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Ethics and Practice in Media Monitoring and Intelligence
Media monitoring and intelligence have become increasingly important in the digital age. With the vast amount of information available online, media monitoring provides businesses, organizations, and individuals with valuable insights into clients’ media mentions, public opinion, industry trends, competitive media share, media sentiment and emerging issues. However, as the use of media monitoring and intelligence continues to grow, so do the ethical concerns surrounding their use.
In this article, I will explore the ethics and practice of media monitoring and intelligence, including the potential risks and benefits, as well as the best practices for using them responsibly.
Benefits of Media Monitoring and Intelligence
Media monitoring and intelligence can provide a range of benefits, including:
- Near Real-time insights: Media monitoring allows businesses and organizations to track their brand reputation and public perception in near real-time. By monitoring news articles, social media posts, and other online content, they can quickly identify any negative comments or issues and take action to address them before they escalate.
- Competitive intelligence: Media monitoring can also provide valuable insights into competitor activity, helping businesses and organizations stay ahead of industry trends and identify potential threats or opportunities.
- Industry trends: By monitoring industry-specific news and social media, businesses and organizations can stay up-to-date on emerging trends, allowing them to adapt their strategies and remain competitive.
- Crisis management: In the event of a crisis, media monitoring can help businesses and organizations track public sentiment and respond quickly and effectively.
Risks and Ethical Concerns
While media monitoring and intelligence can provide valuable insights, they also raise a number of ethical concerns, including:
- Privacy: Media monitoring often collects personal information, such as social media posts, location data, and online activity. This raises questions around consent and privacy, particularly in cases where the information is being collected without the knowledge or consent of the individual.
- Accuracy: Media monitoring relies on algorithms and machine learning to analyze large volumes of data. While these can provide valuable insights, there is always a risk of errors or biases in the data analysis.
- Misuse: Media monitoring can be used for malicious purposes, such as tracking the activities of individuals or groups without their knowledge or consent.
- Unintended Consequences: Media monitoring and intelligence can have unintended consequences. For example, monitoring the online activity of employees can create a culture of distrust, negatively impacting morale and productivity.
Best Practices for Ethical Media Monitoring and Intelligence
To mitigate these risks, it is important to follow best practices for ethical media monitoring and intelligence:
- Transparency: Media Monitoring Consultants should be transparent about the use of media monitoring tools and the data collected. This includes providing clear information about what data is being collected, how it is being used, and who has access to it.
- Consent: Media Monitoring consultants should sign an SLA with clients before collecting and using their data. This includes obtaining explicit consent for sensitive data, such as location data or social media posts.
- Accuracy: Media Monitoring Consultants should ensure that media monitoring tools are supported by humans to ensure accurate and reliable data. This includes regular human testing and reviewing the algorithms used.
- Purpose: Media Monitoring Consultants should ensure that media monitoring tools are used for legitimate purposes, such as media performance audit, media intelligence, media research, crisis management, or competitive analysis.
- Security: Media Monitoring Consultants should take measures to ensure the security of the data collected, including using encryption and other security measures to protect sensitive information.
In conclusion, Media monitoring and intelligence provide valuable insights into clients’ media mentions, public opinion, industry trends, competitive media share, media sentiment and emerging issues. However, the use of media data raises ethical concerns around privacy, accuracy, and unintended consequences.
To ensure the responsible and ethical use of clients’ media data, media monitoring and intelligence
Philip Odiakose is the Chief Insights Consultant at P+ Measurement Services, a Media Intelligence Consultancy in Lagos state, Nigeria.
By Modupe Gbadeyanka
A free online digital marketing masterclass will take place on Thursday, March 23, 2023, at 7 pm Nigerian time, with a certificate issued at the end of the training.
The course is being put together by a global partner of the world’s leading digital platforms, Aleph, as part of its Digital Ad Certificate, a global free online training and certification program in digital marketing aimed at people without prior experience.
Participants will have the opportunity to learn from the CEO and founder of the company, Mr Gaston Taratuta, who will share the learnings of his path to being selected as the world’s best entrepreneur in 2022.
Interested participants of the free 90-minute training titled How to be an Entrepreneur in the Digital World would be required to register through this link.
The training also includes a cooperative learning methodology focused on teamwork, which generates constant exchange with the other people taking the classes.
More than 7,000 students in 100 countries participated in the proposal, with a satisfaction ratio of 9.2 out of 10, according to surveys conducted with the students. The goal is to certify 50,000 people worldwide.
At the end of the course, students will receive a certificate from Aleph, which also shares the profiles of the graduates with the thousands of clients it has globally. The training lasts three months and includes theory, information on various platforms, cases, assignments, and masterclasses.
“When I started my path, I experienced difficulties accessing digital education, which is why we decided to make the Digital Ad Certificate available to everyone. This masterclass summarises my entrepreneurial journey and aims to inspire more people to get involved in digital marketing, one of the fastest-growing industries in the world that offers enormous development opportunities for individuals, small and medium-sized enterprises, and even economies in the region,” Mr Taratuta said.
With only $5,000, Mr Taratuta founded IMS, the first company in Aleph’s portfolio, in 2005. The company quickly became a partner in the region of digital firms from Silicon Valley, which were starting to show their potential and appeal as platforms for brands.
