INTRODUCTION
Artificial intelligence is changing the way public relations professionals track media mentions. Gone are the days of manual media monitoring. Tools like Meltwater, Critical Mention and Talkwalker can help monitor brand mentions, catch any issues before they escalate and stay ahead of the game.
Here are ways to use AI for media monitoring as well as three different tools that can help:
HOW TO USE AI FOR MEDIA MONITORING
Using AI tools for media monitoring can give access to real-time data about your brand visibility and the performance of your media campaign. This can help you make changes based on how the campaign is being received. In addition, over time, you can use AI to identify emerging opportunities or potential crises.
The typical method of tracking mentions in various tools like Meltwater is submitting the keywords related to your campaign. You will then receive results that include total mentions, mentions per day average, latest activity, and sample articles, among others.
Now with AI, you can find media coverage by writing prompts. For example, “How many media mentions did [NAME OF BRAND] receive between [DATES]” or “Did the media cover anything recently on [BRAND]?”
One thing to keep in mind is that some AI tools will prioritize topics that are trending/more relevant first. For example, when asked “What is the NRA,” the tool automatically said the National Rifle Association, rather than the National Restaurant Association. When asked why, the tool said it focuses on the most likely interpretation, and it limits initial response length. As a result, it’s important to be as specific as possible in your prompts.
THREE AI TOOLS TO USE FOR MEDIA MONITORING
Meltwater
- AI-powered insights
- Partnered with Microsoft to create an AI-powered communication insights service
- Has an AI writing assistant tool that can help improve copy within PR campaigns, generate royalty-free images or art
- Monitors news outlets for content related to brand
- Campaign monitoring
- Provides an extensive journalist database
- Provides PR reporting tools
- Costs between $6,000-$12,000/year, no monthly subscriptions available
Critical Mention
- Cloud-based media monitoring platform that uses AI and automation to track and share media content
- Gives real-time notifications/updates on PR campaigns, which can help stay on top of crisis situations
- Provides data visualization
- Can track competitors and industry trends
- Costs between $4,000-$10,000/year
Talkwalker
- AI engine can help with providing news summaries, potential crisis analysis and sentiment analysis of PR campaigns
- Speech-to-text capabilities to quickly and easily analyze the data transcribed from audio and video social media posts
- Monitor media mentions, establish benchmarks for your accounts versus competitors
- Gives instant notifications with key updates and trends
- Costs $9,000/year