Media monitoring services have the ability to sort through vast amounts of content about extensive topics. There’s no argument that these are powerful tools!

What it’s able to do is search through many different content channels to find particular keywords. These keywords can be phrases or individual words, and can relate to a brand, entity, event or campaign. You just choose which words to track and with the press of a button, you have it! Voila!

But what does this mean for content creators and the brands they work for? Let’s take a closer look.

1. Media monitoring helps creators spot new ideas

This type of service can deliver a library of content about a specific topic — it’s the perfect referencing tool to look up new ideas.

What’s more, the AI technology that power these services are able to analyse the context in which content appears across digital and traditional media channels. So creators are also able to find inspiration in the types of content as well.

By working through content that surrounds a brand, for instance, a creator can identify topics that have not yet been explored on a company blog. They could also spot common questions that the audience is asking. They can then choose which format — and channel — they will use to distribute the new content. Nifty, right?

In this way, you can create a structured strategy to use in your content development.

2. Content creators can measure and improve strategies

Content creators develop strategies for a reason: to have a guideline for consistent content.

Content strategies are formed according to the business goals, the audience segmentation and the content needs through the customer journeys. But the real questions here should be: How do you know if your strategies are actually working? This is where media monitoring comes in!

By keeping an eye on your brand’s media coverage, you are able to see if you reach your target audience or succeeded in the goal that you were aiming to achieve. Since you know what these are, you can analyse whether or not you met these targets, as well as how well your efforts performed.

Let’s look at an example of a content creator who has been tasked by their employer, Brand X, to generate awareness of their new product. The content strategy the creator developed is aimed at spreading the news about it as far and wide as possible. But how do they know if they are actually reaching people, and where these audiences are?

That’s why they will use a tool that can identify all the media coverage that mentions Brand X and their new product. This will tell the creator who is talking about the brand, what they are saying, when are saying it and where they are saying it.

And speaking about measuring strategies: Once you have determined if your strategies are working or not, you can use the data you have collected through media monitoring tools to adjust them.

This means that you adjust your strategy by either improving what didn’t work, or strengthen what did.

3. Content creators can identify industry players

Media monitoring services can help you identify individuals who can benefit your brand through their expertise and who are already participating in conversations about your industry.

Key opinion leaders can help you elevate your brand, and this is why networking is so important. Not only does it add to the credibility of the brand you are creating content for, it also helps you stay informed on industry developments.

Once you have identified industry players that will bring these benefits to the table, you can use their knowledge — and popularity — to your advantage. Approach them and give them guest blogging spots, or ask them to mention your brand on social media. You could even conduct an interview with them to post on your own content distribution channels. Exclusive content is golden.

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