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Looking back at 2009, it was decidedly the year to get started with live search media monitoring. If you don’t know what “live search” is, think Twitter.
Never understood what Twitter was all about? Well, then think about this: If I was to go on a little R&R skiing vacation in Bad-Gastein (Austrian Alps), I could do one of two things: Check Google for pages mentioning Bad-Gastein, or search Twitter for the same term.
For the better part of 2009, Google would return a bunch of Bad-Gastein sites optimized for selling travel packages, hotels, spas etc. That’s where live search media monitoring comes into play. Although commercial service providers are relevant for my planning, I’d first of all want to know what the snow conditions were like, preferably from some unbiased source. The hotels, skiing resorts and service providers are unlikely to give me that, which is what makes people so exited about Twitter. It returns real life impressions from people who are there right now!
Google is of course not passively sitting back and has already struck a deal with both Twitter and Facebook which includes search results from them alongside their index and adwords.
This has significant PR implications and companies increasingly need to pay attention and interact with social media users. If a customer service representative is stonewalling customers the word will soon be out on Twitter, which in turn will reveal an unfavorable impression in Google search results. On the flip side, speedy interaction and online reputation management may have the opposite effect.
In other words, now more than ever, it pays to set do live search media monitoring of company and product names. And not just proprietary names, other keywords associated to the products and services should be monitored too. For my Bad Gastein example, it would make sense to monitor, “Skiing vacation in Austria”, “Skiing in Hohe Tauern” and “Austria ski resort guide” too.
For a comprehensive live search media monitoring system, take this opportunity to try out the FREE Imooty.eu trial.
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Interest in Imooty’s online monitoring tool has picked up significantly over the past few weeks. As we launched the BASIC service in October, we were targeting the small and medium sized enterprise segment, however, we were soon approached by large companies looking for a user friendly environment to collect media intelligence.
Over the next few weeks we will test our online monitoring PRO features in a private Beta. The new version is scheduled to launch commercially in March of 2010. Imooty PRO will include a online monitoring team platform, semantic search and a information categorization tool. Please drop us a line if you’d like to participate in the Beta!
Looking back at 2009 we collected a wealth of practical experience from which we will benefit (hopefully) in 2010. In terms of theoretical knowledge, the most valuable read was without a doubt “Getting Real” by 37 Signals, mandatory reading for anyone developing an IT tool…
Want to start with online monitoring and don’t know how? Go to Imooty.eu and register for our free trial!
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An important element to getting information about your competitors is engaging in media intelligence and market research. Why? Because all companies have a communication strategy based on differentiating their company name and brands in the market!
Therefore, keeping an eye on your competitors investment in media exposure, will be a key component for understanding the market intent.
Media expenditures are the result of a carefully agreed and well thought through decision making process. It can be traced via the marketing and communication departments, all the way back to the company’s board of directors meeting. When analyzed properly, the information will reveal clues about your competitor’s overall market strategy.
Accordingly, media intelligence can be used to find answer to the following questions:
-Which line of business is being pushed the most? By measuring media exposure for the different products / services over time, one can establish the competitors strategy (or lack of one) for each line of business.
-What segments are they targeting, and how? By looking at where the competitors products / services appear, such as in online newspapers, blogs, social media, forums, portals and bookmarking sites, one can assess the investment size that was allocated for each market segment populating those channels.
-What is the emphasis of the communication strategy? Relationship to the brand, experience, building a stronger reputation or call-to-action? If the media campaign is aimed at enriching the relationship / experience with the brand, the intention will be to create a stronger bond with consumers and to grow brand equity. Reputation building on the other hand, will not only focus on the brand, but also include the organization’s relationship with society. Lastly, a dominance of call-to-action exposure will reveal the intention of rapidly gaining market share.
Systematic collection of media intelligence will enrich both short- and long-term knowledge of your competitor’s commercial intentions. Needless to say, it is will be important to compare this knowledge with your own brand monitoring.
Start harvesting your media intelligence with Imooty.eu today!
