While Sentiment Analysis and Emotion Analysis are closely related, they reveal different layers of audience insight. Understanding the distinction between them is key to unlocking the full power of BrandMentions’ analytics.
In short:
Sentiment Analysis tells you what people feel - positive, negative, or neutral.
Emotion Analysis tells you why they feel that way - by identifying specific emotions driving those sentiments.
Sentiment Analysis: The “What”
Sentiment Analysis provides a broad overview of how people perceive your brand.
It classifies mentions based on their overall emotional tone into three main categories:
Positive: Indicates satisfaction, approval, or praise.
Negative: Reflects dissatisfaction, criticism, or frustration.
Neutral: Shows no clear emotional tone, often factual or informational statements.
Think of sentiment analysis as a high-level snapshot of brand perception.
It’s ideal for monitoring overall brand health, identifying reputation trends, and measuring audience satisfaction over time.
Emotion Analysis: The “Why”
Emotion Analysis takes sentiment a step further by identifying specific emotions expressed in mentions.
BrandMentions detects multiple emotions, such as:
Love
Joy
Surprise
Anger
Sadness
Fear
Disgust
While sentiment shows the direction (positive or negative), emotion analysis explains the underlying cause.
For example:
A negative sentiment could stem from Anger (a service issue), Sadness (a discontinued product), or Fear (a security concern).
Each of these requires a different type of response from an apology to reassurance or empathy.
When to Use Each Type of Analysis
Feature | Best For |
Sentiment Analysis | • Monitoring overall brand health |
Emotion Analysis | • Understanding the emotional drivers behind feedback |
Practical Example
Consider two fictional mentions about an airline, BrandAir:
“My flight with BrandAir was delayed by 3 hours. I missed my connection. So frustrating!”
Sentiment Analysis: Negative
Emotion Analysis: Anger / Frustration
Response Type: Immediate apology and resolution — a customer service issue.
“I’m so sad that BrandAir is ending their direct flights to my hometown.”
Sentiment Analysis: Negative
Emotion Analysis: Sadness
Response Type: Empathetic explanation, a disappointed but loyal customer.
Both mentions register as negative, but emotion analysis reveals different emotional drivers and helps tailor responses appropriately.
When used together, Sentiment Analysis and Emotion Analysis provide a complete understanding of how people perceive your brand:
Sentiment shows the direction of opinion.
Emotion explains the motivation behind it.
By combining both, you move from simply measuring reactions to truly understanding audience emotions, enabling more empathetic, data-driven decisions.