How to keep your brand and business strategy on-target with effective issues monitoring
Strategic media monitoring helps brands navigate change by tracking key developments and responding with agility. Learn why clarity, timing and analysis matter.
By Dan George, Senior Director, Deputy Head of Brand, Insight and Strategy
When an archer fires at their target, there’s more going on than might meet the eye. Yes, they determine the path they need the arrow to follow, take aim and draw back the bowstring with the precise force required to fire the missile along their chosen arc before letting loose. But that’s not where the story ends.
As the projectile’s propelled through the air, it’s subject to tremendous forces. How it responds to these forces determines whether it’ll fly true or miss its mark. If the arrow’s too stiff, it can’t compensate for the sideways force exerted on it when leaving the bow. It’s too rigid to respond. But if it’s too bendy, it whips and flexes wildly, like a plastic bag in a hurricane.
To stay on target, an arrow needs to be just flexible enough to correct its path but not so much so that it loses control.
This is a useful principle to bear in mind in business and brand management. Setting a solid strategy is all well and good but it’s how you adapt your strategy to respond to ever-changing market realities that determines whether you’ll meet your objectives.
That’s where monitoring comes in.
Why monitoring matters
Issues monitoring is essential to ensuring the success of not only a brand’s PR and marketing efforts but of its wider business strategy as well.
It’s the act of keeping a finger on the pulse of the market – tracking traditional and social media to proactively follow developments such as:
- Regulatory and legislative developments
- Competitor activity
- Public sentiment
- Technological advancements
- Media maneuvers
- Industry and wider macroeconomic trends and issues
This allows the business to take control of its destiny by flexing and adapting to turn challenges into opportunities – and gain competitive advantage by being the quickest to respond to shifts in the wind.
How often do we need to do monitoring?
The intensity of monitoring varies by business. In some sectors, a weekly wrap-up of the key stories and their implications is enough. In others, we may need to monitor each morning or even multiple times per day to keep ahead of the curve.
And, of course, a big industry moment or a company crisis can call for real-time monitoring, keeping track of trends in the story to nip any negative narratives in the bud before they gather steam.
How to monitor effectively
Clarity is critical. You can’t listen to everything, so you need to be ruthless in cutting out the noise to focus on what really matters. If you know exactly what it is you need to know, you can craft tightly targeted search strings to isolate the issues and voices that you need to hear and eradicate any distractions.
Then it’s a case of truly listening to what you’re hearing. Don’t just report what’s happening and what’s being said. Ask yourself how and why it’s happening, what’s going to happen next and how your brand and business can capitalize.
The business value of monitoring
That action can go far beyond marketing. The smartest practitioners craft easily understood monitoring notes that identify potential implications across the business. These can be read quickly by the c-suite and forwarded on to any other stakeholders who need to know and take action.
That way the whole business can make adjustments at the speed of change, keeping ahead of the industry and ensuring that the strategy is always aimed at a moving target.
Key takeaways
Why is issues monitoring essential for brand strategy?
It enables real-time adaptation to external developments, turning risks into advantages with faster response times.
How often should businesses monitor media and trends?
Frequency depends on your industry. It ranges from weekly reviews to daily or real-time monitoring during crises.
What makes monitoring effective?
Targeted search queries, clear objectives, deep listening, and translating insights into actionable strategy across the business.
