The Role of Media Monitoring in Crisis Management
In life, and especially business, your reputation is everything.
And while no one’s immune to crises, there are ways to handle and even mitigate the long-term effects of negative publicity.
One of which is media monitoring.
This powerful tool gives organizations the intel they need to possibly avoid a crisis, diffuse one, and safeguard their reputation.
In this blog, we’ll cover:
- 4 benefits of media monitoring
- 3 tips to use media monitoring for crisis management
What is media monitoring?
It’s the process of tracking brand mentions, industry trends, competitor news, and relevant keywords in various forms of media.
These insights help brands understand their target audience.
They learn about their interests and stay informed about current events.
Brands can also identify content gaps they need to fill. Additionally, they stay informed about their industry to prevent or handle crises.
4 benefits of media monitoring for crisis management
Media monitoring helps brands stay on the offense when it comes to their marketing and communication efforts.
Here are four benefits.
- Crisis Detection.
A significant benefit is the ability to detect crises before they evolve into something bigger.
Companies can prevent crises by monitoring the internet and media for negative sentiment.
If a crisis is detected early, it gives companies the opportunity to diffuse the situation and lessen the damage done to their reputation.
- Real-Time Information
In the fast-paced, online world we live in, having access to real-time information is of utmost importance.
This access gives companies a holistic view of what’s unfolding so they can make more informed decisions and address concerns through transparent communication.
- Community Engagement.
Media monitoring provides brands with a direct line of communication to their audience. That’s because brands can see who’s talking about their brand and their competitors.
This gives brands the opportunity to engage with their audience through personalized communication which builds trust and strengthens credibility.
- Competitor Intel.
While you want to focus on your brand, it’s always good to keep an eye on your competition. This process is made easier with media monitoring because it gets you as close to being a fly on the wall as possible.
At Newswire, our tool, which is part of Media Suite, allows you to set unlimited alerts.
This means you can set an alert for your competitor’s name and each time they’re mentioned, you’re one of the first to know.
The benefits of this including staying ahead of the curve, understanding what’s working for them, and giving you tips on how to better handle situations than them in the future.
3 tips for effective monitoring in crisis management
If you’re new to media monitoring, consider these three tips to get started.
1. Choose a trusted Media Monitoring tool.
A media monitoring tool will do the heavy lifting for you. With our Media Monitoring tool, you can choose:
- Frequency of your alerts (real-time, hourly, daily or weekly)
- What keywords you’d like to track (brand, competition, industry, product, trends, and more).
- Number of alerts you’d like to set (Set as many as you’d like).
2. Get your team on board.
Crisis management requires a united front. Hold regular training sessions to keep your team informed of media monitoring best practices, what to look for, and protocols to follow if a situation arises.
3. Analyze your efforts.
During a crisis, it’s important to keep an eye on how people are reacting to the news and your responses and track media coverage of your brand.
Fill out the form below if you’d like to learn more about our tool and how it can help improve your company’s crisis management.
