In public relations, we tend to think of clip tracking as a measurement tool—it’s how we show the impact (and importance) of our work. We’ve debated within the industry the importance of key performance indicators like advertising value equivalency. However, many PR practitioners still believe in the importance of clip tracking, even if only to show examples of coverage.

In the age of round-the-clock communications and an over-reactive public conscience, we need to shift our focus from reactive clip tracking to proactive media monitoring. 

Media monitoring should be used to gauge public opinion, track issues and warn us of developing crises. It should be comprehensive—going beyond traditional print or broadcast coverage to include all things digital, like social media mentions. Even if your company doesn’t participate in the social space, you should still consider monitoring online conversations surrounding your brand.

If you need a reason for expanding your monitoring program—I’ll give you two, just for safe measure:

Monitoring for a Crisis

The most important reason to develop a comprehensive media monitoring program is to receive early warning of a looming crisis. The PR industry has known for years that “social media are a useful way to identify warning signs that a crisis is developing.” 

The rule to responding in a crisis is: “Be first. Be right. Be credible.” In the digital age, it’s more difficult than ever to be first. By studying recent crises, you’ll find that you only have about four to six hours before a crisis spawned online makes it to the mainstream media.  

You may never be ready for every crisis scenario. But, with comprehensive media monitoring, you might just get a crucial heads-up. 

Reacting During a Crisis

Just like politicians use poll numbers to communicate (or… make) policy, communications experts gauge public sentiment when navigating a crisis. With a comprehensive media monitoring program, you’ll have a better idea of how your audience is reacting to the crisis in real time.

To be useful, your monitoring program will need to include some amount of sentiment analysis. This can range from low-tech (person reads conversations/coverage and reports on sentiment) to high-tech (automated review of conversations/coverage with sentiment value assigned based on complex algorithms).

It’s important to develop and hone a media monitoring and sentiment analysis program before you really need it. That way, you’ll be better equipped to respond quickly and effectively during a crisis.

You Should Prepare for a Crisis—Now!

Think your company is one of the lucky few who rise to the top without experiencing a crisis (and therefore, you don’t need proactive media monitoring)? Think again! 

A recent study shows that 55 percent of U.S. respondents have experienced a crisis in the past and 79 percent feel that a crisis is looming in the next year.

Need more reasons to expand your media monitoring efforts? David Alston of Radian6 sums it up best in this guest blog.

Help! Now I need monitoring ASAP

No matter your budget, you can still start some monitoring now. 

Google alerts are the quickest, easiest and cheapest method of media monitoring available. You should review your alerts regularly to ensure you’re still capturing all the news you need. Here are some quick tips:

1. Create alerts on the following key terms:
   • Company name
   • All brand and sub-brand names
   • Key executives
   • Competitors
   • Partners/Vendors/Distributors/Charities
   • Facility names (if they are large enough to be well known)
   • Large local businesses surrounding each facility site
2. Combine your key terms with industry phrases to help filter the results. (For help on searching separate phrases, visit Google’s Support Page).
3. To stay on top of the latest news, send your alerts to an RSS feed. Then, have the critical alerts (company, CEO, etc) emailed to you instantaneously. The feed will reduce on the number of emails you receive, while the most important alerts will still be brought to your attention.  

Visit http://www.google.com/alerts to get started!