2013 delivered a host of new ideas in the media monitoring and measurement world: new tools and techniques emerged, Google Alerts began to wilt, and PR measurement was finally standardized.
Digging into the Media Monitoring News archives, CyberAlert has chosen the best media monitoring and measurement articles that defined 2013. The following 25 articles contain handy information for choosing and implementing strategies in 2014, creating content, or just as a reference for when new changes occur.
The Social Media Measurement Framework [Infographic]
MediaZo
The Social Media Measurement Framework provides an extremely useful infographic that analyzes what to monitor in social media, how to assess monitoring results, and presents formulas for effective media measurement. It boils all the data into share of voice, interaction rate, and influence rate.
The 6 Marketing Metrics Your CEO Actually Cares about [Cheat Sheet]
HubSpot
The struggle continues to find the right metrics the measure the results of PR and marketing efforts. This cheat sheet focuses on customer acquisition costs. While certainly not the onlymetric that determines the value of PR and marketing, it’s among the most valuable data pieces to any CEO.
Invasion of the Privacy Snatchers: How Social Media Monitoring Impacts Consumer Relationships [Infographic]
Tnooz
This study examines the reactions of different demographic groups to social media monitoring. The data offers important insights into consumer expectations: 32 percent of people have no idea companies listen to them online, while 43 percent think social media monitoring by brands is an intrusion on their privacy. The infographic also provides guidelines into proper listening approaches.
Social Media ROI: 14 Formulas to Measure Social Media Benefits
Search Engine Watch
In one of the most detailed examinations of social media measurement published, Angie Schottmuller aggregates and analyzes proven measurement formulas and outlines a social media tactic planning process. Measurement formulas include: social media ROI vs. cost-based analysis; advertising value, content value, lead and sales value, and more.
Easily Weigh the Pros & Cons of Outsourcing PR Measurement
Bulldog Reporter
Is outsourcing PR measurement worthwhile? Some PR specialists may not realize it, but a quick number crunch can show that outsourcing PR monitoring and measurement costs less than performing it in-house. Kristin Jones of Wallop! OnDemand itemizes the tools you need and questions to ask to determine if in-house or outsource is best for your organization.
Ragan’s PR Measurement Survey
Ragan Communications
Neutral third-party media measurement services may be the key to unclogging measurement roadblocks, according to Ragan’s PR Measurement Survey. Of the nearly 1,500 PR pros who completed the survey, more than half conveyed that lack of manpower and time were the main problems in measuring PR efforts. Tools may also be an issue, the survey continued: PR specialists measure only outputs, not outcomes, because they are unfamiliar with the full range of tools, and a majority judged their measurement skills as “intermediate.”
9 (Free) Social Listening Tools for Small Business Online Marketing Success
Idea Girl Media
For businesses to succeed in online marketing, social media monitoring tools are essential to identify target audiences, their conversations and locations. Free social listening tools are best used as beginners’ options for small businesses, according to Keri Jauhnig. Once they become familiar with tools and develop an idea of their media monitoring needs, they can graduate to a more advanced, paid monitoring service.
What IS Social Media Monitoring? Answers to Common Questions and Misconceptions
Business2Community
What you may be afraid to ask about social media monitoring, Jasmine Jaume answers in this guide. A common mistake of media monitoring: the impression that it only covers social networks. As the report corrects, social media monitoring also crawls forums, blogs, news sites, review sites and video-sharing sites like YouTube. Another misconception: free tools like Google Alerts are just as effective as subscription media monitoring services. Google Alerts faces issuesand it requires a significant time commitment, as staff must sift through duplicates, what’s relevant and what’s not.
The Importance of Monitoring Your Brand (and Yourself) Online
Inkling Media
A strong believer in brand monitoring, Ken Mueller shares his personal experiences with media monitoring, tools to use and which media to monitor. His humorous encounter with Google Alerts – when the service alerted him of his obituary (another Ken Mueller) – made him realize the complications and issues Google Alerts can amass. His recommendation: find a subscription service that meets your crucial media needs.
The Costs of In-House Media Monitoring
PR Newswire
If you’re using in-house staff to perform news and social media monitoring, it may be costly to your company. The report breaks down the average daily monitoring schedule in an infographic and urges companies to reexamine their media monitoring plan. Bottom line: outsourcing media monitoring is likely cheaper, and comes with features that in-house staff are unable to provide.
Why Measure Volume and Sentiment of Social Media Brand Mentions?
Salesforce Marketing Cloud
More marketers and social media analysts now recognize the value of qualitative metrics such as tone or sentiment. When customers or prospects search for your products, the goal is to have your brand show up at the top of their search, and in a positive light. The three-point plan: find out what’s working and do more of it, listen for opportunities and fix what’s broken.
PR Leaders Release Guidebook for Global Measurement Framework
PR Guide to Measurement
After four months of collaboration, major PR organizations AMEC, ICCO and PRCA unveiled the PR Professional’s Definitive Guide to Measurement. The guide offers common standards, case studies and best practices to provide a global measurement framework for PR pros. The guide builds upon the Barcelona Principles and represents the organization’s newest initiative: to remind PR practitioners that measurement is no longer an option, but a strategic discipline to improve performance.
