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.
by Igor Starczak | Sep 30, 2021 | SentiBrand
In marketing, advertising and customer communication, negative emotions tend to be overlooked. No wonder. Companies, brand owners or agencies – everyone prefers to know what positively attaches customers to a brand or product, what customers have a good experience, an experience, what finally makes a consumer a customer and why they return to buy later. Sales are what counts! But from a research perspective, negative emotions are valuable.
Analyzing negative emotions is important from the brand’s point of view, to say the least. Suppose a product sells badly, or an advertising campaign is not successful. Then, by studying the emotions of customers, you can find out what they feel and how this translates into the perception of the product or campaign. Today we are talking about why it is worthwhile to study negative emotions in marketing and communications as well.
At the outset, let’s clarify beyond a shadow of a doubt: we will treat the phrase “negative emotions” in this article exclusively as a key word (and even a crowbar word!). All emotions that arise in us are necessary, and all of them also have their concrete consequences in action, so they are positive. By negative emotions we will mean here those whose common social perception has a contrasting connotation opposite to concepts like joy, surprise, or admiration.
Among the eight basic emotions (as in previous articles – we talk about them in the context of Plutchik’s theory), those having a negative or rather unpleasant to feel context include sadness, anger, fear, and disgust.
Sadness
It is an emotion of loss. It will appear, for example, in a situation of loss of an important person, loss of material resources, inability to achieve a goal set for oneself or to satisfy a particular need. It is usually accompanied by other unpleasant emotions, sensations, and reactions from the body.
Sadness is one of the most essential human emotions for the reason that without it it is impossible… to feel joy. It also indicates what is significant to a person and can be a motivating factor to transform this emotion into action and achieve the desired goal. Related behaviors to sadness include passivity, numbness, isolation, surrender, and self-criticism.
Anger
This is an emotion that people are very much afraid of. At the same time, however, it is the one that in a crisis gives a person the most energy and motivation to act. Anger initiates fight or flight. It builds tension and alertness, causes the release of adrenaline – so it corresponds to the physiological response to stress.
Anger is a signal of disagreement and a response to threats. It appears when boundaries are violated and when needs are not met. It can lead to impulsive confrontation and even aggression against the cause of the emotion. However, it can be and directed at the feeler himself or be aggregated into sadness or a range of other emotions.
Fear
It is a reaction to danger. It often occurs with anger, and its intensity increases with the level of danger. It can sometimes turn into anxiety. Fear is a powerful motivator for action. It appears when there is a threat to, for example, health, life, possessions, when comparing the current situation to an analogous one in the past, when recalling a difficult situation, or when witnessing an event in which someone is being harmed.
Fear can activate even in the face of thoughts or imaginings. Behaviors of a person in fear include excessive focus on threatening factors, narrowing of attention, distraction, sometimes loss of self-control.
Disgust
It is an emotion of a warning nature: It informs about health and life threats, such as poisoned or stale food, dangerous plants and animals, contagiously ill people, etc. Repulsion can activate in unpleasant, rejecting situations. We won’t list here specific examples of when it occurs, so as not to trigger a revulsion reflex in readers!
Planning communications, marketing and advertising campaigns or customer service cannot be unsupported by the emotions of the audience. Yet, as we mentioned at the beginning of the article, emotions with negative overtones are usually consistently overlooked in such activities.
Wrongly. With such an approach, we lose the rich palette of emotions (both primary and secondary) that help us evaluate the feelings, attitudes, and reactions of some target audience of our activities. And after all, these activities do not bring only positive effects and associations. After all, both positive and negative emotions can be excellent catalysts for action in marketing communications.
And – more importantly – particular negative emotions entail specific behavioral reactions from consumers, which a marketer or a public relations officer should anticipate in order to take countermeasures in advance.
These reactions are primarily:
- brand detachment,
- brand switching,
- negative PTO,
- complaints and claims.
What opportunities does emotion analysis offer in this regard?
By checking negative reactions (e.g., in social media comments, under articles, products, statements in forums, etc.), we can define and outline the space where people with certain prejudices or using negative stereotypes and heuristics will be found. Through emotion analysis, we will estimate their percentage and be able to correct our communication in the future, which will improve its effectiveness.
Using emotion analysis in text (a step further than just sentiment analysis), we can also see what kind of negative emotions our audience feels. Are they anger, fear and sadness, or rather more complex, multi-layered emotions.
