It’s not enough to count how many brand or product name mentions you and your competitors are getting – you need to know what is being said – and by whom. You need specifics to really understand your position in the market and be able to share that highly valuable insight with your C-suite. You can then use those insights to revise your strategy, reallocate resources, and take advantage of gaps in your competitor’s positioning and messaging if they arise.

1. Market positioning vs. earned coverage

Every communications plan revolves around market positioning. Communications and Marketing teams use themes for their campaigns, web copy, press releases, pitches, etc. But sometimes those messages aren’t mapping to what authors are writing about. For example, one of your competitors is touting an innovation that is revolutionizing the industry. But none of their earned coverage is mapping to that message. What are they writing about instead? How can you take advantage of that gap?

2. Third-party influencers

Many industries have subject matter experts that the media will turn to for comment on a regular basis. These experts can be academics, industry regulators, analysts, and politicians among others. It can be incredibly insightful to understand how these influencers talk about your peers or competitors – especially in articles where your brand isn’t mentioned. Are your relationships with these important influencers where they need to be?

3. Media relations

In addition to uncovering third-party influencers in your peers’ earned media, you can also find new authors or outlets to pitch. The intel you gather will help you craft smarter pitches. Should you reach out to authors that write negatively about your peers? Or those that have never covered you at all? Hear how some of your peers are using competitive intelligence to up their measurement game.