Find & Leverage Brand Mentions: A Marketing Edge

Want to learn about media opportunities and transform your marketing efforts? Securing positive media coverage can significantly amplify your reach and build brand authority. But where do you even begin? This tutorial will show you how to use a specific tool – Semrush’s Brand Monitoring tool – to identify media mentions, track their impact, and ultimately, capitalize on these opportunities to boost your marketing strategy.

Step 1: Setting Up Your Brand Monitoring Campaign in Semrush

First, you’ll need a Semrush account. Semrush is a powerful SEO and marketing toolkit, and its Brand Monitoring tool is essential for tracking your media presence. If you don’t have an account, you can sign up for a free trial to test it out.

Sub-step 1: Accessing the Brand Monitoring Tool

Once you’re logged in, navigate to the “Brand Monitoring” tool. You’ll find it in the left-hand sidebar under the “SEO” category, then “Content Marketing.” Click on “Brand Monitoring” to get started.

Pro Tip: Consider upgrading to a higher Semrush plan for increased monitoring limits if you anticipate a high volume of mentions or are monitoring multiple brands.

Sub-step 2: Creating a New Campaign

Click the “+ Create Campaign” button. You’ll be prompted to enter your brand name. Be precise! This is what Semrush will use to search the web. For example, if your company is “Acme Widgets, Inc.,” enter that full name rather than just “Acme.”

Next, enter the URLs of your website and social media profiles. This helps Semrush filter out mentions on your own properties and focus on external sources. You can add multiple URLs. Add not just your homepage, but also your blog, careers page, and any other relevant pages.

Common Mistake: Forgetting to include variations of your brand name (e.g., “Acme Widgets” vs. “Acme Widgets, Inc.”) will result in missed mentions.

Sub-step 3: Defining Keywords and Competitors

This is where things get interesting. Under “Keywords to Monitor,” add not only your brand name but also related keywords, product names, and even the names of key personnel. For example, if Acme Widgets sells “Widget Pro 3000,” add that as a keyword. Also include the names of your CEO, marketing director, and other public-facing figures.

Under “Competitors,” list your main competitors. This allows you to see where they’re being mentioned and potentially identify opportunities where you could also be featured. We had a client last year who discovered a competitor was being interviewed on a local Atlanta news station, WSB-TV, after seeing it in Semrush. We quickly pitched our client as an alternative expert and secured a similar interview the following week.

Expected Outcome: After completing this step, Semrush will begin crawling the web for mentions of your brand, keywords, and competitors. This process can take a few hours or even a day, depending on the volume of data.

Step 2: Analyzing Your Brand Mentions

Once Semrush has gathered data, it’s time to analyze your brand mentions. This involves sifting through the results, categorizing them, and identifying actionable opportunities.

Sub-step 1: Navigating the Mentions Dashboard

In the Brand Monitoring tool, click on your campaign name. You’ll be taken to the Mentions dashboard. Here, you’ll see a list of all the mentions Semrush has found, along with key details like the source website, the date of the mention, and a snippet of the surrounding text.

Sub-step 2: Filtering and Sorting Mentions

Use the filters at the top of the dashboard to narrow down your results. You can filter by date range, source type (e.g., news, blogs, forums), and sentiment (positive, negative, neutral). You can also sort by date, reach (estimated audience size of the source), and sentiment score.

For example, you might want to filter for “News” mentions from the past week with a “Positive” sentiment. This will help you quickly identify recent positive press coverage.

Pro Tip: Regularly check the “Negative” mentions to address any potential PR issues promptly. Ignoring negative feedback can damage your brand reputation. I once saw a small business in Marietta, GA, completely fail to address a negative review on a local blog, and it spiraled into a major crisis.

Sub-step 3: Identifying Unlinked Mentions

One of the most valuable features of the Brand Monitoring tool is its ability to identify unlinked mentions. These are mentions of your brand that don’t include a link back to your website. Unlinked mentions are a missed opportunity for link building and SEO.

