Picture of a lady in a brown suede coat holding her hand up to ear as if she's listening. This image is being used for a Newswire blog about Media Monitoring.

Media Monitoring Makes a Difference

Have you ever wished you could be a fly on the wall to truly understand what makes your target audience tick? What do they care about? How do they feel about certain topics?  

This kind of information would help you write content that addresses their interests, pain points, questions, concerns, and more.  

But then you start wondering if this kind of information even exists. And, if it does, how do you access it? 

The answer? Media Monitoring.  

If you’re new to this, you’ve landed in the right place because in this blog article, we delve into the what, why, and how of media monitoring.   

What is Media Monitoring? 

Media monitoring tracks brand mentions, industry trends, competitor news, and relevant keywords in various forms of media. 

The information helps a brand understand their target audience, stay updated on current events and allows them to take advantage of popular topics. It also helps them address any PR issues before they become unmanageable. 

Why is Media Monitoring Important? 

If you’ve ever played pin the tail on the donkey, you know how difficult it can be to place the tail in the correct place. Someone spun you around multiple times and you have a blindfold on. 

You’re disoriented and pinning the tail becomes a tall task.  

That’s what it feels like for companies who don’t use a media monitoring tool.  

They are trying to keep up with industry trends, competitors, and reach their target audience with their message. 

When they think they have it right, they lift their blindfolds only to see they’ve completely missed the mark.  

A monitoring tool helps brands stay updated on their industry and create content that their target audience wants. 

Here are five reasons why media monitoring is important:

1. Stay Relevant 

Timing is everything. When news breaks, brands are vying for consumer and media attention. 

Staying ahead of the competition requires being in tune with the market. This is where media monitoring comes in handy. By keeping track of relevant keywords, industry mentions, and more, you can turn news into content that packs a punch. 

2. Promote engagement  

As a brand, you have to acknowledge the good, the bad, and the ugly. Engaging with a happy customer is easy, but working with an unhappy customer can be even more beneficial.   

In fact, ZenBusiness’s “The Customer Is Always Right” survey found that 30% of consumers admit to reversing negative reviews once their concern has been responded to. 

Media monitoring provides brands with an alert when their name is mentioned, enabling the company to respond swiftly. 

3. Market Research 

Media monitoring gives you a front-row seat to your target audience and the industry as a whole. With a wealth of data at your fingertips, you’re able to identify market trends, consumer opinions and more. This information gives you a real-time pulse on your industry to guide your content creation efforts. 

4. Content Performance 

Media monitoring offers insights into the performance of your press release campaigns. You can measure the impact of your strategy by tracking brand mentions, engagement metrics, and sentiment. This data informs your future content creation and marketing strategy as a whole.   

5. Crisis Management 

While you never want to experience a business crisis, sometimes they’re inevitable. A tool for monitoring media helps you stay updated on problems or criticism and allows you to respond quickly. It helps you control and reduce negative news that could harm your reputation. 

How Does Media Monitoring Work? 

Google Alerts and Twitter searches can help you stay updated on media mentions and industry trends.   

But, they only deliver surface-level information.  

What about the author’s sentiment? What about up-and-coming trends? 

Your team’s time is valuable and having them manually do this research is not the best use of it.  

Media monitoring turns this manual process into an automated one.  

Meet Newswire’s Media Monitoring Tool  

At Newswire, we developed a Media Monitoring tool that’ll get you as close to being a fly on the wall as ever before.  

Our interface is easy to use. We have intuitive filters and customizable alerts. These features make it simple to stay informed about your industry. They also make it easier to connect with your target audience. 

Additional benefits of our Media Monitoring tool include: 

  • Give team members access and create unlimited alerts on the platform without extra fees.  
  • Analyze data to understand your market position, competitor comparison, trends, and more.  
  • Organize your most valuable brand mentions and showcase them in your Media Room.  
  • Our Media Monitoring tool benefits PR professionals and marketers alike.  

Our software provides support in: 

  • Industry research  
  • Campaign planning 
  • Content creation 
  • Social media  
  • Blogs 
  • White papers 

Our Media Monitoring tool is part of our Media Suite. If you’re interested in learning more, contact us today.  

Maria Marchewka is a Digital Marketing Strategist at Newswire. Maria is an experienced copywriter, social media marketer, content creator, strategist, and project manager. Her firm belief in being a practitioner and not a preacher of marketing concepts has put her in a position to help companies build brand awareness and connect with their target audiences online.

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