In public relations, results count – for everything, from client satisfaction to media relationships, even industry reputation. Yet for Hispanic PR pros, counting results is not always easy.
To quantify public relations media coverage – the measuring stick by which we are most often judged – several major national media monitoring services are available. But they’re focused heavily on English-language media and do not offer the same breadth and depth for Spanish language and bilingual media.
Just ask any Hispanic PR pro about their challenges in quantifying media results and they’ll tell you that they have to use a number of different methods to count coverage. I polled our team of more than 30 professionals in offices across the nation about which companies they think offer the best media monitoring services and the resounding reply was that there is no single company that does it well – yet.
Yes, there are a number of companies doing a really great job, particularly on the print and online sides, with Latin Clips and Reporte Informativo being among them. When it comes to broadcast however, there is a major gap in tracking television and radio placements, particularly in smaller markets.
The good news is that media monitoring services are getting better. With more and more media outlets posting stories online, it’s easier to see where and when coverage has run.
Still, at FH Hispania we complement automated media searches with our own monitoring and have found that savvy, bilingual people working directly with media is the best way to capture stories and spot relevant coverage.
The reality is that for all Hispanic PR pros, monitoring is a multi-step process. It can take longer, and of course requires Spanish language expertise, but when it comes to counting results, nothing counts more than doing it right.
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