What PR Pros Should Look for in a Social Media Monitoring Service
Chartered Institute of Public Relations
The CIPR identifies the best PR practices to integrate social media monitoring in your organization and provides an overview of several suppliers. The guide explains that the ultimate aim of social media monitoring is to discover allcontent relevant to an organization – and while some suppliers promise other bells and whistles, they fail to deliver the coverage organizations need. A fool-proof plan: be clear about what you’re monitoring, get the right pricing model for your needs, and think about how monitoring can impact the wider organization.
Reports: As Google Alerts Wilts, Companies Seek More Reliable Media Monitoring Solutions
Forbes / Venture Beat
Google has become unreliable to track media mentions, according to recent news articles. Several PR and marketing experts have taken notice: SEO expert Danny Sullivan reports his results are much less comprehensive, and The Financial Brand issued a report that its results volume had decreased by at least 80 percent. Yoav Dembak identifies several replacement media monitoring options, varying by their features and costs, that specialize in one or two media monitoring categories. Companies also have the option of choosing services like CyberAlert that provide the “one-stop shop” of media monitoring and measurement, specializing in online news, social media, print news, broadcast news and custom measurement reports.
What’s On Your Social Media Monitoring Calendar? Micro vs. Macro Management
Adrienne Erin
For effective reputation management, organizations should monitor social media on both a short- and long-term scale. Adrienne Erin offers tips on how to implement micro monitoring and macro monitoring into your social media monitoring schedule. Micro monitoring involves the management of day-to-day activities on your account, while macro monitoring looks at the bigger picture to identify trends.
7 Reasons Why You Should Implement the New Measurement Standards Now
Katie Paine
Katie Paine, in her typical “let’s-get-it-done” style, outlines reasons why PR pros must implement the new measurement standards. In short, applying standards delivers key intelligence, saves time and money, and puts your measurement program on equal (or higher) footing with everyone else. And, as she points out, “No more hours of meetings arguing about what a “hit” is or what the definition of advocacy or engagement is. It’s all there at www.smmstandards.org.”
IPR Releases PR and Social Media Measurement Standards
Institute for Public Relations
The IPR has released the Public Relations Research Standards, a key step forward to a standardized measurement approach for news and social media. The standards provide descriptions, applications and academic research on integrating the metrics into PR measurement programs. Metrics are broken into: traditional media measurement, social media analysis, communications lifecycle and ROI.
Utilizing Media Monitoring & Measurement for PR Initiatives
Social Media Today / PR Daily / Katie Paine
Today, most corporate PR initiatives require leveraging social media and big data to be successful. Using media monitoring and measurement to identify PR placement opportunities can help produce better results. Media monitoring discloses how your customers and the media react to your efforts. Media measurement and analytics offer a bigger-picture report, as they lay out how PR efforts contribute to sales and company goals.
Social Media Monitoring for Lead Generation
eConsultancy
Social media monitoring offers an array of company benefits, but brands often overlook one important application: generation of sales leads. Joel Windels explains that to generate sales leads, brands should track social media channels to identify the locations, conversations and needs of their target audience.
To Measure Social Media ROI, Determine the Value of Your Customers
60 Second Marketer
Two metrics help marketers determine social media ROI: Customer Lifetime Value (CLV), or the total amount of revenue a typical customer generates for a company; and Customer Acquisition Cost (CAC), social media spending based on the value of new customers. The metrics also identify areas in need of improvement by revealing page views generated, following/reach and customer sentiment.
Broadcast Monitoring: How It Works and How to Use It Strategically for Business Success
CyberAlert Blog
Many large national organizations miss out on important market insight because they don’t strategically monitor the country’s most popular source of news: broadcast news. Including broadcast monitoring in an integrated media monitoring program assures organization that they hear everything the public hears about their brand names and products, competitors and industry issues. Only broadcast monitoring services can provide the needed comprehensive coverage.
Media Monitoring for Small & Mid-Sized Businesses
Part 1: Free vs. Paid Tools: Which Should Your Business Use?
CyberAlert Blog
Small and mid-sized businesses don’t have big budgets to afford the expensive tools with glitzy features that some media
monitoring services push on them. Some businesses can get by with free tools. But larger small businesses – including small and local B2B companies – have needs and a larger market presence that warrants a subscription media monitoring service. Brands can decide whether a free or paid solution is right for their company by assessing the scope of their media and market footprint.
Media Monitoring for Small & Mid-Sized Businesses
Part 2: How to Turn Media Monitoring Data into Actionable Business Insights
CyberAlert Blog
To unlock the value of media monitoring data, companies must transform data into meaningful insights and actions that deliver business results. With an effective media monitoring service in hand, businesses can use media monitoring to benefit more than just PR initiatives, including marketing, customer service, product development, sales and human resources.
Media Monitoring for Crisis Prevention & Control
CyberAlert Blog
In an age where nearly 30 percent of crises spread internationally within an hour, no business can afford to ignore negative reviews and customer conversations. Organizations can’t stop these crisis-causing articles from occurring, but they can mitigate their potential damage through media monitoring. For the most effective crisis management plan, PR and reputation managers must use media monitoring as both a proactive and reactive strategy.
How to Get the Most from a Media Monitoring & Measurement Service
CyberAlert Blog
Companies that utilize a media monitoring and measurement service have access to important data to drive sales, engage customers and build brand awareness. Knowing how to deploy that data is just as important as choosing the media monitoring service that supplies it. The following 3-step agenda will help assure your business monitors, analyzes and implements data correctly to take full advantage of media monitoring’s capabilities.
Note: This article was previously published on the CyberAlert Blog. View the original article here.