When we talk to organisations about media monitoring we tend to find people fall into one of two camps. There’s those that believe they couldn’t possibly do their jobs without it – and those that believe ‘yeah, nah – we don’t need that’.

There’s a few reasons for the ‘yeah, nah’ response:

• Small organisations often believe that since they don’t get talked about in media very often – there’s no value in it for them.
• Bigger organisations can believe either – ‘if it’s important the news will come to me’, or ‘there’s just too much of it and I/we don’t have the time to go through it all’.

The simple answer to any of these objections is – ‘yeah, but – you’re going to miss out if you don’t’.

Here’s a few of the key reasons why:

In the not too distant past you could browse through your morning newspaper and watch the six o’clock news to stay on top of things. These days media is much more fragmented and moves at a breakneck pace. We’re all more connected, more informed and more opinionated than ever before.

With the colossal growth of media sources, online and otherwise, you simply don’t know what you’re missing, without the help of media monitoring.

Not monitoring media means you’ll miss out on valuable market information, opportunities for growth and the ability to correct misleading or negative commentary.

Do you really want the CEO to be the one to tell you about a negative story? A CEO ambushed by an unexpected call from a journalist tends to be….well, let’s say, less than thrilled.

Being aware of what’s being said, where, and by whom enables you to manage the message.

Media monitoring helps organisations gain an understanding of the landscape they’re working in and enables them to make informed decisions about their strategies.

Even if your organisation isn’t actively sending out press releases or doesn’t have a communications strategy – you’ll still want to know what your customers and stakeholders are hearing about you.

One potential crisis effectively neutralised often pays not just for the media monitoring – but firmly establishes the communications teams value.

It’s about being proactive and leading from the front.

If you were to ask any organisation that has invested in media monitoring if they could give it up – I guarantee they wouldn’t. The reason is simple – every single story you don’t know about is an opportunity lost.

So, isn’t it worth tracking your own brand and industry to see what you find out?

Learn more: Why pay for media monitoring?