media update’s Aisling McCarthy looks at why media monitoring is still so valuable in the digital age.
In today’s busy world, information is shared through a variety of online and offline channels. Newspapers, magazines, radio, television, blogs and social media are just a small selection of these outlets through which news spreads at breakneck speed.
The importance of being able to accurately track and report on your media coverage is more essential than ever before.
Here are four reasons you should invest in media monitoring:
1. Media monitoring catches all of your brand’s mentions
With so many types of modern media, it is nearly impossible to ensure that you are catching everything that is being said about you, or your clients.
If you are doing your own monitoring, how can you be sure that you have found every mention of your brand? Being able to access every publication, radio and television station, website, blog and social media post can be an expensive enterprise. A media monitoring service will be able to foot these bills because they are searching for numerous brands’ mentions.
By using a media monitoring service, you’ll be able to see your brand mentions from a wider media selection than if you do it yourself. The professionals will almost always be able to find mentions that you didn’t.
2. Manual monitoring is a waste of your precious time
Tracking conversations and brand mentions manually means that hours are spent each day doing a task that could be managed more easily by a professional service provider.
Manually tracking mentions means that you are wasting time that should be spent on more important endeavours. “Allocating your monitoring to a dedicated service would create more opportunities for you to focus on client management and pursue sales leads,” says Isentia’s Han Nguyen.
3. Media monitoring can track your competitors, too
Media monitoring allows you to keep track of what is being said about your brand or your clients’ brands. But it doesn’t stop there – it can keep track of your competitors, too.
As the saying goes, “Keep your friends close and your enemies closer.” Well, why not monitor the opposition and stay one step ahead? What’s likely to be their next move? What’s the most viable opportunity for your client? These are all things you can learn by tracking your competitors’ coverage.
Remember to stay responsive and ensure that your strategies are consistently adjusted as needed.
4. Media monitoring helps you prove your ROI to clients
Looking at the big picture, tracking media coverage is vital when it comes to proving return on investment to your clients. For anyone working in PR, media or marketing, the coverage you get for your clients says far more than your pitching does.
This is your chance to flaunt all the hard work you’ve done – and show them what you’re worth.
Showing current and potential clients that your skills are invaluable means presenting the information in a well-formulated design. Often, your media monitoring service provider will do this for you.
Tracking media coverage and demonstrating success are essential steps that will help you excel in your field and become one of the best. If you haven’t already, invest in a media monitoring service and rest assured all your hard work will be tracked effectively.
Ready to invest in media monitoring, but unsure what separates the good from the great? Read our article for all the information you need on What to look for in a media intelligence provider.