Media analysis is a term you may have come across, but do you actually know what it means? If you did, you would know that conducting one would do wonders for your brand. But let’s first dive into the terminology — that way, you’ll know exactly what you’re getting into.
Let’s be honest: People are more likely to make use of a service if they understand what it entails and where all its nooks and crannies are. No one is going to hire a company if they are confused about what it is exactly they do.
That is why, in order to get a better understanding of what media intelligence agencies actually do, as well as the defining factors of media analysis and all it encompasses, you first need to get comfortable with the terminology. And luckily for you, we’ve got it all simplified!
Here are 10 media analysis terms explained:
1. Brand audit
This is when you take a look at your exact position in the market at that current time. This is often compared to that of your competitors’. A brand audit is done by looking at all aspects of your brand, including your marketing strategy, your websites, your social media pages, your target markets, your consumer interaction, etc.
Its purpose is to help you find out where you may be going wrong and what improvements can be made to your overall business.
2. Brand benchmarking
This is the direct comparison of your brand’s coverage in the media versus your competitors’. Basically, all the data about your brand mentions in editorial coverage is gathered, as well as your opponents, allowing you to get a glimpse into what they’ve been doing and see how their strategy adds up in comparison to yours.
3. Brand image
As every marketer knows, your brand’s image is important. In terms of media analysis, when we talk about brand image, we’re referring to the way your brand is portrayed in the media.
A media intelligence agency would, therefore, conduct a Sentiment or Favourability analysis to classify your brand’s coverage as positive, negative or neutral. This data is then compiled into a narrative or statistical report, which reveals any unfavourable coverage of your brand, illustrating how your reputation is doing at that time.
4. Competitor analysis
Not to be confused with brand benchmarking (although it does make up a part of it), this type of analysis is specifically done in order to gain in-depth insights into what competing brands are doing.
These insights can be found by looking at editorial as well as social media coverage (see social insights).
5. Content analysis
Content analysis is a technique used to look at who said what about your brand as well as when and where it was said. Basically, it’s an analysis that tracks where your mentions are.
For example, if you are Company X, and you want to do a content analysis of your brand, you would be able to see if a publication, for instance, said something about your brand in the media, where they said it, what exactly they said about your brand as well as the date and time it was said.
6. Insights reports
These are the reports that are sent to you after the media intelligence agency has extracted data about your brand. The data is compiled into a neat, comprehensive report that provides you with insights about your brand — whether it’s competitor, media or social media insights.
Insights reports can be used to help you evaluate your brand at a colossal level, where you can examine every part of your business strategy
7. Narrative analysis
Narrative analysis, in a nutshell, is the examination of data that is generated by media channels. This type of analysis involves the combination of artificial intelligence with the helping human hand.
What this means is that data is gathered through the use of AI technology and entity extraction. This data is then examined by a media analyst, who then compiles it into a narrative report for the client. These reports aim to tell a story about the data that was gathered so that clients receive both the numbers and the story behind them.
8. Media intelligence
Media intelligence is the process of gathering mass amounts of data about your brand that is generated in the media — this includes print, online, broadcast and social media. This data is collected by a media intelligence service provider, who then uses the data to give businesses insights into how they are currently performing, their consumers, competitors and target markets.
Once the data has been analysed, patterns are distinguished within that data in order to provide your brand with deeper insights into your overall brand perception and reputation.
In hindsight, media intelligence comprises a great deal of many things, including data mining, data science, media monitoring, media analysis, etc.
9. Media trends
We all know what a trend is, but in the world of media analysis, these are the insights that are discovered about these trending topics in the media.
Basically, this analysis is done to see what trends are evolving out of your brand’s media coverage. All the data that is compiled about these trends is again, you guessed it, compiled into an easy-to-read report!
Brands often use these reports to impress their executive committees in meetings.
Did you know? At Focal Points, it’s not just a general overview of trends: We conduct a media analysis through the use of artificially intelligent technology to identify the most prominent trends specifically pertaining to your organisation’s coverage.
10. Social insights
Want to know what the impact of your brand’s messaging is on social media? Well, now you can with social insights! This analysis is done by gathering data from social media platforms, which are compiled into a report, giving your brand insights about its messaging, level of social engagement and campaigns.
You can also view key conversations surrounding your brand: Want to know how people are reacting to your latest social media campaign? Then you need social insights in your life!
True insights, and in fact, true media analysis, looks beyond the numbers to the details and the trends. Check out our blog to learn more: Media analysis: Understanding the story your data is telling.