Back in my days as a PR grunt working at an agency, everyone on the team was assigned a certain number of target publications and websites related to the client’s products and services. It was our job to review each one to keep ourselves and more importantly the client abreast of the latest business and product developments, trends, competitors and new editors on the beat. All of the relevant coverage was assimilated into a weekly client report with recommendations regarding strategy to leverage for PR and marketing purposes.

This proved to be very successful for several reasons. Often the client and PR management team doesnt always have the time to do the tracking themselves. Providing the information in an easy to view manner became a vaulable component of their PR team. The client report often resulted in an increase in trust and knowledge share between the client and PR team. In the end, the client was able to create strategic plans for their direct reports based in part on the data gleaned from the weekly information. Lastly, the reports often identified immediate opportunities to build, maintain and leverage editorial relationships to strengthen the brand and secure coverage.

This is also a great way for a junior member of the team to earn their wings and became an expert on the client and their market space. More experienced team members and management should also be responsible for a few publications to keep on their toes:) Happy Tracking!