Here again, let’s emphasize the superiority of emotion analysis over sentiment analysis. Consumers feeling anger, disgust, or sadness will be classified as feeling negative sentiment. However, emotion analysis will indicate that consumers feeling sadness will show a tendency to withdraw and be inactive. Meanwhile, those feeling anger will rather confront and try to remove the cause of their anger.
This is an important piece of information. After all, negative emotions can be harnessed to marketing and advertising efforts in such a case, provided, however, that the brand applying such a procedure hastens a solution that brings relief. One just has to remember not to overdo it with these negative emotions. When consumers are unsure of how the brand intends to solve their tension – they will leave.
Now let’s look at the different emotions in terms of their impact on the relationship with a particular brand or product.
Anger towards the brand and the behaviors that manifest it
Anger can be shown by consumers through indignation, irritation or resentment in varying degrees. Such a state can manifest itself when, for example, a brand strikes at the principals of its audience, when its actions are overly pushy or provocative. Anger will cause frustrated customers to become active. It is also an emotion that stimulates taking action to find a solution on one’s own to neutralize this emotion.
Customer anger is often caused by product failure or other situations where the company is clearly to blame. Customers often get angry when a product fails them or they experience other problems that are clearly the company’s fault. And even more so when it is easy to prove its responsibility for causing the defect. In this case, the reaction of consumers will be to file complaints, write grievances, etc. In addition, they will show their dissatisfaction by spreading negative opinions about the company (negative WOM). Finally, they will be eager to confront the company in the form of protests, boycotts, etc.
Interestingly, in the so-called cross, that is, the combination of felt primary emotions, anger is not infrequently accompanied by shame, for example, in the form of a sense of humiliation. A simple mechanism is at work here: the manifestation of anger will occur due to embarrassment or humiliation precisely. It is worth knowing that in such a situation, the behavioral reactions of both emotions will be very similar to each other.
Shame is also an emotion whose manifestation will occur when the consumer experiences inconvenience due to his own interaction towards a particular brand. Under such circumstances, consumer behavior may steer toward re-building a relationship with the brand, but already on a different basis. This relationship is definitely not going to occur in the manifestation of sadness, where a passive attitude will prevail.
Disgust – what it manifests itself as
This negative emotion will arise when a brand strikes at consumers’ core values, e.g., violates labor rights, uses reprehensible market practices, conducts environmental robbery, tests products on animals, etc. Consumers’ response to feeling revulsion will definitely be to switch to competing brands (brand switching). Negative WOM (word of mouth) can also often be observed. Manifestations of disgust can also be aggressive actions directed against the brand, such as organizing protests and boycotts.
Fear – how consumers who feel it react
It is associated with feelings of anxiety, a state of insecurity and insecurity. Customers feel fear when they perceive something in a brand or product that disturbs their aforementioned sense of security. This feeling, even subjective, will, over time, project negatively on the brand that the consumer feels threatens him.
Fear is absolutely a stimulant for action. Unlike anger, however, the action taken by customers is not to attack the source of frustration, but to run away from it and avoid an unpleasant confrontation. And this is what happens to brands that, in the opinion of customers, for example, pursue overly aggressive marketing policies – consumers avoid confronting them.
As a result, they develop attitudes such as reluctance to try a new product or use the company’s services in general (brand detachment). On the other hand, when they need a product with certain parameters, however, they may initiate a switch to a competing brand (brand switching).
Sadness and its manifestations in behavior
Sadness (and all its shades) is an emotion characterized by directing energy inward, into oneself (as is anger). Saddened consumers withdraw from interactions with brands and – often – from public space (including social media) in general. In consumers’ actions, sadness tends to be reflected in moving to a competing company and choosing an analogous product or service.
Sadness typically manifests itself jointly with fear because the behavioral reactions in both cases are similar. Causing withdrawal and passivity, sadness has the same effects for the brand as fear, the result of which is a flight from the relationship. Sadness, however, will not induce actions besides severing the relationship with the brand (and possibly brand switching), while fear can also initiate negative comments, filing complaints, writing complaints, denunciations, etc.
So, what is it that can consequently trigger consumer reactions toward a brand? There are several factors, such as:
- an inappropriate name or an annoying advertising slogan,
- excessive focus on one target group and preparation of advertising activities with only them in mind, resulting in the inability of others to identify with the brand,
- advertising narrative that is incompatible with reality,
- outdated, almost old-fashioned ideas for advertising campaigns,
- unpleasant impressions caused by direct contact with the point of sale or product,
- the company’s pursuit of a negatively perceived policy.
