When measuring the success of a public relations campaign, some are unsure of where to start. How can you translate an effort that has a media budget of zero to a direct correlation of success for a brand’s reputation or product? What is the return on investment? Our PR pros at the J.O. Agency are here to help you identify what success looks like in a well-executed PR campaign and strategy.
Why Measuring PR Is Important
With any career, marketing or advertising strategy you must be able to show results. In PR campaigns, this can be a little tricky, as results aren’t always black and white. Modern-day tools have made it easier to measure earned media in a quantifiable way. Through these tools, the PR industry has been able to back up its campaigns with results that make sense to internal teams and clients alike. Public relations professionals know that in order to achieve campaign success proper groundwork must be done that identifies measurable objectives. With the right objectives and metrics in place, PR value can be measured easily.
Setting Up Your PR Metrics
How do you get started with your PR strategy? Before you even launch your first press release you must identify what your business objectives are. Do you want the public to purchase a new product you’re launching? Do you want higher engagement rates on your social media channels? Do you want the public’s perception to lean favorably towards your brand? By clearly identifying your goals you will be able to set realistic PR metrics for your campaign.
Part of measuring PR metrics and media impressions is highly dependent on outreach strategy. Based on your campaign goals, you will want to determine if your want to start monitoring media or public perception prior to the PR campaign to establish a baseline in which to show change over time. Timing is everything! Creating a timeline that accounts for the initial press release launch, media relations efforts like follow ups and sending brand materials to media outlets, and the gathering and reporting on earned media is a necessary first step.
What Are PR Metrics?
Based on your business goals, your PR metrics can come in several different forms. The most common is tracking press clippings and brand mentions in media coverage. This is the easiest form of PR metrics for PR pros to grab with countless PR tools out there to help you. Another way to measure PR success is in customer surveys. In post-purchase or experience surveys did your customer indicate they learned of the brand from an article or if it was mentioned online? This can be attributed to PR success! A little trickier, but equally interesting to monitor, did your website traffic and social media platforms experience an uptick in organic traffic? This can also be a PR metric you track. Lastly, conducting a sentiment analysis through focus groups and surveys before and after a PR campaign can measure how public perception has changed.
How Can I Measure A PR Campaign?
So, you now have identified your business goals and you know what PR metrics you want to measure. You now ask, how do I measure my PR efforts? PR pros are extremely lucky to have bountiful PR tools at their fingertips to use. Gone are the days of actually having to physically cut press clips out of newspapers or record news segments on VHS tapes. Tools like CoverageBook, Google Analytics & Alerts, Cision, and many more measure outcomes, the share of voice and media value. The great thing about modern PR tools is their capability of constantly monitoring media coverage with some even measuring social media channels for mentions. However, any PR tool is only as useful to you as the time you take to set it up. Be considerate of key metrics and terms to be included for measurement. This could be a company’s name, acronyms or people of interest.
Some of these tools do require an investment that the PR team at J.O. has made and is eager to help with your campaign. Reach out to us at hello@joagency.com.
How Can I Make My PR Efforts Last?
Earned media through PR efforts can give a company great value, but that should be one fraction of your outreach plan. By working with an experienced marketing team you can extend your reach and confirm that you are reaching the right audience with your messaging. Holistic campaigns with measurable goals are integral to any business’ strategy for brand or product awareness. By utilizing several forms of communication tools, your target audience is guaranteed to experience some form of media impressions.
How To Start Your PR Initiative
You may wonder, how can I do all of that? That’s where the team at J.O. Agency comes in. With our decades of experience, we are able to assist clients not only with their future PR campaigns but with digital marketing, social media and more. This experience can help navigate the tricky waters of press releases, advertising value and engagement and translate it to results for your brand. Visit our website, www.joagency.com, or reach out to us at hello@joagency.com for a free consultation!
