"I just want brands to focus on sentiment that matters and not on what is facile and easy to measure....
... SMT: How much do social media departments understand that positive or negative sentiment may not matter as much as one would think? Did data ever suggest that it might, or was it never quite analyzed enough?
AR: To be clear, I think sentiment matters a lot--but most brands are worrying about spikes in negative sentiment when they ought to worry about the everyday grind of negative brand experiences that drag down brand perception, consideration and loyalty. Conversely, many marketers do facile social media marketing to create spikes in positive sentiment, but these are much less powerful for increasing brand consideration than simply improving the product experience and allowing trusted consumer WOM to carry the brand message.
To specifically answer your question, social media departments tend to hang on every little detractor event and still focus too much on posting photos designed to get likes rather than to make a brand impression. Most seem not to not understand these efforts have little to no impact on the brand. In part, this is because they are focused on bad metrics that are not tied to business results (such as the number of likes and retweets) and in part because social media departments do not have the power to change what matters most--customer service, product quality, packaging, etc.
Right now, many social media professionals are working around the edges rather than at the core where change is needed, but you do see some exceptions--USAA, American Express and Home Depot come to mind. These are companies that have dedicated themselves to the customer, and social is considered an essential component rather than something to be bolted-on to business as usual....
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Anyone who has tried "engaging" an audience through social media knows by now that Likes and reTweets can't truly be considered ENGAGEMENT. They are the equivalent of taking a brochure from an earnest door-to-door canvaser, then tossing it in the garbage as soon as they turn to descend your steps.