3-Mobile Calls in as Word of Mouth Leader of the Telecom Industry, While O2 Makes Waves on Social Media

Engagement Labs ranks the top UK telecom companies for word of mouth conversation and on Facebook and Twitter

LONDON, Oct. 26, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- Technology and data company Engagement Labs (TSXV: EL), creator of eValue Analytics™ and the Keller Fay Group, an Engagement Labs company, today released the first 'Total Social' data rankings on how the UK's four largest mobile telecom companies performed socially — both on social media and offline via word of mouth (WOM) conversations.

'Total Social' combines Engagement Labs' proprietary eValue social media measurement tool and Keller Fay's TalkTrack®, the leading measurement source of WOM conversation.

UK Telecom Rankings Based on TalkTrack WOM and eValue

Based on TalkTrack data, 3-Mobile was ranked number one for offline WOM momentum, having, over the past 12 months, increased its TalkShare - the percentage of conversation an individual brand has relative to WOM for all brands in the category. Three also over performed in terms of TalkShare relative to its market share. In addition to leading in WOM momentum, Three also had a substantial advantage in terms of WOM quality, with the highest positive sentiment score at 73 percent. In comparison, Vodafone had average momentum, but ranked last of the four brands for WOM sentiment which can be due to the many conversations about the brand were negative or 'mixed' in tone.

"Word of mouth is a critical driver of consumers' decision making process," said Steve Thomson, UK Managing Director of Keller Fay. "There is clear evidence that WOM drives sales, search, web visits and other key brand outcomes. With customers having so many options, each experience and interaction counts and is not enough for brands to stay relevant on only one medium. The power of conversations online and offline can sway share of wallet in a short period of time."

When looking at the online rankings, O2 dominated on both Facebook and Twitter with the highest eValue scores. The brand also saw the highest Impact and Engagement subscores. O2's challenge is arguably to leverage its social properties better in driving offline WOM.

EE came in second place on Twitter with the highest Responsiveness subscore of 87.08 and second highest Engagement and Impact subscores. The brand also had the highest active user base, which means it had the highest amount of audience engagement with the content the brand shared. EE also garnered the highest follower growth on Twitter, with O2 coming in a close second.

"In the telecom industry, having a social media response strategy is extremely important, as many consumers go to a brand's social media channels for customer service inquiries. Leveraging social media channels to respond to consumer questions is imperative for brands to build a loyal and active fan base," noted Thomson. "Twitter, for example is a prime social channel to allow real-time, two-way conversations between a brand and its followers. Brands should use the channel to answer consumer questions and respond to both negative and positive comments. Simply acknowledging a negative tweet can put a consumer at ease and build on brand affinity."

About Engagement Labs
Engagement Labs (TSXV: EL) offers intelligent 'Total Social' data, analytics and insights for marketers and organizations enabling them to track, measure and benchmark the conversations happening around their brand or industry both online and offline. These conversations are proven to drive critical business outcomes, including sales, while Engagement Labs' tools provide data and actionable insight to help guide business decisions and power marketing effectiveness.

Engagement Labs' eValue™ Analytics tool is the global benchmark for social media scoring. eValue's proprietary data technology offers real-time analysis to measure a brand's social media and digital marketing efforts, distilling it down to a single meaningful number between 0 and 100 - an eValue score. Composed of a series of metrics and Key Performance Indicators (KPIs), an eValue score measures social media Engagement, Impact and Responsiveness which is benchmarked against 100,000+ handpicked and verified brands. The Keller Fay Group, an Engagement Labs company, is the only firm to regularly measure offline conversation, which independent research finds is a significant driver of sales with twice the impact of online conversation.

Engagement Labs maintains offices in Toronto, London and New Brunswick, NJ. www.engagementlabs.com / www.kellerfay.com