In a recent survey of over 2000 German media intelligence professionals, respondents answered questions centering on three topics; impact felt from the financial meltdown, gender issues and professional ethics.
Not surprisingly, it is the media intelligence professionals from the automotive and metalworking industry that are hardest hit by financial crisis. Particularly challenging is a rising communication need (45%) combined with a decrease in available resources (30%). The average yearly income has furthermore decreased with €6500 compared to 2007. Challenges are a further focus on added value communication aspects (36%), concentration on legitimation over image related aspects (35%), intensified internal communication (21%) and increased efficiency control (29%).
The media intelligence profession furthermore see an increase in female practitioners. In 2007 53% were men, whereas in 2009 we see a 50/50 split. For professionals under 30, 78% are female and between 30-39, 55%. As the professionals come of age, over 40, we see increasing male dominance. For those over 50 there is a 2:1 ratio between male/female practitioners. On average women earn ca. €22.500 less per year than men (€75.876 vs. €53.301). This discrepancy can in part be attributed to the fact that on average women practitioners are younger than men.
In recent years, corporate transparency has become a top-, front- and center issue for the media intelligence profession and 88% of the respondents agree that it is a condition for communicating trustworthiness of their organization. Only 4% of the professionals work in a department subordinate to another department. Consequently, about half of the professionals see their strategic influence on the media intelligence policy of the company as high or very high (and thereby presumably also on corporate transparency). Still, many of the respondents also criticize senior management’s understanding of the strategic importance of a consistent media intelligence policy.
Check out Imooty’s next generation media monitoring and media intelligence tool at Imooty.eu
The first step step beyond social media monitoring is developing listening skills. Needless to say, companies have a lot to gain from understanding the customers problems. By providing solutions and sharing knowledge, content is likely to be passed on and advocated by consumers.
So what’s the problem?
When you say that you have an open and receptive online presence, it creates an expectation. Specifically, an expectation of being heard. Active social media monitoring and a policy for when/how to respond to feedback, is priority number one for building customer relationships and trust. Do not make the mistake of ignoring a customer who expects being heard.
Most companies hesitate to take the step from social media monitoring to active interaction because of perceived risks. A fear that everything will spin out of control if people start communicating via Twitter. However, there are also risks associated with not participating. The indecisiveness is an expression of sticking with the status quo and keeping with the old hierarchical communication structure. However, adapting to social media is unlikely to undo the company. Mistakes will be made, sure, but that is part of what makes social media appealing.
Companies seem to have a hard time speaking about anything else than their products. To avoid looking pushy, or worse, boring, find topics that connect to the bigger picture. Kodak’s photography blog for example isn’t just about their products.
Also, users increasingly expect websites to be interactive, not just an online version of the company brochure. They’re looking for fresh content, articles, videos, podcasts and links to the latest developments in your industry. Content generation is unlikely to work very well in a top-down structure. If the IT department needs to recode the website every time someone wants to contribute, social interaction will never happen. It is important to have an easy to publish CMS. Once the new PR and communiation policy is in place, everyone should be able to share and contribute.
Taking the step from social media monitoring to participation doesn’t have to be a major undertaking. It doesn’t take hi-tech tools to connect with your customers. Think corporate blog, Twitter and a Facebook page.
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Yesterday it was time to thank our interns for their efforts over the past few months. Edward and Ana came to us via “Leonardo”, a program which helps young professionals find internships abroad. Edward worked on our visual media monitoring system whereas Ana did a great job with research of online reputation management services in Spain.
Kristina has also done a terrific job over the last few months. Her awareness of the particular PR needs of the Web 2.0 generation, helped us develop an online monitoring service for the next generation media monitoring professionals.
Together we all went to a Biergarten by the river, across from the Bode Museum. It was one of those nights when people clearly had not been out for a while… It has been a crappy summer so far and instead of constantly checking mobile news, folks could finally bake in the sun, have a drink and dance tango as the boats went honking by.
It turned out to be a good start of the summer and we hope we’ll be as lucky with our next interns as with Ana, Edward & Kristina.
Thank you!
