Media monitoring 101

OK, you may have heard about media monitoring, but never really understood what it was all about. Well, welcome to Media Monitoring 101.

So what is media monitoring?
Media monitoring is the process of tracking the media for mentions of keywords, topics or issues that (predominately) companies are interested in. Traditional media monitoring requires scanning press publications, or listening to radio or TV, or scouring the internet to find articles or on-air mentions that match a client’s brief. Once a match is made, a copy of the article, or a summary of the broadcast transcript, or a link to the webpage is sent to the client.

Why monitor the media?
Think about it for a moment - mass media coverage has been shown to affect stock prices; lead to corporate collapses; reduce sales; result in the resignation of senior officeholders – even bring down Presidents. Even on an everyday level, mass media help shape brands and reputations; inform (or misinform) consumers about products; raise issues in public debate; and influence governments to change policy, regulate or legislate in certain areas (1).

So given the power of the media, it’s pretty important we track what’s being reported!

Who monitors the media?
Governments and corporations will monitor the press, tv, radio and online to gain information about how they are being presented in the media. Public relations, communication and marketing professionals usually drive the process. They track the media to measure and analyse their coverage in a number of ways (2) :

The audience reached by media coverage (circulation or audience size)
The ‘share of voice’ of various organisations or spokespersons;
The number of mentions of particular issues or messages.
Placement of articles eg. front page, early pages, middle of paper or edition, at the back;
Positioning of content such as key messages eg. headline, prominent mention, passing mention;
Images such as photos, illustrations, charts, cartoons, etc;
Issues discussed and reported and their relative importance to the client organisation;
Messages communicated in articles – favourable and unfavourable;
Sources quoted – including their organisation or affiliation which can affect their credibility;
Tone of content eg. extreme language, figures of speech that denote meaning such as sarcasm, metaphors or similes that are favourable or unfavourable, etc;
Contextual factors such as prevailing economic conditions, major natural disasters occurring around the time, etc which might affect audiences’ reading and interpretation of the content.

Why use a professional media monitoring service?
Professional media monitoring services monitor thousands of newspapers, magazines, trade journals, radio shows, television broadcasts and websites around the clock, and deliver your news to you directly. Professional services will deliver your news clips in a consistent format, through a unified channel, often with circulation and/or demographic information.

New services such as www.slicemedia.com.au offer even the smallest of businesses the opportunity to access professional media monitoring, with packages starting at around $70 per month.

For a tour of how a media monitoring service works, check out:
www.slicemedia.com.au/tour

(1) http://www.mediamonitors.com.au/documents/CARMA%20White%20Paper%20-%20Analysis.pdf pg 4
(2) http://www.mediamonitors.com.au/documents/CARMA%20White%20Paper%20-%20Analysis.pdf pg 8

Tracking the media, monitoring the message

Searchable clips are here!

Slice PDF news clips are now searchable. We know, hard to believe that the year is 2008 and they weren't searchable before now. Nonetheless, another small victory in Slice land!

Tracking the media, monitoring the message

Media Release: Slice Media helps SMEs cut through to the news

Up until now, media monitoring services have been out of the reach of most small and medium businesses on the grounds of cost and accessibility.

That’s now changed with the introduction of a new service by industry leader Media Monitors, which allows companies to easily track media coverage about their own organisation and their competitors online.

Media Monitors has completed a successful trial of its new media tracking service Slice Media, which allows organisations to track media coverage about topics of interest in Australian and New Zealand media outlets.

“The trial went exceptionally well and as a result we will roll out the service without delay,” said John Croll, CEO of Media Monitors.

“The overwhelming response has shown that the SME market has wanted an efficient, low cost, optional term media tracking service that provides actual press clippings and broadcast summaries delivered to the client’s desktop,” he said.

The web-based media tracking service is self-administered by subscribers who set up search strings and tracking folders which automatically track any articles appearing for the selected keywords from more than 2,000 media outlets across print, radio and television. News items are then digitally delivered straight into the subscriber’s online account.

Sonja Bruss from Brisbane’s Skydive Ramblers employed the services of Slice media to track media coverage for a special ‘Sky Symposium’ event held by the company.

“Slice was suggested to us as an economical alternative to other large media monitoring services. We used it for the duration of the event and received clippings from publications we never would have known about such as interstate suburban newspapers,” Sonja said.

“We found it really useful that Slice not only tracks print, but also broadcast media so that you can order radio transcripts and video clippings. It is ideal for any organisation that is holding a special event and wants to accurately track media coverage,” she said.

Jessica Ford from Fordcomm, a medium-sized public relations consultancy, has been using Slice Media as a service for clients since March.

“We use Slice to track articles that specifically refer to clients and topical issues relevant to their industries,” Jessica said.

“We chose Slice Media over another media monitoring service because it’s easy to use and gives us control over what is tracked and for how long. It is also cheaper, faster and more convenient than receiving regional subscriptions to newspapers and other publications through the mail,” she said.

The Queensland chapter of the Australian Medical Association (AMA) subscribed to Slice Media after using a local service but found that as the AMA grew there was a need to respond to issues more quickly, says Kate Vanpoelgeest, Manager of Media and Public Relations at AMA.

“The big benefit of Slice as a lower-cost media tracking service is that it also tracks broadcast coverage. This means that we’re immediately aware of issues reported in the media and can respond promptly,” Kate said.

There are three subscription packages available to cater to different media tracking needs. For more information visit www.slicemedia.com.au.

Media Monitors is a world leader in media information services and the leading media monitoring group in Australia and New Zealand. The company currently has over 4,000 clients in both the corporate and government sectors.

Media Release: Slice launches to the Australian market

Media tracking by the Slice

Tracking the media became a whole lot more accessible today with the launch of SLICE - Australia’s first low cost, web-based media tracking service slicemedia.com.au.

As part of the growing stable of digital assets developed by Media Monitors, CEO John Croll said “Slice fills the gap for small to medium business in need of a low cost media tracking service. Slice represents a great opportunity for SMEs with simple tracking needs, who may otherwise be excluded from the market.”

Slice is simple, accurate and economical. Mr Croll explains, “Subscribers simply log-on, enter their keywords and tracking criteria, and Slice goes straight to work for them.”

Slice continuously tracks an extensive range of Australian and New Zealand press, television and radio media. News items are matched to subscriber criteria and these ‘slices’ are digitally delivered straight into the subscriber’s online account.

As Mr Croll explains, “Subscribers are in complete control - they can change their tracking criteria at any time online to make their coverage as specific or general as they like.”

Slice is geared specifically for Australian businesses. “Unlike other online providers, we track Australian press AND broadcast, and provide the information in a useful format that can be organised according to the individual’s specific requirements” added Mr Croll.

Regional businesses, boutique PR agencies, charities and independent operators will now be able to get online and track the issues that matter to them. Organisations with single issues, or who are event-driven will also benefit from the Slice solution.

Slice is now live and accessible at http://www.slicemedia.com.au/. Take a tour here.

Media Monitors is a world leader in media information services and the leading media monitoring group in Australia and New Zealand. A unique amalgamation of many specialist and respected companies, Media Monitors has grown rapidly over the years by exceeding the needs of customers, by developing new markets and by providing the most comprehensive range of products and services in the coverage of public information.

For further information contact
John Croll, Chief Executive Officer,
Phone 0418-418-433
john.croll@mediamonitors.com.au

Tracking the media, monitoring the message