A consumer’s dissatisfaction with a brand policy most often leads to his expression of anger. The reason is usually the company’s lack of response or a response that is inappropriate from that person’s perspective. These factors cause an escalation of tension, resulting again in anger or even hatred.
Anger and dissatisfaction are commonly experienced negative emotions by customers towards a particular brand
Having a high power of affective action, these emotions cause a reaction in various forms. Therefore, from the point of view of companies, it is important to analyze one’s own actions in terms of the emotions that will be triggered in consumers. After all, by analyzing emotions, one can try to stop the angry and disgruntled from showing aggression. As a result, you can make sure they don’t file complaints and grievances, spread negative information or, finally, leave for a company that is less frustrating and offers analogous products or services.
The most common consequences of consumers’ negative emotions are that they abandon the brand in question and move on to a competitor, and spread negative information. For these people, it is much easier, less stressful and requires less effort than even filling out a complaint form and sending it to the relevant unit of the company.
In such a situation, the company has to face loss of profits, a drop in sales and a decrease in the group of customers for its products. Moreover, it basically knows nothing about the reasons for such behavior of existing customers. If only for this reason, emotion analysis with a focus on negative emotions is so recommendable.
But that’s not all. Negative emotions carry a range of information that can be used in communications, advertising and marketing. Knowing the reasons for the occurrence of such emotions in their audience, a company, or brand can correct its policy in a given area, but also take up the fight to improve its position in the market.
How? Simply diagnose the negative emotions of your product’s target audience, but in the context of competing brands. Then you can use them to:
- make consumers more permanently attached to their brand (show the flaws of the competition to your customers),
- reducing brand switching,
- targeting your competitors’ audiences more effectively.
In marketing and advertising, brands even use strategies based on constructing activities that arouse strictly negative emotions
Of course, the assumption is that as soon as they are aroused, the recipients will be provided with a feeling of relief. Examples of this are most often found in social campaigns.
by Sentimenti Team | Sep 30, 2021 | SentiBrand, Sentimenti research
Emotionality is an extremely important, yet often underestimated part of the human being today. Emotions are a direct heritage of our distant ancestors – they were created to inform us about important events, to protect us from danger, to help us make decisions, to sustain us in action, and to establish and maintain relationships with others. Emotions translate into almost every area of life and without them it is simply impossible to function.
This (perhaps somewhat emotional) introduction is an introduction to a series of articles describing the possibilities of using modern technologies and artificial intelligence to recognize emotions and – in the perspective – to predict future decisions or consumer actions.
The source of information about these emotions can be, for example, posts of the Internet users themselves, published on social networking sites, discussion forums, in the form of comments under articles and wherever there is a possibility to express one’s own opinion. The more initiated will say – this is all about sentiment analysis! And they will be right, but only partially – we will look at these issues more broadly than just through the prism of sentiment. Because emotion is definitely not the same as sentiment, although we often see the two phrases used interchangeably.
What are emotions?
Let’s start by defining emotion. It is an instinctive, spontaneous, but also complex reaction of the brain to a stimulus, both external (perceived by the senses) and internal (memories, imagination or thoughts). Emotions are one of the components necessary for the perception of reality – they participate in cognitive processes, regulate social behavior, and in a healthy person – through mirror neurons – help to understand the emotional state of another person.
Why complex? The result of such a reaction is, among other things, the secretion of hormones and the expression of emotions through the body. Such patterns of physiological reactions as acceleration of breathing, pulse and heartbeat, pain, freezing, tingling or other arousal of the body, muscle tension, nausea, in addition to characteristic facial expressions, body language, sound properties of speech (prosody), etc., may appear in the expression. As a result – after collecting and processing the data, a specific action is taken, e.g. running away, putting up a fight, expressing admiration, appreciation, etc.
In the course of research on emotionality, it has been established (e.g. by Paul Ekman and Robert Plutchik) that some of the emotions occur in people irrespective of their settlement (or upbringing) in a given cultural circle. These emotions are the so-called primary emotions, and among them are: joy, sadness, anger, fear, disgust, surprise (Plutchik developing this theory additionally includes expectation and trust). Emotions can be compared here to colors: in both cases the basic components create their derivatives.
Thus, from the mixture of sadness and surprise comes disappointment, from anger and disgust – contempt, from trust and fear – submission, from surprise and anger – indignation. In a straight line – emotions are a way of expressing more complex constructs – feelings.
What is sentiment?
