If you’re working as a PR professional in a multinational company, you’re very much aware that political regulations and changes may have a large impact on your business. And that gathering as much info and reacting on time is crucial.
One of the easiest ways to get as much information as you can is by using political monitoring services.
Political monitoring services are specialized tools and platforms that track, analyze, and report on political activities, developments, and trends at local, national, and international levels. These services utilize advanced technology, data analysis, and expert insights to provide users with comprehensive and up-to-date information about political events, legislation, policy changes, public opinion, and more.
💡Read Everything you Need to Know About Political PR
By providing real-time updates, analysis, and insights, these services enable users to:
- Anticipate regulatory changes and policy developments.
- Assess the impact of political decisions on their interests, operations, and stakeholders.
- Identify emerging trends and issues that may affect their strategic objectives.
- Monitor public sentiment and reactions to political events.
- Make informed decisions and formulate effective strategies in response to political dynamics.
Let’s see what you need to pay attention to when choosing a political monitoring service provider.
How to Choose the Right Political Monitoring Service Providers
Check their coverage and scope
Evaluate the breadth and depth of the service provider’s political monitoring capabilities. This includes geographic coverage, topic areas, and sources of information.
There is a range of tools that cover sources and in different scopes. Determ, for example, covers more than 100 million online sources including social media (Facebook, Instagram, Twitter), forums, websites, news portals, etc. And it covers media sources globally, in different languages. So if you’re interested in tracking the online discourse, this is one of your options.
Other tools like Crowd Analyzer track offline sources as well, which is great if you’re focused on traditional media sources.
Make sure they have real-time updates
Assess the provider’s ability to deliver timely updates and alerts on political events and developments.
With Determ you can set up real-time alerts that come directly to your email. It differentiates between 2 different types of alerts – Spike and Smart alerts. The difference between the two hides in the type of notifications you wish to receive. Smart alerts are notifications you get for every mention of your desired topic.
On the other hand, Spike alerts are triggered when there is an increase in the amount of mentions for a certain topic. This is particularly useful for crisis management, since an unusual increase in the number of mentions may signify that there is a crisis brewing on some online platform, that you’d want to take a look at.
Read Keep Calm With Media Monitoring Alerts On
Look for customization options
Look for providers that offer customizable features and tools to tailor the service to your specific needs and preferences.
The range of options to take into consideration depends highly on your specific needs. You may look for branded reports, specific filters, custom reports, etc. Make sure that the tool does as much for you as possible.
Read Create an Amazing Online Media Report in Minutes (Using Our 2000 Custom Charts)
Ensure their customer support is superb
Consider the level of customer support and assistance offered by the provider, including responsiveness, expertise, and availability.
There is nothing more frustrating than reaching out for help, and not getting what you expect. When you hit a wall, you’ll want a service provider that appreciates their clients and does their best to help in any way possible.
The Benefits of Using Political Monitoring Services
Stay informed in real-time
Political monitoring services ensure that you are always up-to-date with the latest information. This real-time awareness allows stakeholders to react swiftly to changing circumstances, whether legislative proposals, regulatory changes, or geopolitical shifts.
Let’s say there is a sudden announcement by the government of the target market regarding new data privacy regulations that could significantly impact the company’s operations. Thanks to the real-time updates and alerts the political monitoring service provides the company’s regulatory compliance team is immediately notified of the proposed changes.
Read How to Get Started With Real-Time News Tracking
If the company receives this information on time, it can assess the potential impact of the new regulations on its business operations immediately. Their regulatory compliance team can then create a detailed response strategy, which may include engaging with policymakers, industry associations, and legal experts to advocate for adjustments to the proposed regulations.
Monitor political trends and developments
Political monitoring services enable users to track and analyze long-term trends in the political landscape. When you’re able to identify patterns and shifts in public opinion, policy priorities, and regulatory environments, you can easily anticipate future developments and plan accordingly. This insight allows businesses to adapt their strategies, allocate resources effectively, and capitalize on emerging trends before their competitors.
Suppose a national retail chain is considering expanding its business operations into a new region. Before making any strategic decisions, the company’s management team decides to use political monitoring services to assess the political landscape and public sentiment in the region.
The service provides detailed analysis and visualizations of public opinion data collected from social media, news articles, surveys, and other sources.
Over time, the retail chain notices a significant increase in public discussions and media coverage related to sustainable and eco-friendly shopping practices in the target region. What would be the logical next step?
To incorporate sustainability initiatives into their expansion plans. These may include offering eco-friendly product lines, implementing energy-efficient practices in its stores, and promoting corporate social responsibility efforts.
Mitigate risks and seize opportunities
Political monitoring services provide valuable insights into potential risks and opportunities arising from political developments. By monitoring political events, regulatory changes, and public sentiment, you can identify and assess potential risks to your operations and reputation. This allows you to develop proactive risk management strategies, engage in advocacy efforts, and adjust your business plans.
Imagine you’re a global pharmaceutical company that relies primarily on regulations for your drug products. One day a political monitoring service alerts the company to a proposed regulatory amendment in a key market that could have a huge impact on its flagship drug product. The proposed amendment aims to tighten regulations on pharmaceutical pricing and reimbursement, posing a potential threat to the company’s revenue and market share in the region.
What can you do after receiving this alert? You can engage the company’s regulatory affairs team to conduct a thorough analysis of the proposed amendment and its potential implications. Ultimately this allows you to develop a proactive response strategy.
Read 5 Ways To Improve Pharma Marketing Strategy With Media Monitoring
At the same time, the monitoring service continues to provide updates and insights on sentiment, reactions, and political developments around the amendment. This ongoing monitoring allows the company to anticipate potential roadblocks. Finally it enables you to assess the likelihood of regulatory approval, and adjust your business plans.
Conclusion
Political monitoring services offer a range of benefits, including real-time information, trend analysis, stakeholder identification, and risk mitigation. By leveraging these capabilities, you can navigate the political landscape with confidence, adapt to changing circumstances, and achieve their strategic objectives effectively.
