Factions are hyper active online groups that are linked by common interest. They mobilize around shared ideals and work to spread their point of view. Social media platforms rely on highly engaged users to curate the most valuable content and opinions. Therefore factions have a large impact on what the general public sees online.
New Knowledge has defined thousands of factions. Each is unique and has different motives as defined by their online activity, the platforms they thrive on, the narratives they propagate, and common interests they share. Brands, their marketing, and messaging can easily become a topic of conversation within specific factions, and cause these groups to publicly vocalize their stance against or for them.
You're constantly challenged with keeping up with the conversations surrounding your brand. Today's monitoring tools don't identify the groups that are talking about their brands before the narratives blow up into the mainstream. This makes it easy for brands to be caught in the crosshairs of activity that doesn't embody their values and potentially put them in the center of a controversy.
Your brand narratives evolve every day, and so do what faction's focus on. Be in the know of who is targeting your industry and how to shift your messaging and marketing to stay out of harms way.