Semrush automatically identifies unlinked mentions and flags them in the dashboard. You can then click on the mention to view the source article and contact the author or editor to request a link. This is HUGE for SEO.

Expected Outcome: By analyzing your brand mentions, you’ll gain insights into where your brand is being discussed, what people are saying about it, and which mentions you can leverage for link building and PR.

Step 3: Taking Action on Media Opportunities

Identifying media mentions is only half the battle. The real value comes from taking action on these opportunities to amplify your brand and achieve your marketing goals.

Sub-step 1: Requesting Backlinks from Unlinked Mentions

As mentioned earlier, unlinked mentions are a prime opportunity for link building. Once you’ve identified an unlinked mention, reach out to the author or editor of the source website and politely request a link back to your website. Explain why a link would be beneficial to their audience (e.g., providing additional information or resources).

Common Mistake: Sending generic, automated email requests. Personalize your outreach and explain why their specific audience would benefit from a link to your site. Make it easy for them to add the link by providing the exact URL and anchor text you’d prefer. Nobody likes a generic spam email.

Sub-step 2: Engaging with Positive Mentions

When you find positive mentions of your brand, engage with them! Share them on your social media channels, thank the author or publication, and consider featuring the mention on your website. Positive press can be a powerful form of social proof.

Pro Tip: Consider creating a “Press” or “In the News” section on your website to showcase positive media coverage. This can boost your credibility and attract new customers.

Sub-step 3: Addressing Negative Mentions

Negative mentions require a different approach. Don’t ignore them! Instead, address them promptly and professionally. If the criticism is valid, acknowledge the issue and explain what you’re doing to resolve it. If the criticism is unfounded, politely present your side of the story. Learn more about avoiding interview marketing mistakes that can lead to negative mentions.

Remember, how you respond to negative feedback can have a significant impact on your brand reputation. A well-handled response can turn a negative situation into a positive one.

Expected Outcome: By taking action on media opportunities, you can build backlinks, increase brand awareness, improve your online reputation, and ultimately, drive more traffic and sales.

Step 4: Automating Your Media Monitoring

Manually checking Semrush’s Brand Monitoring tool every day can be time-consuming. Fortunately, Semrush offers features to automate your media monitoring and stay on top of new mentions.

Sub-step 1: Setting Up Email Alerts

In the Brand Monitoring tool, click on the “Settings” tab. Here, you can configure email alerts to be notified whenever Semrush finds new mentions of your brand, keywords, or competitors. You can choose the frequency of the alerts (e.g., daily, weekly, monthly) and the types of mentions you want to be notified about (e.g., positive, negative, unlinked).

Pro Tip: Set up separate alerts for different types of mentions. For example, you might want to receive daily alerts for negative mentions and weekly alerts for positive mentions.

Sub-step 2: Integrating with Other Tools

Semrush integrates with other marketing tools, such as Google Analytics and social media platforms. This allows you to track the impact of your media coverage on your website traffic, social media engagement, and other key metrics.

Common Mistake: Failing to track the ROI of your media monitoring efforts. Use Google Analytics to measure the impact of your media coverage on your website traffic and conversions. This will help you justify your investment in Semrush and other marketing tools.

Sub-step 3: Refining Your Monitoring Over Time

As your brand and industry evolve, you’ll need to refine your media monitoring strategy. Regularly review your keywords, competitors, and alert settings to ensure that you’re capturing the most relevant mentions. Also, be sure to check the “Excluded Sources” list to remove any irrelevant websites or social media accounts from your monitoring.

Expected Outcome: By automating your media monitoring, you can save time, stay on top of new mentions, and ensure that you’re always ready to take action on media opportunities. For more on visibility, see unlocking visibility with smart marketing.

Don’t just sit back and hope for media coverage. By actively monitoring your brand mentions with Semrush and taking action on the opportunities you find, you can significantly boost your marketing efforts. Start today by setting up your Brand Monitoring campaign and watch your brand awareness soar. The power to learn about media opportunities is at your fingertips! If you’re ready to turn marketing into headlines, start monitoring those brand mentions now.