Project Description
Setting up Google Alerts for a small organisation that was spending a lot of time on media monitoring.
What was the problem?
This small pro-choice organisation was spending a lot of time monitoring the Irish media on the topics of abortion, reproductive rights and women’s rights so that it could effectively respond to the coverage and lobby for change. This was a necessary but timely effort for them and they needed a more efficient system.
What was the solution?
We set up Google Alerts to monitor a set of keywords in online news coverage and send a daily email with the relevant search results.
Results
The results were immediately impactful. The organisation saved a quarter of the work time of one of their staff members, whose mornings were previously spent scouring media. Although a percentage of the media still needed to be covered manually, much of her time was freed up. As a small organisation, this time saving was critical and meant that this staff member could engage in crucial advocacy work.
What platforms did you use?
Google Alerts, Gmail
Time and resources involved
This took less than one hour to set up and although a Google staff member was able to help, Google Alerts can also be used a self service product. It may take a few runs to get it right but the best way to learn is to get your hands dirty and dive in.
Would you do it again?
Absolutely, it was very gratifying to see such immediate results.
Would you do anything differently next time?
No, this was a simple fix that worked very well for the organisation. No doubt, they refined the service as their needs changed over time.
Any other thoughts?
This made me realise that those of us who are digitally literate often underestimate the impact that we can have by sharing our knowledge of the internet and products and tools that make our lives easier.