Tips for Monitoring the Media & Writing Coverage Reports

If you’re dreaming an agency career, chances are you will need to know how to monitor the media for coverage.

Often the monitoring doesn’t mean just collecting a bunch of links, but writing short summaries of the coverage so the busy executive can breeze through and read those pieces that are important.

The final product at the end of the quarter is a clip book.

When you put it altogether, the clip book is one measure of the value of the work that the public relations team is doing. It’s just one measure, but at the intern or account coordinator level, it may be the one that you have the most ability to contribute to.

Here are some tips for media monitoring and writing coverage reports:

• Understand why it’s important. I can promise you that monitoring and putting together clip books is bor-ing. But if you understand the why, it helps relieve the tedium.

  Are you looking for any type of mention to stay on top of what’s being said on a daily basis? Or is it about looking for specific coverage to show your team’s success conveying the campaign’s key messages in key publication? Or maybe somewhere in between?

  Each scenario could result in a slightly different approach for monitoring and reporting. Ask to be briefed on the overall campaign and business goals.

• Think strategically about how to find what you’re looking for.

  Client name? duh. Product or service? might be a good idea. Competitors? sure. All these are probably top-of-mind, but what about trends, issues, key individuals’ names, the company’s URL? Keep thinking. I’m sure there’s more. If you understand the objectives that the coverage is helping to meet, then you’re better equipped to be smart about your choices.

• Learn to use the tools.

  Whether your agency has paid monitoring tools like Cision, Factiva or Burrelle’s Luce or you’re using tools like Google Alerts and Technorati, you need to know how to get the most out of them.

  If you’re using a paid service, request a training with your sales representative or customer service agent. Trust me, it’s in the job description.

  If you need to monitor on the cheap, Google Alerts can be set up for the Web, news, blogs, groups, video and a comprehensive search. Go to the Google Alerts home page and make your choice.

• When writing reports, be empathetic. What would your supervisor and the client need to know about a particular article or piece of coverage? Focus on what’s important and even more specifically on what might require action.

Monitoring and writing coverage reports and putting together clip is a first step at understanding measurement. Proving the value of public relations generally, and media relations specifically, can be a tricky thing, but is vital to showing a return on investment.

I’m working with a group of interns to monitor media and report daily on coverage related to Eugene 08. I’ll be back with some specific examples as we begin that project.

For those readers who have been interns or entry-level folks and have advice to add, please do so! (I haven’t made a clip book in about 9 years!) 🙂