Before you go out and create a whole bunch of copy for your website, blog, newsletter or other communication tool, check out these online tools:

1. monitter which gives you real time tweets of what people are talking about utilizing the keyword phrases you put in.  Now you can’t believe everything you read, nor want to read, but watching this over time can give you a feel for what the buzz is about in your industry.

And if you want to localize your search, don’t forget to fill out, how many kilometers away from which city:

2. Another great research tool: Google Blog Search

To find blogs talking about your subject ideas, keyword phrases, type in the keyword phrases of your choice and see what others are writing about.

3. With the fast amount of videos on YouTube tons of resources are being developed from the use of video phones to high production videos, businesses are getting their message out there. Check out this Video search to see what your competitors are up to.

These tools will help you with your overall competitive analysis, not only is it helpful checking out their websites, but make sure to see what other digital assets they are deploying in cyberspace.  What unique offering can you provide for your clients and those interested to learn about. Remember these tools can be used for research when developing your own communications strategy.