What is media monitoring?

Four key reasons why media monitoring is essential for your company

If you had the chance to read everything that was ever said about you or your company, negative or positive, would you do it? It’s probably in the best interest of your company to stay in touch with what the media is saying about your company.

With media monitoring, you can keep an eye on the public’s perception of you and your company.

What is media monitoring?

Media monitoring is pretty self-explanatory. You monitor the media for mentions of your company. 

A more in-depth definition of media monitoring is the process of keeping an eye on channels and news outlets that mentions your company, brand, industry, clients, competitors, or even individuals. By using keywords, you can scan the media to check if anything that relates to you is said, no matter if it’s good or bad. This includes TV clips, news clips, websites, and social media channels.

But why, exactly, should you monitor the media?

Why do it?

• Get to know your audience: Your audience plays a huge role on what’s being spread about your company. If you know what your customers like and dislike, you can effectively communicate with them by catering to their preferences.

• Use any type of feedback to your advantage: It’s more common for a person to leave a bad review if they had a bad experience with your company than it is for them to leave a good review. You can use these reviews to not only improve your company but also show that you care and listen about what your audience has to say. 

• See what’s currently “in”: You don’t want to be the company that doesn’t adapt to industry trends because it is afraid to change things up. Of course, there’s nothing wrong with tradition, but it’s important to stay open-minded and evolve gracefully to keep your customers interested. 

• Prevent any problems in the future: The last thing a company needs is bad publicity because of preventable problems. With media monitoring, companies can catch any negative buzz early on and respond appropriately to negative feedback.

Maria Gimeno is beginning her public relations career and currently studying at the University of North Florida. Her determination and motivation sets her apart in her PR career. Maria began working with Axia in January 2021.

Photo by Kayla Farmer on Unsplash