And how does sentiment relate to emotion? Sentiment can be defined as a peculiar mental attitude that is an aggregation of emotions and related thoughts. It is a decidedly subjective experience and develops from emotion only when we are aware of the presence of a phenomenon. Sentiment combines physiological reactions and cognitive components, and it occurs when we are already able to name the state we are in (or identify, name the emotion affecting us) and, consequently, decide to make a particular response. It will not develop unless it is preceded by the expression of an emotion.
Sentiment is, then, the result and, at the same time, the derivative of many emotions, an emotional state with a longer span of action than emotions – for it lasts as long as we are able to “cherish” its presence within us.
What is sentiment analysis?
Sentiment analysis in the context of Content Marketing is a way to measure and validate the overall impression, the mood that readers are in after reading given content. It doesn’t so much focus on the specific emotions expressed, but rather differentiates the feelings or impressions of the audience after reading the text into “positive” and “negative” (sometimes “neutral” as well) – this is reflected in the “positive” and “negative” sentiments. (sometimes also “neutral”) – this is reflected in the opinions expressed. When analysing the sentiment in the content, we collect data which, although highly simplified, gives us the possibility of quick estimation and easy processing. The analysis of the sentiment contained in the content is a method for measuring the reaction (attitude) of readers after reading, and thus the marketing value of the content itself.
How does this translate into action in practice? Thanks to the sentiment measurement it is easier for the publisher to verify particular articles – to check whether the reception of their message was positive or not; however, a problem may arise in the case of neutral, informative articles and content which will not lead to polarization of opinions when commenting on them. The data collected in this way is simply highly generalized.
Sentiment analysis provides insight into readers’ thematic preferences: it allows you to group content into those that evoke positive and negative associations. It makes it easier for publishers to plan the publication of content and allows for better (albeit not very precise) targeting of content audiences. Remember – the process of forming sentiment is long and complicated, and sentiment itself is susceptible to regulation and control by the reader’s thoughts. As a controlled reaction, it loses its natural dynamics and thus its authenticity.
Emotion analysis and the differences in the two solutions
Using the terms emotion and sentiment interchangeably is a mistake. As we have shown above, an analysis of the sentiment contained in published content is only a slice of a larger picture. A slice that describes a situation in which the reader will control his reactions and, as a result, consciously take action. So you could say that sentiment analysis is based on the logical actions of a given internet user.
Meanwhile, the analysis of emotions is essentially holistic – it focuses primarily on the primal, atavistic element, namely the instinct. Emotions appear spontaneously, they can be very intense and have a short-lasting effect, but they are also a motivator for specific actions. This is why an analysis of the emotions contained in a text, though more difficult to conduct, is in effect deeper and more accurate – it will make it possible to predict readers’ reactions, the actions they will take, or even try to identify the blockages holding them back from specific activity.
Analysing emotions allows you to gather a lot more data on the extent to which readers enjoyed, frustrated or simply found the text boring, which will then translate into more accurate planning of actions towards particular texts and predicting internet users’ reactions: sentiment will show us consumers’ attitudes towards the published content, while emotions – what’s behind these attitudes!
Example: Two reviews of a product are published. One of them says “This product did not meet my expectations,” while the other says “I hate this product with all my being.” Both descriptions will be classified as having a negative sentiment, but they will be significantly different in emotional valence – after all, there is a difference between disappointment or sadness and hatred. The analysis of emotions allows us to detect such, sometimes small, subtleties and indicate the specific types of behavior following them. It will help to guide the employees analyzing the data on what a given consumer may do after issuing such an opinion, or indicate how another consumer, whose product did not satisfy or saddened, will behave.
Let’s look at the results of testing the two sentence examples above with the Sentimenti text emotion analysis tool:
Ten produkt nie spełnił moich oczekiwań
This product did not meet my expectations | Nienawidzę tego wyrobu całym sobą
I hate this product with all my heart
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surprise / zaskoczenie - 40% | surprise / zaskoczenie - 44% |
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For comparison (study conducted with the same tool): sentiment for the first statement included in the sentence – positive – 20%, negative – 25%, emotional arousal – 46%. For the second – positive – 20%, negative – 40%, emotional arousal – 61%.
It is immediately clear that the analysis of emotions gives much more useful information. First comes anger – an obvious emotion, caused by discomfort, dissatisfaction with the purchase, but differentiated into disappointment and hatred. This anger is additionally boosted by fear, which in the second case reaches a significant intensity of 34%. Sadness is also significantly higher in the second statement.
