Tracking the evolution of sentiment over time is a fundamental practice for monitoring the overall health of your brand. While daily fluctuations are normal, the long-term trend of your brand sentiment is a key indicator of public perception and the success of your marketing and reputation management efforts.
BrandMentions provides advanced sentiment analysis tools that help you monitor, detect, and respond to emerging issues before they escalate.
Understanding the Sentiment Over Time Chart
The Sentiment Over Time chart, located in the Analytics Dashboard, visualizes the daily volume of positive, negative, and neutral mentions about your brand.
It provides a clear, chronological overview of how public sentiment changes helping you recognize patterns, trends, and sudden deviations.
How to Use the Chart
Establish a Sentiment Baseline
Monitor your mentions over several weeks or months to understand what “normal” looks like.
Your baseline represents the typical ratio and volume of positive and negative mentions your brand receives.
This baseline is essential for distinguishing regular fluctuations from real issues.
Identify Anomalies and Spikes
A sharp increase in negative mentions is the most common sign of a potential crisis.
Compare current data to your baseline:
Is the volume of negative mentions 2x or 3x higher than usual?
Is there a sudden decline in positive sentiment?
Significant deviations should trigger a closer investigation.
Evaluate the Sentiment Ratio
Look at the balance between positive and negative mentions.
A rising ratio of negative sentiment, even without a large total spike, can signal a growing issue.
This ratio-based view helps identify subtle shifts in public opinion early.
Investigate the Root Cause
Click any data point or spike on the chart to filter your Mentions Dashboard for that day.
Review the specific mentions contributing to negative sentiment.
Look for recurring themes:
Product or service complaints
Customer support issues
Media or influencer criticism
Controversial company actions
Understanding the context allows for a focused, effective response.
Setting Up Real-Time Alerts
To detect potential crises automatically, BrandMentions enables real-time sentiment alerts.
These alerts notify you instantly via email or other preferred channels when sentiment patterns change beyond normal ranges.
Recommended Alert Rules
Set up alerts that trigger when:
The volume of negative mentions exceeds a defined threshold (e.g., 10 negative mentions per hour).
The percentage of negative mentions surpasses a critical ratio (e.g., 50% of all mentions).
These rules act as your automated early-warning system, ensuring immediate visibility when public sentiment turns negative even outside business hours.
Goal | Tool | Action |
Establish normal sentiment patterns | Sentiment Over Time Chart | Monitor trends weekly |
Detect anomalies | Sentiment Over Time Chart | Watch for spikes or ratio shifts |
Get notified early | Real-Time Alerts | Create thresholds for negative sentiment |
Investigate issues | Mentions Dashboard | Analyze negative mentions for causes |
Best Practices for Crisis Detection
Monitor daily: Review your Sentiment Over Time chart regularly to stay aware of gradual shifts.
Act on small spikes: Early attention to minor deviations can prevent larger crises.
Maintain a response plan: Ensure your team knows the steps to take when alerts are triggered including who investigates, who communicates externally, and how escalation works.
Correlate with mentions: Combine sentiment trend analysis with contextual review of mentions to verify the cause and scope of negative discussions.