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What media content do you consider trustworthy? Are online information sources part of your online monitoring? According to eMarketer and TNS, a recent survey finds that online news sources, rank high as trusted information sources. The most trusted information source is friends and word-of-mouth recommendations. TV news and newspapers are considered to be about equally trustworthy.
Especially interesting is the comparison from country to country. Whereas private blogs overall are considered the least reputable, Chinese consumers rank them notably higher. In Scandinavia the most trusted information source is TV news, whereas in Germany and Italy it is Wikipedia (!).
As a online monitoring service, it’s definitely surprising to find Wikipedia as the most trusted information source in Germany and Italy. We’re reminded of Merriam-Webster’s word of the year 2006, namely Stephen Colbert’s adaptation of “truthiness”:
“We’re not talking about truth, we’re talking about something that seems like truth – the truth we want to exist…”
For our own part, we notice a spike in visitor numbers and online monitoring registrations every time a major event takes place. From earthquakes to political scandals, visitors swarm to Imooty for trusted information anytime a big news story breaks.
Want to have your create your own online monitoring service? Try Imooty for FREE today!
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Imooty attended Berlin’s 4th conference multimedia start-up’s yesterday. We were pleased to present our mobile news application at the conference, which is a forum for multimedia and technology start-ups to network with prospective investors. It took place in the former DDR movie theater “Kosmos” in East Berlin.
This year’s motto was to collaborate and succeed in a time of economic crisis and Mr Kaczorowski, Director of Internet Business Solutions at Cisco Systems AG, held the keynote address. He told us how Cisco, one of the world’s largest networking equipment and network management suppliers didn’t had to cancel its annual leadership conference. Instead, new ‘live size’ video conference applications enabled them to organize a 3 day online conference for top level management world wide. Later, we were pleased to share Imooty’s collaborative mobile news features with the conference participants.
Another presentation by Dr. Martin Kupp, from European School of Management and Technology in Berlin, dealt with the fundamental question: how to stay longer on the market? The Queen of pop, Madonna would serve as an example for success as her biography is a textbook example for marketing and PR strategies.
In short the reccomendations were as follows;
- Move with the flow and endorse new technologies; Madonna boldly promoted MTV’s use of music videos already in 1983.
- Break some rules; Madonna has questioned sexual and religious tabus her entire career.
- Blend with the up-and coming, Madonna has collaborated with young artists and got good coverage as she kissed Britney Spears in the MTV Video Awards in 2003.
As for the exhibition, we had our own stand somewhere in the middle, presenting Imooty’s Media Monitoring solutions. As expected, the financial crisis dominated the general mood at the conference, and proved to be an excellent occasion to present Imooty as a concrete way for companies to save money on online reputation management services in trying times.
And the Gummy Bears at our stand, courtesy of Profund, FU, was a huge hit among fellow exhibitors as well as investors.
Create your online monitoring tool and start following mobile news today!
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The result of financial downturn and crisis is a “shake out” of unsustainable business models and unhealthy companies. The media sector is going through a period of major restructuring and Darwin, born 200 years ago today, would probably see this as a natural development.
The internet started to change how we access information over a decade ago. Different media formats, text (newspaper articles), audio (radio programs) and video (TV programs) are merged in a single browser.
The consequence for ‘old media’ is devastating; old business models are going out of business! For newspapers the problem is sinking subscription sales, dwindling interest in their classifieds and advertisers who increasingly become aware that they’re being overcharged. And News Flash; Broadcasters face similar struggles as users access the internet for audiovisual content.
Meanwhile, the question of how to monetize on the web remains unanswered. Today Youtube announced a system of micro payment for offline content on their blog. Would you pay for content on Youtube?
So far conventional wisdom show that it is difficult to charge for media content on the web. Part of the problem is diversity, why should I pay here when I get it for free over there? YouTube’s efforts will be interesting to follow…
Locate market intelligence with Imooty.eu today!
In preparing our market launch, Imooty is doing a survey. If you’d like to help us out, please have a look here.
Feel free to fwd. this to anyone who might be interested.
