1. Besides answering "what did competitors do", find out "why it worked"

‍Media monitoring helps to monitor competitors and key market players without spending too much time. Mentions are collected automatically, and you get a list of links and their analysis.

Thus, media monitoring answers the questions "what do competitors do" and "how does the audience react to it". However, you better not dwell on this. Go further and analyze the received data to understand why people reacted to your brand activity that way. It helps to come up with conclusions from the mistakes of others and learn from examples of successful cases.

‍2. Look up for customer stories and become a part of them

‍The ideas for creating new products or marketing campaigns are sometimes given by your customers, competitors' customers or potential customers. All you have to do is find these ideas, identify the potentially successful ones and turn them into products. These ideas can be in the form of stories, complaints or even jokes — you just have to be attentive.

First of all a product has to solve a problem. However, the impetus for creating a new one may be not just discomfort, but also stories that have their origin in customers' lives and are continued by a brand.

Such a touching story preceded the creation of a new pastry in “Silpo”, the popular Ukrainian national supermarkets. The guest of the supermarket told on her Facebook page about her daughter's birth, which was preceded by a prophetic prediction randomly written on a Silpo receipt (a promo activity launched by the supermarket that became very popular among Ukainians). In response, the company created a bun and named it after the girl.

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‍3. Collaborate — Create affiliate marketing

‍Find a brand you can solve similar problems with, but who is not a direct competitor: for example, you make furniture, and another brand creates carpets. You both approach home comfort and coziness. So your brands can collaborate to create ready-made combinations of living room sofas and carpets collection. Or let’s say you make ready-to-cook food, and another company does kitchen utensils. The serving examples will show that it does not take much effort and time to make it "tasty and beautiful" at home.

‍4. Catch up on trends

‍We see that part of our infospace is always taken up by certain trends that are constantly changing. And at this point a brand may face two issues: not knowing how to react to this trend or it’s already too late to react. To catch up with trends in time, they need to be found in their early stages.The LOOQME team tracks and oversees trends development — words that are gaining popularity right now. This allows brands to respond timely to emerging activities and adjust marketing and PR actions accordingly.

‍5. Look for a common language

‍Monitor how media and customers talk about your company and your product. Which categories or price segments do they include your brand in, and in which topics do they mention it. You may communicate your product with a certain image, while your customers perceive it completely differently. If so, communication methods need to be changed to have your brand messages being met correctly. Or alternatively, look at the image your audience has already formed about your company and maintain it.

Pay attention to the words people use when talking about your product or even a field. Understanding of all of these elements will help overcome barriers to communication with customers and media.