What is not surprising is the similar level of surprise (discomfort in both cases) and anticipation (perhaps of a reaction from the brand or store below the post, or other comments similar in tone). The low level of trust is also not surprising, although it is not close to zero – probably both commenters are waiting for the mentioned reaction from the brand, and they have not experienced a similar situation from its side before. And the joy – you ask? Similar in both statements, it can mean hope for an apology or… satisfaction from expressed anger!
Another issue that makes sentiment analysis less useful is the possibility of data misinterpretation. What are we talking about? The misattribution of sentiment to emotion and the following consequences. An example from a popular fanpage of a well-known large discount retailer: “Why (angle grinder – author’s note) is not available stationary ?”
Conclusion: a consumer comments under a post in Social Media complaining that the product is not available in his local store. From the context of the comment it is clear that the sentiment contained in the comment is negative and the content itself (which can be seen even without the algorithm!) is characterized by sadness. Without analyzing the emotion, it is impossible to conclude that this sadness does not have to have a negative connotation – after all, it shows the brand’s communication tracking, indicates interest in the product and indicates a potential problem with its sale. Valuable information for analysts!
Let’s back this up with another example. We compare two comments and examine them in terms of the emotions and sentiment they contain.
I'm really regretting not being able to buy that blue cheese today that we like so much. Bardzo żałuję, że nie udało mi się dziś kupić tego sera pleśniowego, który tak bardzo lubimy. | Today I saw cheese on the shelf at the store, all moldy, something disgusting.
Dzisiaj w sklepie widziałem na półce ser, cały spleśniały, coś obrzydliwego. |
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oczekiwanie / expectation - 31% | oczekiwanie / expectation - 21% |
zaskoczenie / surprise - 44% | zaskoczenie / surprise - 56% |
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Sentiment for statement 1: positive – 20%, negative – 35%, emotional arousal – 54%.
Sentiment for statement 2: positive – 4%, negative – 72%, emotional arousal – 64%.
Conclusions. In both cases, sentiment is rated as negative. But if we go into a deeper study (emotion analysis), we see that: confidence level is 2.5 times (250%) higher in statement 1 than in statement 2, joy is 5 times (500%) higher in statement 1, while anger is almost twice (84%) higher in statement 2, sadness is 46% higher in statement 2, and expectation (for something positive) is 47% lower in text 2.
Anger at an intensity of 70% is obvious for the second statement, as are the high scores for surprise, sadness, and disgust. Well, few people would be happy to see such a find in a store (joy 4% and trust 9% speak for themselves here). Analytically, however, statement 1 is much more interesting. What do we learn about the consumer who utters such a message?
We are struck by the high intensity of sadness and surprise, as it describes the state of the customer who has realized that he cannot fulfill his need. On top of that, there is a background of fear, probably caused by the fear of not having the favorite cheese in the future. The fear of shortages is accompanied by anticipation (will they deliver, won’t they?). Joy, on the other hand, is reflected in the fact of liking a certain kind of cheese, which is why it appears in the analysis in double digits.
Finally, we suggest looking at the table where we compare sentiment with specific emotions:
POLARYZACJA SENTYMENTU
POLARIZATION / SENTIMENT | |
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OCZEKIWANIE / EXPECTATIONS
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As you can see, assigning emotions from Plutchik’s model to only two types of sentiment can present difficulties when analyzing the data.
A few words of summary
“The pen is mightier than the sword”. – These were the words of Edward Bulwer-Lytton in his play “Richelieu”, and he was not wrong: words carry much more power than unreflective violence. No wonder scientists wanted to find out what lies behind words. What makes them appear at all and acquire some concrete meaning.
The first serious attempts to study sentiment began in the early 20th century, and had to do with studies of the polarization of public opinion. By the 1990s, there was already research into the subjectivity of textual content using computers, but the real explosion of research didn’t come until after 2004 – the year Google indexed 6 billion items, and Facebook debuted. There was research leading to the development of tools that could analyze sentiment. Who would have thought – almost 20 years have passed since then….
Today, content analytics technology has reached a new level: there is a shift away from simple, zero-one ratings of content to deeper analysis – emotion analysis. As a result, the scope of application of AI-based tools continues to grow. Today they can not only assess the mood of the consumer after a visit to the store; in this article we have used such examples because it is easy to show the principle of operation of analytical tools.
Tools for the analysis of emotions are already used in determining the behavior of investors on the stock exchange, prediction of stock prices or cryptocurrencies, they help in widely understood marketing activities, public relations (media monitoring) or customer service (e.g. analysis of communication with the chat-bot). There will be more and more applications, just as the technology itself will develop. Is it worth getting interested in? Definitely yes!
