How effective is the communication that your business conducts internally and externally? For the most part, you will discover that it is easier to monitor the impact internally. After all, you could see if the communication is effective based on the actions that your workers implement. The external impact is a bit harder to measure. Because of this, you need experts to help you. In this regard, your business will have to consider hiring an expert in media monitoring and analysis to evaluate the effect of any communication campaign.
However, you shouldn’t rush into that if your understanding of media monitoring and analysis is not up to scratch. The fact that you believe your product will enjoy great reception in the market doesn’t mean that you could or should mishandle the narrative you wish to tell about it. Any attempt you make towards creating what you consider the most relevant message or content and posting the same on different media platforms would require more than just creativity. It would also need an effective media monitoring and analysis program.
So, how does media monitoring and analysis happen?
It monitors all relevant platforms
In the past, PR departments had to sift through tons and tons of newspapers and magazines to find instances where their brands had been mentioned. They also had to sit through hours of following news on radios and TVs for the same. However, the situation has now changed. Today, PR departments have to look at all relevant sources and platforms. Otherwise, they wouldn’t be able to conduct comprehensive monitoring and analysis. In this regard, relevant platforms refer to the following:
- Print media
- Internet
- Social media
- Broadcast
It is both sophisticated and automated
Media monitoring and analysis has to be both sophisticated and automated to stay in tune with the changing times. State-of-the-art technology has introduced the kind of software that makes it easy to automate any process, such as monitoring and analysis. Otherwise, you would have to fold your sleeves and participate in the tedious process manually. What is more, the entire process has to be as sophisticated as possible considering the amount of metrics that you need to track. A few examples of these include monitoring and analyzing:
- Basic mentions of the brand
- Keywords
- Competitors
- Auto-sentiment toning
- Brand prominence content
Basing future campaigns on it
It’s not just enough to conduct media monitoring and analysis. The best approach involves learning crucial lessons from the current analysis that you could then apply in all future endeavors. Most likely, you will not run a communication or PR campaign once. If that’s true, then you need as much information as you can obtain. The monitoring and analysis that you conduct today presents a beehive of information that you could always base all future campaigns and endeavors upon to avoid making rudimentary mistakes.
Understanding its importance
Now that you know what media monitoring and analysis is, your next task is to learn its importance. Why do you need to undertake it? Would your business benefit from such tasks? The truth is no business can afford to treat this matter lightly. Otherwise, all communication efforts will fall short of the intended goals and results. Today, news channels – including social media – churn information on a 24/7 basis. Failure to monitor and analyze what has been said about your business, products, or industry could lead to massive losses. Monitoring helps in:
- Improving messaging once you understand their resonance with your audience
- Gaining market intelligence by keeping an eye on your competitors and the key issues within your industry
- Preventing crises
- Cutting down the time taken to respond to crises
- Recognizing the emerging trends in your industry and capitalizing on them accordingly
- Adjusting your campaigns the moment you notice lack of resonance with the target audience
- Understanding the people who are drawing more positive attention to your brand
Therefore, start conducting media monitoring and analysis for your business today.
