Blockbuster took to Twitter to capitalize on Netflix’s recent stumbles. After raising prices on DVD rentals, Netflix announced on September 19 it was renaming its DVD rental service Qwikster. The decision by Netflix to raise prices on its DVD and video streaming rental packages gave rival Blockbuster a rare opportunity to strike back via social media. Blockbuster used Twitter to promote a 30-day free trial geared at Netflix customers, promoting it on its Twitter feed.

Blockbuster repurposed its entire marketing staff, showing unusual nimbleness, moving staffers who once concentrated on Web or print campaigns to the front lines of Blockbuster’s social media campaign. Dish Network, which bought Blockbuster in April after Blockbuster filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy and closed 1,500 stores, unveiled a new Blockbuster-branded video stream and DVD rental service.

Then Blockbuster sponsored the word “Qwikster” on Twitter. When users searched Twitter for Qwikster, Blockbuster messaging would be the first to pop up in the search category. Blockbuster also started a Twitter contest, promising a free year of service for the four best Netflix breakup stories. The team has also used the hashtag #helloBlockbuster to engage with customers, answer questions and promote offers.

Was Blockbuster’s social media push successful? We used Social Radar to find out.

Blockbuster vs. Netflix buzz

Netflix chatter spiked dramatically on September 19 following the Qwikster debacle. Buzz around Netflix has since subsided, while Blockbuster has increased and is currently nearly even with Netflix.

Blockbuster sentiment

Conversations around Blockbuster have been an overage of 66% positive over the last month. The term Netflix appears in 19% of all Blockbuster conversations.

Netflix sentiment

Netflix conversations were only 55% positive. Qwikster appeared in 11% of all Netflix chatter over the last month. Blockbuster only appeared in 6% of Netflix conversations. CEO Reed Hastings appeared in 9% of all Netflix conversation, primarily due to the email apology he sent in mid September regarding the price increases.

Blockbuster is well positioned to capitalize on Netflix’s missteps. Will Netflix recover?

Discussing buzz around hot topics. This week we cover Mark Zuckerberg, Facebook’s CEO and his $100M donation, Blockbuster’s bankruptcy, and the new Fall TV season.

Sometimes your brand might run two different advertising campaigns and want to compare which generated more buzz. Other times, you may not know what generated the most chatter for your brand during a certain time period. We decided to run analysis on Netflix through the month of August 2010.

The trend chart below shows us that online chatter around Netflix spiked distinctly on 2 days this month: August 10 and August 26.

The August 26 spike generated 63% more chatter than the August 10 spike.

We used Social Radar to run some analysis and instantly determined that the August 26 spike was due to the announcement of a new Netflix iPhone app.

Similarly, by clicking on the August 10 spike, we can instantly determine that the spike in chatter was due to the Netflix deal with Epix to offer streaming movies.

The sentiment trend chart below shows the change in positive and negative sentiment in green and red over the course of the month compares to the bars representing overall chatter.

Overall sentiment chatter around Netflix was 76% positive during the month of August.

And even amid rumors that Blockbuster will likely file for bankruptcy next month, Blockbuster generated less than half of the chatter Netflix did throughout the month of August. Which offers further proof that brick-and-mortar video stores will be may soon be a thing of the past.