A lot has changed in the last few weeks as the target populations in NSW hit the 70% and subsequent 80% double vaccination milestones. New freedoms, new tourism campaigns, a new Premier and a seemingly new New South Wales. How were these shifts received from the perspective of society?

First, let’s look retrospectively at the key events in October of 2021, as NSW exited lockdown:

The liberation timeline

•  October 5th - Dominic Perrottet sworn in as NSW Premier

•  October 7th - Dominic announces major changes to lockdown roadmap

•  October 11th - Fully vaccinated adults enjoy a swathe of new freedoms after NSW hits 70% vaccination milestone

•  October 18th - Further restrictions ease as the NSW reaches the 80% Vaccination Milestone

We took these dates, applied filters related to the lockdown, and produced a figure which presents, quite explicitly, the public interest in the topic. Social media posts across hundreds of platforms were grouped according to positive (8.3%), negative (17.9%) or neutral (73.4%) and drawn across October of 2021. 

Both Negative and Positive Mentions clearly spiked October 10th and 11th, the days in which NSW exited lockdowns at 70% vaccinated. Interestingly the number of mentions here is well in excess of the other key dates on the liberation timeline, with negative mentions near double across both days.

Sentiment Distribution Across Top Hashtags Used

The negative outpacing the positive is expanded across all of the topic relevant top 10 mentions except #dompetrottet and #freedom.

It seems the timing worked, and very well. Kudos to the NSW Government for in a world of negative, the #dompetrottet topic was aligned with #freedom as the only points whereby the positive sentiment was forefront.  #dompetrottet was also the second highest mention, second only to the massive vertical that is #auspol.

This real-time sentiment analysis can be powerfully expanded to include images. Imagine a scenario whereby an individual posts a picture with the hashtag “#heistherealhero” or “#endofdraconianlaws” with direct referral to the new MP. There is no direct mention, or text or information that can be drawn upon for insight or analysis to understand the public’s reception to a post. Though with Visual analysis tools, content could easily be explored for it’s sentiment as it pertains to a specific brand, mention or even individual.

This can be integrated, alongside the sentiment timelines and visual insights, seamlessly amongst an organisation’s digital strategy. From public to private industry, do get in touch to learn more.