As business leaders, we’ve all pondered questions like, “What is your brand’s reputation compared to your competitors? Is 10% of negative mentions per month a lot or a little in your industry? What sources are talking about you the most? How many people can potentially see posts or articles in the media about your company? How good is your customer experience?”
The answers to these pivotal questions hold the key to staying ahead in a competitive market. Fortunately, a potent ally in your quest for answers is Determ – a robust social media monitoring system.
💡 Read Media Monitoring: The Ultimate Guide
In the words of marketing guru Jonah Sachs Whether, “Your brand is a story unfolding across all customer touch points.” That story is being told by you and the vast and diverse online community.
Determ steps in as your vigilant sentinel, collecting and analyzing data on five essential media monitoring metrics:
- Brand presence online
- Share of Voice
- Sentiment
- Interactions/engagement
- Sources distribution
These metrics are not just arbitrary numbers; they are the compass guiding your brand’s journey through the digital wilderness. With Determ, you gain the power to protect your brand’s most vital resource – its reputation.
Why is media monitoring important?
According to a recent survey, 80% of consumers are more likely to purchase from a brand they trust. Your brand’s reputation directly influences consumer trust, and media monitoring equips you to safeguard and strengthen that trust.
Yet, the world of metrics can be overwhelming. Vanity metrics might make you feel good but won’t empower you to create a better brand strategy or achieve your goals. The true value lies in selecting the right media monitoring metrics to track that align with your brand’s unique objectives.
Read Social Listening Metrics: What and How to Track
Through monitoring, you can evaluate your online presence and gauge how well your brand is recognized, a fact echoed by Richard Branson once said: “Your brand name is only as good as your reputation.
Let’s delve into which metrics you should pay close attention to.
Important media monitoring metrics
Number of brand mentions online
The first media monitoring metric is assessing your brand’s social media presence by counting mentions. Examine the total mentions of your brand, product, or service across different sources during a specific timeframe. This provides insights into your brand’s overall appeal and allows you to monitor conversation trends.
You can track fluctuations in mention counts and pinpoint spikes in discussions. This helps identify which events or activities resonate most with your audience.
There are various ways the metric of mentions can be viewed in tools like Determ:
- Mentions over time (shown in days)
- Mentions over day (shown in hours during the day)
- Total number of mentions
- Total mentions per source
- Location of mentions
- Number of mentions per sentiment
- Etc.
Share of voice
Share of voice is a marketing and media monitoring metric that reveals what percentage of a specific market or audience your brand reaches with its advertising or messaging. It tells you about your brand’s visibility, awareness, and impact in that market or audience.
There are various aspects you can measure using share of voice, providing insights into areas for improvement:
- Impressions/reach: How many people see your content
- Interactions: The engagement your content generates.
- Volume of mentions: How often your brand is talked about
- Influence score: The impact your brand has on discussions.
Share of voice helps you monitor your brand’s visibility on:
- Social media
- PR
- Online content (mentions of your brand, products, campaigns, trends, hashtags, etc.)
- SEO
Moreover, it lets you compare your performance to competitors and assess your current standing. By tracking changes in the share of voice over time, you can spot trends and adapt your strategies to enhance your performance and maintain competitiveness.
Read Share of Voice: How to Track it and Why
Sentiment
Sentiment analysis actively interprets and determines if the text data is positive, negative, or neutral. It doesn’t stop at counting mentions, comments, or hashtags.
It delves deeper, revealing attitudes, opinions, and emotions behind the text. It clarifies if a Facebook post mentioning you is positive or negative. Sentiment analysis adds context to mention counts.
Imagine a sudden surge in brand mentions. Without sentiment analysis, you can’t instantly tell if it’s good or bad. A quick glance at a sentiment analysis chart provides immediate clarity.
Another thing you can do is see all the mentions of each specific sentiment. For instance, if you want to see which mentions were positive, you can do so by clicking on that sentiment. This will open a window with the list of all positive mentions.
Determ’s reports show sentiment in several different contexts:
- Sentiment ratio (positive vs. negative)
- Sentiment ratio by channel
- Sentiment over time
Sources
In the realm of media monitoring metrics, “Sources” stands as a pivotal measure. It unveils the diverse channels and platforms through which information about your brand, product, or service circulates. Understanding your sources lets you pinpoint where your audience encounters your messaging and where discussions about your brand are most active.
This media monitoring metric encompasses various channels, such as:
- News Outlets: Discover how frequently your brand is featured in the news, gaining insights into your public relations efforts.
- Blogs and Online Articles: Measure your online presence and the reach of your content through blogs and articles.
- Social Media: Gauge various social media platforms’ impact and engagement levels.
- Forums and Communities: Uncover discussions about your brand within niche forums and communities.
- Review Websites: Track customer sentiments and opinions on dedicated review platforms.
Analyzing these sources is crucial to comprehend the effectiveness of your media strategy across different platforms. It empowers you to tailor your approach to maximize your brand’s reach, engagement, and impact in the media landscape. Additionally, by comparing your source performance with that of your competitors, you can fine-tune your strategies for ongoing improvement and staying competitive in your industry.
Interactions or engagement
“Interactions” or engagement is a vital indicator that goes beyond mere exposure. It delves into how your audience actively engages with your brand’s content. This metric measures the depth of connection your messaging establishes with your target audience.
Interactions indicate the number of people who have liked, commented or shared the post. They are the sum of likes, comments, and shares for the specific online content.
In the example below, 8020 people have interacted with this article by liking, commenting, or sharing it.
Just like mentions, in Determ, interactions can be viewed across several different reporting charts, such as interactions over time.
But it doesn’t stop there. The number of interactions has also generated this word cloud below.
Monitoring interactions allows you to evaluate the resonance of your messaging. High levels of engagement indicate that your content strikes a chord with your audience, while low engagement might signal the need for adjustments.
By understanding the nuances of interactions, you can refine your content strategy, identify trends in audience behavior, and foster a more engaged and loyal community around your brand. Furthermore, comparing your interaction metrics with competitors provides valuable insights into your competitive positioning and guides you in adapting your strategies for sustained success in the media landscape.
Conclusion
In conclusion, media monitoring metrics offer profound insights into your brand’s digital presence and reputation. Determ, a robust social media monitoring system, serves as a vigilant sentinel, dissecting data across eight essential metrics to effectively guide your brand’s digital journey.
Not all metrics are created equal; focusing on those that align with your unique brand objectives is crucial. Doing so ensures your brand story resonates positively, engages your audience, and fosters a loyal community in an ever-evolving digital landscape.