This playbook is designed for UK comms teams who want monitoring that actually changes decisions. It prioritises focus, governance, and action.
Step 1: Define the decisions
List the top three decisions monitoring must support. Examples:
- executive briefing and reputation risk
- crisis escalation and response timing
- competitor activity and narrative shifts
If a piece of coverage does not map to a decision, it should not be monitored in real time.
Step 2: Build the source map
Use tiers to keep the system manageable:
- Tier 1: national, high‑reach business media
- Tier 2: trade and sector publications
- Tier 3: regional and local press aligned to operations
Start with a short list. Add only when a source repeatedly changes decisions.
Step 3: Write alert rules
Define trigger conditions in plain language. For each risk area, write:
- what qualifies as urgent
- who receives the alert
- expected response time
Examples of urgent triggers:
- regulator mention
- safety incident
- executive misconduct allegation
Step 4: Create the daily and weekly brief
Daily brief: top three stories, one high‑impact mention, actions and owners.
Weekly brief: trend summary, narrative shifts, competitor activity, emerging risks.
Consistency builds trust. A reliable format gets read.
Step 5: Add measurement early
Use a compact KPI set:
- coverage quality
- message pull‑through
- share of voice (quality‑weighted)
- sentiment trend
- one business proxy
Avoid vanity metrics that do not drive decisions.
Step 6: Establish governance
Assign owners for sources, alerts, and reporting. Governance prevents drift.
Run a monthly QA review:
- missed coverage log
- false positive log
- query adjustments
Step 7: Connect to crisis response
Monitoring only works in crises if escalation paths are written in advance. Link alert triggers to:
- crisis roles and approvals
- legal and HR review
- holding statement templates
Step 8: Run a 90‑day rollout
- Weeks 1–2: scope, sources, alert rules
- Weeks 3–4: build briefs and routing
- Weeks 5–8: live run and tuning
- Weeks 9–12: KPI reporting and governance
After 90 days, the system should be repeatable and stable.
Step 9: Monthly insight review
Hold a short monthly meeting to capture narrative shifts and competitor moves. This is where monitoring turns into strategy.
FAQ
What is the minimum viable monitoring setup?
A focused source list, clear alert rules, and a daily brief with actions.
When should we add automation?
After the brief and alert rules are stable and trusted.
How do we reduce alert fatigue?
Use tiered alerts and strict exclusions, and review false positives monthly.
Should monitoring include social listening?
Yes, but keep it as a separate stream with shared taxonomy and aligned reporting.