You may have heard the phrase media analysis or media analyst used quite a lot. Chances are you probably don’t understand what it really means. For starters, that shouldn’t cause you to panic or feel bad. In this article, we will look at its meaning. Additionally, you will also learn its impact and benefits. Furthermore, you will also learn how to conduct one just in case you would love to go into this career.
What is it?
In defining it, one has to appreciate the fact that it exists as a division of content analysis. The analysis must have a subject, time, and place. It must have goals too. As you conduct it, part of your aim would be to discover specific issues. For starters, you would identify who said what. Secondly, you will know what somebody or a group of people said about a particular issue. Lastly, you would also know how all that was said. In summary, the analysis must have a:
- Who
- What
- How
- When
- Where
Media analysis simply means the art of examining and evaluating multiple types of media to identify what would be the best for promoting your product or service. In doing this, you would also be considering how to package your message depending on the type of media that you have selected. More importantly, you would also need to evaluate how your audience would receive or respond to the message based on your preferred type of media.
In this regard, media refers to the following:
- Newspapers
- Magazines
- Radio
- Television
- Internet
- Press agencies
- News reporting agencies
Purpose of Media Analysis
Media analysis serves specific purposes. For starters, it’s impossible to deny the role that the above media platforms play in disseminating information regarding a brand’s specific products and services. In this regard, the best organizations come up with strategies that help them to use the analysis more effectively. Therefore, it is little wonder that the analysis enables organizations to achieve the following goals efficiently:
- Identifying critical issues that need more attention
- Examining the best ways of framing specific messages
- Improving how existing issues are covered
Methodologies
Additionally, it’s critical to understand the methodologies for media analysts. After all, you can’t conduct this type of analysis haphazardly. First, you have to study how the media has reported news regarding the type of products and services that you are selling. How has it disseminated information regarding your industry or niche? With this information, you can then get all the data you need for your analysis.
Mostly, the methodologies include:
- Quantitative analysis
- Qualitative analysis
Each method has its own specific set of pros and cons. The former focuses mostly on statistics. On its part, the latter hinges on narratives. Under quantitative analysis, your task would mostly revolve around media monitoring. That is, you would want to know how many times a subject that interests you was mentioned. Here, you would mostly be dealing with figures, which include the following:
- Clip count
- Circulation
- Media segmentation
- Share of voice
On the other hand, qualitative analysis focuses on the relationships between the message and the audience for whom it is intended. It always seeks to put everything into context. This method endeavors to interpret the message that the media – in the various platforms mentioned above – is passing out to the market. Nevertheless, a complete media analysis has to be based on both methods for the sake of credibility.
As shown above, media analysis is quite comprehensive. It is also essential for any business that wants to make an impact in its niche. For years, the focus has been on market research or analysis. Not enough businesses have understood the importance of analyzing the media to discover what it says about specific products and services. However, that is now changing. Therefore, you can’t afford to remain behind while your competitors forge ahead!
