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Google Alerts vs. Meltwater: What’s the better media monitoring tool?

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Google vs. Meltwater imageWhen we are in need of information, we commonly start with a Google search. From Google Maps to Google Docs, turning to Google is a familiar habit for most of us. So, when we want to monitor online content, it seems natural to pull up Google Alerts. “Monitor the web for interesting new content” is the literal slogan for Google Alerts, appearing in the header on the monitoring tool’s website.

Every communication professional knows that monitoring is an essential part of establishing an informed, proactive communications strategy and staying ahead of the curve in fast-paced media and social media environments that can spread misinformation like wildfire. And many have incorporated Google Alerts into their monitoring strategy to attempt to stay current on what reporters and social media users are saying about their organization and clients or stakeholders.

But the web is a big place and “interesting new content” may be too broad to provide meaningful insights about your media and social media presence and your interesting topics’ media and social media footprint. While it’s a free tool, Google Alerts has gaps that may cost an organization time—and ultimately money—in the long run. Let’s explore some of Google Alerts’ limitations and how another monitoring tool—Meltwater—can automate and elevate your media and social media monitoring.

Meltwater is an all-in-one solution, providing not only media and social media monitoring, but analysis, reporting, media research and more. Unlike Google Alerts, where you’ll receive email notifications every so often, Meltwater offers greater customization of the time, frequency, destination and type of alert you’ll receive. For example, if you’re experiencing a crisis situation that requires immediate notification of relevant media mentions as they’re published online, Meltwater has you covered. Or, if your organization uses Microsoft Teams, Meltwater integrates with the Microsoft collaboration tool to deliver news or social media alerts directly to your team. 

One of Meltwater’s major advantages is its use of artificial intelligence. Meltwater, as a result of AI, can measure the sentiment of news articles and social media posts—information that you can take and turn into a report full of insights that help you and your team make better communications decisions. Better decision-making is also made possible by Meltwater’s ability to analyze and visualize content in different ways, from word clouds and bubbles to line and bar charts. The ease with which Meltwater allows you to engage with the content and helps you understand your media and social media footprint—or that of others—is just the edge every organization needs to best serve the public and other stakeholders.

Especially with the information-saturated environment that we find ourselves in today, being able to intake the conversation and use it to strategize messaging is crucial for taking control of what you want your reputation to be. Any tool simply won’t cut it for understanding and combating misinformation and disinformation on social media and blogs. Through Meltwater, you can engage with the content about your organization and important topics in your industry to better set and achieve your agency’s strategic communications goals. 

And these differences noted only represent a fraction of the imbalances between Google Alerts and Meltwater. What all of these distinctions mean is that you spend less time and effort to get more data to make better proactive communications decisions. Plus, through Tripepi Smith’s Media Intelligence Services, you can benefit from the wealth of media, social media and local government knowledge that Tripepi Smith’s Meltwater-certified mavens bring to your monitoring strategy.

If you would like help auditing your media monitoring strategy or discussion monitoring topics important to your organization, contact us at MediaIntelligence@TripepiSmith.com.