Well, we can’t argue that visual content dominates social media conversations, from TikToks to Instagram carousels and, of course, Pinterest! Yet most social listening tools still analyze only text.
It’s a pity, isn’t it? We believe so. Therefore, we got our hands a little dirty, did a few AI maneuvers, and we present you with Image Entity AI Analysis, the latest drop in the Mentionlytics platform, enabling image recognition and search!
The gist: Mentionlytics now analyzes images and recognizes entities (that’s the scientific word for “specific things”) in them. That way, you can now search through the images of your mentions for specific entities and find visuals that contain:
- Your logo (or others’)
- Objects (e.g., an airplane)
- People (e.g., cabin crew)
- Gestures (e.g., clapping hands)
- Landscapes (e.g., sea)
- Locations (e.g., Milan)
- Events (e.g., a riot, an emergency, or just a basketball game)
- Dates (e.g., 10/12)
- Texts (literally whatever)
- Countries (e.g., USA)
I hear you say, “But how does it do that?” and I feel you. It seems complex, but it’s not. Let me walk you through.
How Image Entity AI Analysis Works
First of all, Mentionlytics scans and fetches all your mentions based on the keywords you monitor, as always. Then, our AI algorithms analyze the images contained in these mentions to recognize the entities that appear within them (logos, gestures, objects, and others).
The whole point is, you to be able to search within your mentions and find the visual intelligence you’ve been looking for. Be it what beauty influencers associate with your newest skincare product or where your customers go to enjoy your signature coffee.
So when you search for a specific entity, the platform filters your mentions based on whether their visual contains that entity.
So, it’s not that you’ll collect all the mentions on the social media universe containing an airplane in their visuals. That would be impractical and expensive, draining your mentions quota in the twinkling of an eye.
No, you’ll be able to see which of your already collected mentions contain an airplane in their photos or video thumbnails.
How to Use It
For starters, there are 2 options to use this new kicking feature, each one providing different social listening insights.
1. Image Search
Image Search is now part of your filters! You can select an entity from the drop-down menu and then specify what you’re looking for by typing a keyword next to the little lens icon, as I did in the example below for Ryanair.
But you can also write exactly what you’re looking for in that search bar and hit the little lens, without selecting an entity, or choose from the options available (for a broader search).
Key Insights You Can Generate From This
- Discover where your logo appears online and in what context to take brand monitoring from text to visual.
- Detect unwanted or negative associations early by spotting where your brand appears in concerning visual contexts by coupling Image Search with Negative Sentiment Filters (e.g., in riots or damaged product images).
- Confirm that sponsored posts or influencer collaborations actually feature your products or branding in the images shared and respect your brand guidelines.
- See where your competitors’ logos pop up in UGC pieces to evaluate aesthetics and get a fresh idea or two for your our designs.
- Get a picture of what types of visuals are trending around your industry by coupling Image Search with Marketing Leads trackers. You might notice a rise in certain colors, styles, or settings (e.g., unboxing scenes or photo collages).
2. Image Analysis Entities Component in Your Dashboards & Reports
The Image Analysis Entities component is the latest addition to your custom dashboard and report builder.
Inside the Image Analysis Entities component, you can see all entities detected in your images based on the filters you choose.
This same component is also available within your Mentionlytics reports as a slide to add, so you can include visual insights directly in your analytics presentations. You may find it in your report builder: Add new item → Image Analysis Entities component.
Key Insights You Can Generate From This
- Explore what types of visuals (people, backgrounds, texts, etc.) tend to drive more engagement with your own content to create more, by switching from Mentions to Engagement in the top right filter.
- Get a helicopter view of all entities in your mentions’ images to understand:
- What locations your mentions contain
- What objects and gestures are usually featured in your mentions
- How people are represented in your mentions (e.g., mostly women, children, or professions, such as flight crew members)
- What kind of landscape your mentions feature (e.g., mountains, airport, sea)
- See how you stack up against your competitors in the visual part of your mentions. The bigger the circle, the more images your logo is featured in compared to competitors.
Start Exploring Your Mentions Through a New Lens
Social listening has always been about understanding context. With Image Entity AI Analysis, that context now includes what’s visible in every post.
This new feature gives your team more precise data for audience intelligence, brand monitoring, and content evaluation, through clear filters, accurate detection, and actionable insights.
Try it now in your Mentionlytics account and uncover the visual story behind your brand and clients.
Important: Image Entity AI Analysis is currently available only to Business and Enterprise plan users, but you may ask our team to give you access for a free trial.
Also, note that Image Entity AI Analysis starts working for mentions collected from now on, not for older mentions.
