Introduction:
Keyword Planning
Learning how to select the correct keywords is crucial for the success of your media monitoring efforts.
Keyword definition: a word, phrase or topic important to an organization, and that is used to search for and track mentions across various media channels.
Keyword planning is the process of selecting specific words or phrases your organization wants to monitor across various media platforms, including newspapers, news websites, blogs, social media, and broadcast TV & Radio sources. This technique allows individuals and organizations to identify keywords that help them stay informed about mentions of their organization, members, products, competitors, or any other topics of interest.
How to Find and Select Keywords for Your Organization
Selecting the right keywords for your organization’s keyword monitoring strategy is crucial for ensuring that you capture the most relevant and actionable information. The process involves a combination of understanding your objectives and using various tools and techniques to analyze your industry to identify the most impactful keywords. Here’s a step-by-step guide to help you find and select the keywords that your organization should focus on.
Define Your Objectives
Before diving into keyword selection, it’s important to clearly define what you want to achieve with keyword monitoring. Common objectives include:
Brand Monitoring: Tracking mentions of your brand, products, and key personnel.
Competitive Analysis: Keeping tabs on competitors’ activities and strategies.
Market Research: Understanding industry trends and consumer behavior.
Crisis Management: Identifying potential issues or negative publicity quickly.
Content Strategy: Finding popular topics and trends for content creation.
Knowing your objectives will help you focus on the most relevant keywords and avoid unnecessary noise.
Identify Core Keywords
Start with the basics by listing keywords directly related to your organization, such as:
Brand Name: Include all variations and common misspellings of your brand name.
Product Names: Track mentions of your specific products or services.
Key Personnel: Monitor mentions of executives or public-facing employees.
Slogans, Taglines and Hashtags: Include any marketing phrases, slogans, and hashtags unique to your brand.
Industry Terms
Understanding the broader industry context is essential. Identify general industry terms, jargon, and trending topics relevant to your sector. Consider:
Industry Buzzwords: Common terms and phrases used within your industry.
Emerging Trends: New technologies, products, services, and influencers.
Regulatory Terms/Legislation: Identify any regulations, bills or legislation that are currently progressing through local, state or national congress that could impact your industry.
Competitor Keywords
Monitoring your competitors can provide valuable insights. Identify keywords related to:
Competitor Names: Include all major and emerging competitors.
Competitor Products: Track mentions of their products and services.
Marketing Campaigns: Monitor their advertising slogans, hashtags, and promotional content.
Keyword Research Tools
Google Trends is the easiest way to get basic online search comparisons between multiple search keyword terms (your brand and multiple competitors brands). Found here (click Explore at the top and add your terms to compare): https://trends.google.com/trends/
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- Compare up to 5 search terms at a time
- Filter results to worldwide results or results from a specific country or sub region
- Filter to a specific time range
Review and Adjust Keywords Regularly
After selecting your keywords, set up your monitoring tools and start tracking. Remember to:
Review and Adjust: Regularly review (we recommend once a quarter) the performance of your keywords and adjust your list based on new trends, market changes, and emerging issues.
Expand When Necessary: As your business grows or market conditions change, expand your keyword list to include new terms.
Filter Out Noise: Use filtering options to exclude irrelevant mentions and focus on high-value keywords. Our account experts have a myriad of tools on the back end to assist with this, from AI instructions to proximity filters, they will work with you to ensure you are getting only the media results you want to see.
Conclusion
Selecting the right keywords for your organization’s keyword monitoring strategy is a dynamic process that requires ongoing evaluation and adjustment. By defining clear objectives, understanding your industry, leveraging research tools, and continuously refining your keywords, you can ensure that you capture the most relevant and actionable insights. This proactive approach will help you stay ahead of trends, manage your brand reputation, and make informed business decisions.
For more details on Media Monitoring to automate keyword monitoring, visit Newz Group’s solution here: https://newzgroup.com/media-monitoring-services/
Find out more about Media Monitoring in our recent blog posts: https://blog.newzgroup.com/