In 2010, five years after its creation, IMS already had offices in Argentina, Brazil, Mexico, and Colombia and was consolidating its position alongside major digital platforms and collaborating with companies seeking new levels of attraction.
In 2017, with the acquisition of Httpool, the company embarked on a journey beyond the limits of the Americas, which was consolidated with the creation of Aleph Group Inc, a global company that in 2021 achieved unicorn status with a market valuation of over one billion dollars and a presence in more than 115 markets.
In 2022, he was selected as the “EY World Entrepreneur of the Year 2022,” a global competition for entrepreneurs that includes businessmen from more than 60 countries.
“Our goal as a company is to universalize access to digital advertising to unlock economic development worldwide. To achieve this, we need many more people with technical knowledge in digital marketing, and that is why Digital Ad Certificate is a great opportunity,” added Mr Taratuta.
By: Philip Odiakose
Public relations (PR) is a crucial component of any organization’s communication strategy. It involves the management of communication between an organization and its stakeholders, including customers, employees, investors, and the media.
PR plays a significant role in shaping an organization’s reputation and can have a direct impact on its success. This is why it is essential for CEOs to understand the value of PR and to incorporate it into their media performance audit.
A media performance audit is a process that assesses an organization’s media coverage and evaluates its impact on the organization’s reputation, brand image, and business performance. The audit involves analyzing media coverage, identifying key messages, measuring the reach and impact of media coverage, and developing recommendations for improving media performance.
The value of PR in a media performance audit lies in its ability to shape the narrative of an organization’s media coverage. By leveraging PR strategies, CEOs can ensure that their organization’s key messages are being communicated effectively to the media and other stakeholders. This can help to enhance the organization’s reputation and brand image, ultimately leading to improved business performance.
One way that PR can be leveraged in a media performance audit is through the development of a media relations strategy. This involves identifying key media outlets and journalists, developing relationships with them, and pitching stories that align with the organization’s key messages. By doing so, CEOs can ensure that their organization is receiving positive coverage in the media, which can help to enhance its reputation and brand image.
Another way that PR can be leveraged in a media performance audit is through the development of a crisis communications plan. A crisis can have a significant impact on an organization’s reputation and business performance. By having a plan in place for how to respond to a crisis, CEOs can minimize the negative impact on their organization’s reputation and brand image. This can include strategies such as issuing statements, conducting media interviews, and engaging with stakeholders to address concerns.
In addition to these strategies, CEOs can also leverage media monitoring and intelligence consultants to track them and their organization’s media coverage and reputation by monitoring CEOs media coverage, which can identify trends, opportunities, and potential threats to their organization’s reputation. Media Intelligence consultants can provide insights into how stakeholders perceive the organization and can help to identify areas where improvements can be made.
In conclusion, the value of PR in a CEO media performance audit cannot be overstated. By leveraging PR strategies and tools, CEOs can ensure that their organization’s key messages are being effectively communicated to the media and other stakeholders. This can help to enhance the organization’s reputation and brand image, ultimately leading to improved business performance.
CEOs should work closely with their PR teams to develop a comprehensive media relations strategy, crisis communications plan, and monitoring and listening program that can help to optimize their organization’s media performance.
Philip Odiakose is the Chief Insights Consultant at P+ Measurement Services, a Media Intelligence Consultancy in Lagos state, Nigeria.
By Dipo Olowookere
The Chairman of Justrite Superstore, Mr Ayodele Patrick Aderinwale, has disclosed that the company’s energy costs in 2022 significantly increased by more than 500 per cent.
Speaking on Friday on Arise TV’s Global Business Report hosted by Mr Aruoture Rotus Oddiri, the Justrite chair said this surge in energy costs was triggered by the rise in the price of diesel in the year under review.
At the beginning of the year, a litre of diesel was selling between N200 and N250, but by the end of the first quarter of 2022, it was going for N650 per litre and later jumped to N800 per litre.
This increase was blamed on the invasion of Ukraine by Russia in February 2022. The price has not moderated to the pre-war period, forcing many companies to source cheaper energy.
But Mr Aderinwale said the company was making efforts to cut these energy expenses, especially with the funds raised from the sale of a minority stake in Justrite to Africinvest recently.
“Last year, our energy costs increased by over 500 per cent and don’t forget that energy is part of our major operational costs. You have to have electricity 24 hours because you cannot afford to be in the dark; that is why we have to embrace solar energy,” he said on the programme monitored by Business Post on Friday morning.
Speaking further, he said, “It is interesting that you raised this issue of renewable energy. One of the things we agreed with Africinvest is that from now henceforth, all our new stores to be opened would be powered solely by solar and the existing 17 stores would be integrated with solar energy.”
He expressed optimism that Justrite would gain immensely from the experience of Africinvest because of its rich pedigree on the continent.
According to him, Africinvest “is not just coming with money, it is coming with insight, corporate governance, repositioning of the company and all manners of strategies.”
“Before they made the final investment, they went through the due diligence process, both legal and commercial, to check the gaps and prospects of the company before signing the deal,” the chairman said.
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