Media audits are one of the most valuable, free tools available to nonprofit organizations. And, while you may think a media audit is only helpful if your organization is looking to secure media coverage, there are other instances where a media audit can provide insights about similar organizations, the issues impacting your nonprofit subsector and generally what is happening in the nonprofit landscape. In today’s post, I’ll cover:
- What a media audit is & when you should conduct one
- What a media audit focuses on
- Outcomes to expect from a media audit
- How to conduct a media audit
What is a media audit and when should you conduct one?
Many people think of a media audit as something you do when you’re getting ready to launch a communications or public relations campaign. And yes, of course you should conduct a media audit then. However, media audits can also be helpful to nonprofits developing their strategic plans, overarching key messages and fundraising plans as well.
A media audit is a research tool, often used as part of an ecosystem assessment, that helps you to determine where and how your nonprofit has been covered by the media, as well as where and how other similar organizations have been covered by the media. Additionally, a media audit can be conducted to uncover overall trends in your nonprofit’s subsector.
Conduct a media audit when:
- You want to identify areas where your organization can provide (or create) insight or expertise, also known as thought leadership
- You are embarking on a strategic plan and need to understand your organization’s positioning, or reason for being
- You are developing new messaging and need to understand how your nonprofit is generally perceived by the public
- You are getting ready to launch a media relations campaign and you want to understand the things about your nonprofit that might be most resonate to reporters (and which reporters/outlets are most likely to cover your organization)
- You want to understand general trends within your subsector to inform your strategy or messaging
- You want to know how your nonprofit is similar or different from comparator organizations (organizations similar to yours, but in the spirit of collaboration over competition, we call them comparators)
What does a media audit focus on?
If your nonprofit has received any media coverage in the past, no matter how minor, a media audit will analyze that coverage. When auditing past features, it’s important to assess what aspects of your organization resonated most with journalists, producers, bloggers and editors. The audit should also analyze which pieces were most shared or buzzed about, and assess how well past coverage communicated your organization’s intended key messages.
This information will help you understand, not only what is most interesting to members of the media, but also what others might perceive about your nonprofit (after all, if they look you up, this is likely what they are reading). You can use it to develop angles for pitching the media, but you can also use it to help determine your strategies moving forward, related to your nonprofit’s communications and overall positioning.
Let’s say for example that your organization focuses on social-emotional learning. When you conduct a media audit, you find that most of the coverage related to your nonprofit is in regards to your well-known CEO and how you support educational equity, particularly in early education. However, a major part of your focus moving forward is on high school-aged students. This audit tells you, you likely need to build awareness about this new area of focus, both with members of the media as well as donors, supporters and others in the community.
Equally as important as conducting a media audit for your own nonprofit is conducting an audit of your comparators, along with trending topics in your nonprofit subsector. A high-quality media audit of your comparators helps you get a sense of the narratives that gain interest in your field. It can also help you understand your nonprofit’s strategic positioning in relation to others.
What outcomes should I expect from a media audit?
A comprehensive media audit should help you identify:
- Trends in coverage about your nonprofit and others within your comparative set
- Trends within your nonprofit subsector
- Reporters, bloggers, journalists and influencers who are interested in covering topics related to your organization
- Areas where your key messages are strong and resonant
- Areas where more work needs to be done to build awareness and get your key messages across
- Gaps in coverage your organization can fill
With these insights, you can determine which areas of your communications or overall strategy need to be visited.
How do you conduct a media audit?
A simple Google news search can get you started with your media audit. You’ll want to go through each article you find and identify trends in coverage as well as sentiment of coverage (is it positive or negative?). Note things like who was quoted, what other organizations or individuals were mentioned. Was the story about your organization (or a comparator)? Or was it more about an overall trend?
Once you conduct a general news search, focus on subsector news outlets. For example, in education, you might also look at Education Week, The 74, Education Dive, etc. And then for general nonprofit trends, take a look at Chronicle of Philanthropy, Nonprofit Quarterly, etc.
While conducting a media audit is free and relatively easy, it can go a long way in helping you understand how your organization is perceived, where it stands in relation to peer organizations and what opportunities you have to build narratives that support your goals and objectives.
