Media monitoring used to be low on the priority list for many organizations. But since the digital tsunami that has taken over society began some 20 years ago, brands have had to adapt and become much more cognizant of how they’re viewed and talked about on the web. Whether that be in a published article or a single tweet thread, one poor mention can make or break a brand’s reputation.
Because of this, media monitoring has become a booming niche. In the past, data was hidden, stuck in the cracks, and hard to find. Now, brands are able to have the answers at their fingertips in seconds. These technologies offer a comprehensive view of a brand on the web, and the insights needed to identify trends and squash challenges before they arise. Brands now have the power of complete coverage when it comes to reputation — an invaluable tool for any organization.
The question then is, how do you do media monitoring? Navigating the digital space can be hard, but with real-time media monitoring technologies, it doesn’t have to be intimidating.
Media monitoring in the 21st century tends to fall in one of three buckets — traditional, online, and social. Let’s take a look at each:
Traditional media monitoring
Though less modern in terms of the digital age, traditional media monitoring is a constant that people often fall back on. TV, radio, and print are still important sources of news, and brands can benefit from keeping a close eye on them.
From keeping up with narratives on broadcast news to helping you engage the right journalists, there are a number of tools that allow you to cover a variety of traditional media bases, though modern media monitoring goes far beyond this.
Online media monitoring
Online media monitoring allows brands to track their reputation across online channels and outlets. By using a real-time online media monitoring platform, new articles and posts are discovered as they come so that brands are never late to a story.
Beyond seeing almost everything that is said online about a brand, technology like this also gives you insight into why it’s important to a brand’s reputation. This then enables you to take effective action and deploy rapid communication in controlling the narrative.
NewsWhip’s online media monitoring software not only lets brands identify emerging stories and predict cultural trends, but also react exactly where and when it matters for maximum impact.
Social media monitoring
Social media monitoring is one of the most popular ways to focus on how a brand is being seen across socials. The types of platforms that offer this, such as NewsWhip’s Spike, allow for detailed monitoring of any brand or conversations about them on multiple social media platforms. Whether it’s a Twitter thread or a Reddit community, brands will know what the world is saying about them in real time, or what they were saying during a specified time period.
Not only can brands see any topic or mention relevant to their company on social media, they can then monitor how public interest is fluctuating regarding the topic. Unlike traditional media, brands can see how they’re talked about and benefit by analyzing how the media and public are talking about their issues, and also respond in real time. Social media monitoring can be especially beneficial to comms professionals looking to keep their brand’s reputation out of a crisis.
Take the labor out of reputation management and let media monitoring technology make it simple for you and your team. Investing in these technologies takes the guesswork out of searching for important media coverage, and will ultimately help brands to better understand what resonates with their following and industry base.
If you’d like to see how beneficial media monitoring can be to your brand, request a demo here.
