Measuring Local Community Influence – Module 8

In a previous post last week – when we discussed influencers – I mentioned one of our larger “local influencers,” the Minnesota Star Tribune. This local paper is one of the most widespread newspapers in Minnesota, and it constantly writes articles on GMI’s “goings-on,” performance, products, and more.

We measure the press coverage we get in the paper by looking at both the positive and negative articles they might write.  I’ve also discovered that we have personnel within the marketing team that analyze articles and press for both positive and negative comments.

I would suggest that GMI measure their local influence by looking at everything from articles in the MST, to reviews we get on sites like Glassdoor, ComputerWorld, etc. This provides the perception of the company both within the community, and as a nationally top-ranked employer.

We can use a wide team of analysts, as well as computer based software to analyze contents and comments, and then utilize that data to react and change (which is what many departments within the company that handle this sort of thing actually do).

One great example of a reaction by one of the locals to our decision as a company to support same-sex marriage can be seen here. Lets just say that his demonstration didn't go quite like he planned…

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qxpF7DaeC1A