What is Prompt Blog Monitor?
Blog monitor is a new service offered by Prompt Communications which allows PR and marketing professionals to easily track what is being written about their clients on blogs and popular social media services. 'Social media' refers to web sites like Digg, YouTube and Flickr, where most of the content is generated by the site's users rather than its publishers.

Why is it important to monitor blogs and social media?
Blogging and social media services are already enormously popular and are growing all the time. The influence these channels can have on public opinion cannot be underestimated. Although an individual blog may not have an audience anywhere near as large as, say, a newspaper or television channel, the vast number of blogs means that, collectively, they can reach huge numbers of people.

How is Blog Monitor different from Technorati, Bloglines, etc…?
The Prompt Blog Monitor is not just a blog search engine like Technorati, or an RSS aggregator like Bloglines. The system provides an up to the minute snapshot of all relevant coverage from blogs and leading social media services in a single, easy to use console, which means that you don't have to waste time scouring the web for coverage.

Prompt Blog Monitor is also supported by free daily email updates which provide you with links to the latest coverage, and is constantly maintained by Prompt's social media specialist to ensure that it continues to deliver the most relevant results for your organisation. In addition to this, we can offer optional weekly and monthly reports which provide summary and analysis of any coverage.

How easy is Blog Monitor to set up?
Very easy, you don't have to do anything remotely technical. The process involves a brief consultation with Prompt Communications to ascertain your requirements, then we perform all the technical set-up work. All you need to do is log into the Blog Monitor site to view the latest coverage, or simply sit back and wait for the daily email updates.

How should I respond to coverage of our brand on blogs?
That's up to you, but bloggers should be approached with caution, they don't play by the same rules as conventional media and it's easy to get things wrong if you don't understand this. Prompt Communications' social media consultants will be happy to advise you on the best way to engage with bloggers, and we won't be afraid to tell you when it's best not to engage at all.