Media monitoring: why it matters

Media monitoring is a PR tool used to track any mentions of businesses and individuals in online and print articles, as well as broadcast media. It is the best way to quickly and efficiently see when you are being mentioned and why.

There are many advantages to media monitoring and making it a key part of your communications strategy. Here we outline why it matters:

Track your progress:

When issuing a press release, media monitoring is an invaluable tool to see how far the story can go. Pay attention to the outlets that your stories land in, are these the ones you are aiming for? By assessing your coverage statistics every month, you can identify your preferred publications and set targets for where you want your press releases to go, tracking your progress via media monitoring.

Share positive news:

Media monitoring is a great way to see how far you’ve come and recognise achievements within your team. If an employee has worked hard on an event or big announcement, and their release does well, this can be a way of celebrating their success by sharing its reach with the rest of the team.

Crisis comms – track what’s being said:

In the event of a crisis, it is crucial to have a close eye on your media coverage to know exactly what is being said as soon as it’s published, giving you the opportunity to amend and correct any false information as soon as possible.

Impact of negative news – why monitoring is so important:

Negative news can have a detrimental effect on your reputation, especially if the statements are false. With the use of media monitoring, we can see exactly what is being said, and can issue the journalist with a relevant statement in response, as a way of protecting your reputation. This allows you more control of your narrative and ensure that only the correct information about you or your company is being published.

So, why invest in media monitoring? While it can seem like a large cost, investing in high quality media monitoring can benefit your business in the long term, and you’ll end up using it more than you think. High quality software will give you a broader spectrum of outlets, allowing you to see the maximum range of coverage.

Media monitoring is the most efficient way to assess what is being said about you by indirect mentions, track how well your directly issued press releases are doing, and how many people you are reaching.

To position, promote and protect our clients, we are always listening and monitoring. Get in touch to find out how Effective can assist with your media monitoring.