satisfaction with the user, or when the product does not fully satisfy the user’s expectations, has defects, etc.).
In the case in question, betting only on creating positive communication misses the point. Again, the needs of the users of the product or service are overlooked, which leads to a progressive degradation of customer attachment to the brand or commodity.
Using only communication based on positive emotions and building customer attachment to them is, finally, fraught with yet another mistake. Without expected results from marketing, PR or advertising activities, there may be a tendency to assume that the absence of positive resonance (i.e., the absence of positive emotions in customers) means the presence of negative emotions. This is not necessarily true.
The actions taken by the company will then focus on covering negative emotions with positive ones. And this will be a mistake because building relationships on positive emotions is of a different nature than neutralizing negative emotions. In such a case, it is necessary to conduct an analysis of customer emotions in response to the actions taken, which will enable validation and corrective steps to be taken.
Conclusion: a single positive customer experience can be valuable to him and result in the transfer of positive emotions into loyalty decisions. It can therefore strengthen his relationship with the company. But this positive experience can also make the resulting secondary positive experiences less exciting and valuable to the same customer. This raises the possibility that these positive experiences will not positively influence loyalty decisions.
All activities aimed at promoting and advertising a product or service, increasing brand awareness among current and future customers, and creating lasting and engaging B2C relationships are dependent on emotional charge. Their effectiveness will be greater the emotional charge, however, using the full spectrum of emotions – positive, neutral, and negative.
Positive emotions cannot function isolated from negative ones – this is simply unnatural. Example: a blog article about a particular product, which only mentions its advantages. Such posts are not uncommon. Meanwhile, it is enough to have a glance at the reviews of this product on the web, and it is already clear that the mentioned text is unreliable, and describing only the advantages of the product – manipulative.
The same is true of more general communication directed to customers. Striking only a positive note falsifies the picture and does not provide full data on implemented measures. If there are problems, fixing such communication becomes much more difficult. Therefore, if we are already using emotions to increase the engagement of our users, let’s dose them carefully and with the whole palette in mind. We will then have the best effect.
