Glossary · MeasurementTOFU
Sentiment
The short answer
Sentiment is the emotional tone of what people say about your brand — positive, negative or neutral — across reviews, social media, comments, forums and news.
Tracking sentiment over time reveals whether perception is improving or deteriorating, surfaces product problems early, and shows how campaigns and incidents change how people feel about you.
Where to track it
- Reviews — Google, marketplaces, industry platforms
- Social comments and mentions
- Customer support and WhatsApp conversations
- Forums and communities
- News and media coverage
Acting on sentiment
- Find patterns, not individual complaints.
- Route product issues to the teams who can fix them.
- Respond publicly where it helps others reading.
- Track change after fixes to confirm they worked.
In practice
Indian brands often receive feedback in Hinglish and regional languages, which automated tools misread. Pair any listening tool with a weekly human review of a sample of mentions, and tag them by theme — delivery, product quality, pricing, support — so the patterns are actionable.
Sentiment sources and actions
| Source | Action |
|---|---|
| Google and marketplace reviews | Reply, fix recurring issues |
| Social comments and DMs | Community management, escalation |
| Forums and Reddit | Monitor, respond helpfully where appropriate |
| News | PR response, factual corrections |
| AI assistants | Check how they describe the brand, fix sources |
Sentiment in practice
A restaurant tracks review and social sentiment monthly and spots a rise in complaints about waiting times, prompting operational changes.
Common sentiment mistakes
- Relying only on automated scores
- Ignoring regional-language comments
- Not acting on recurring complaints
Frequently asked questions
Can sentiment be measured automatically?
Yes, with social listening and text-analysis tools, though automated tools struggle with sarcasm and mixed languages like Hinglish — human review still matters.
How do we improve brand sentiment?
Fix the recurring issues behind negative mentions, respond visibly and helpfully, and give satisfied customers easy ways to share their experience.
Is automated sentiment analysis accurate?
It's useful for trends at scale but struggles with sarcasm, mixed languages and context. Review samples manually.
What's a good sentiment score?
Compare against your own history and competitors; the trend matters most.
How is sentiment measured?
With listening tools, review analysis and manual reading of comments.
Can sentiment be measured in Indian languages?
Some tools support Indian languages; manual review helps for accuracy.
Related terms
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