New tool gives marketers more social power

If you like social marketing but want more control over how your brand actually appears, a new tool could help. IDNTITI is a new social networking tool which gives marketers a better understanding of how their brand appears online. By knowing what consumers and peers think of the brand, marketers can adjust their marketing plans.

by Kristina Knight

Here is how the tool works: consumers rate other people, companies or brands, giving them a reputation ranking. This ranking is cumulative and can be shared through a widget on social networks; marketers could potentially use the ranking on their branded, social micro-sites to become better acquainted with their customer base. Because consumers rank based on their own feelings, the ratings are highly democratic and gives marketers insight into how the general public feels about them.

" IDNTITI is a real-time ticker on reputation understanding and management for all of us. We don't need to live in an unknown world of what others think of people, organizations or products any longer. We don't need to make any decisions going forward with lack of precise information on important parameters that matter to us," was written on the IDNTITI blog.

This access to reputation is key for brands in the social realm. Although marketers cannot stop angry or unsatisfied consumers from ranking, they can see how their reputation is faring. If many negative ratings are given, this would indicate that a brand or company needs to make some adjustments.