Conducting a PR audit using Meltwater software involves a structured approach that evaluates the effectiveness of your public relations strategy across various media channels. Before getting started, save your search using the Brand Monitoring Toolkit as Step 1. 

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Step 2: Define Your PR Objectives and Metrics

Consider what you want to achieve, whether increased brand visibility, improved public sentiment, or expanded media reach.

• Enhance brand visibility in target markets.
• Improve sentiment around your brand (positive/neutral/negative).
• Increase share of voice against competitors.
• Maximize media reach and presence in top-tier publications.
• Measure the effectiveness of specific PR campaigns.

Step 3: Set Up Media Monitoring Searches

Or read our How to guide.

Step 4: Evaluate Media & Campaign Coverage & Effectiveness

Use the Explore and Analyze Dashboards features to visualize the volume and trends of your media mentions. Key factors to evaluate include Total Mentions, Sentiment Analysis, Top Outlets and Journalists, and Geographic Reach.

• Use On-Page Analytics (Explore)
• Understand the Data (Explore)
• Create a Dashboard via Template (Analyze)
• Create a Dashboard from Scratch (Analyze)

Step 5: Competitor Benchmarking

Set up media monitoring searches for your competitors and perform a Share of Voice (SOV) analysis. This will help you understand how much of the media space your brand occupies compared to others in your industry.

• Comparing Searches in Explore
• Explore’s Compare Tab

Step 6: Journalist Impact

Identify top journalists who drive the most visibility for your brand in both Explore and Media Relations.

• Explore’s Media Contacts Tab
• Managing Media Lists in Explore

Step 7: Assess Crisis or Negative PR

Set up alerts to track any crises or negative media coverage. Review the tone and type of outlets that covered these stories.

Or read our How to guide. 

Step 8: PR Insights Business Alignment & Recommendations

Connect your PR efforts to broader business goals. Meltwater’s platform allows you to correlate media coverage with business outcomes like website traffic, lead generation, or customer engagement. This offering is a paid feature, so you will need to speak with your CSM on this.