Measurement

Google just put more brains behind Analytics’ considerable brawn. Babak Pahlavan, senior director of measurement & analytics at Google, unveiled a variety of new features and beta tests for the search giant’s measurement platform at SMX East in New York City.

For the third year running as part of AMEC’s September Measurement activities, we’ll be hosting a Twitter chat with some of PR News’ Measurement Hall of Famers. Mark your calendar for the Measurement Twitter Chat: Monday, Sept. 19, 11 a.m. to noon ET. Hashtag: #PRMeasure

It’s true – a lot of people just don’t understand what PR people do. They think it’s about pitching the media, chasing positive coverage, then rinsing and repeating. Certainly media relations is an important component… Continued

In Mary Meeker’s Internet Trends report (2014), it was estimated that 1.8 billion photos were shared on select social channels daily. In her latest report, for 2016, Meeker estimates the figure for 2015 to be 3.25 billion photos daily. There are a bit more than 7 billion people on Earth. Think about how often every person on Earth, even those without internet access, would have to upload and share a photo each week to reach that figure. So the longtime practice of image analytics in traditional media has become a hot new topic in social media, and listening tools are starting to add image recognition to their capabilities.

The Olympics is not for the faint of heart. Never mind the athletes. Being a spectator or a sponsor requires as much grit and fortitude. I know. I just got back from watching my cousin, Caleb Paine, compete on the U.S. Sailing Team. For years, I observed the Olympics from the comfort of my living room, watching the celebration of human spirit and athleticism play out against what I assumed was a perfectly orchestrated spectacle, replete with major brands and a lot of media coverage. It’s not like that at all.

Smart communications professionals prepare well-thought-out objectives and tactics in the planning phase before ever presenting a list of measurable outcomes to the C-suite. But before naming these objectives and tactics, PR professionals need to know exactly who their intended audience is. Building personas—semi-fictional representations of individual archetypes within a brand’s ideal audience—is a crucial step in pinpointing the ideal target group for any PR or communications campaign. Here are the three richest sources for persona building.

I decided to fill out the AMEC Framework using a PR campaign I recently helped a client measure. I used the responses that members of its PR team gave me at our first meeting. After a long day of checking the taxonomy and making sure I put everything in the right boxes. I have the following tips for you.

The PR discipline at large is still trying to come up with widely accepted measurement criteria. The Barcelona Principles—which now include specific suggestions for measuring social media—do a good job at this, but they remain unknown to many communicators. On top of this general confusion, many social networks offer their own native analytics. With these tips, PR pros will be able to gather and analyze their data to align with business goals and build social media intelligence into organizational strategies.

It is becoming increasingly critical to meet the needs of businesses that operate in different markets around the world. As a result, many companies are integrating global media measurement programs into their communications plans to provide a worldwide roadmap that drives future strategy. If you are considering a similar path, here are some important steps to take your measurement program global. Many are the same that you follow in your U.S. market. But there are some stark differences that require your attention.

After a reported two years of testing recipes, researching and listening to consumers, PepsiCo admitted June 27 it had goofed regarding artificial sweeteners. The result: Not even one year after spurning aspartame and launching Diet Pepsi with sucralose, the soft drink brand was forced to reverse course. Amid falling sales and consumer outcry, it said Diet Pepsi with aspartame will return shortly. Adding a touch of confusion to the situation, PepsiCo also will continue to offer Diet Pepsi with sucralose. Importantly for communicators, this sour episode occurred when it’s easier than ever to gather information about customer preference via social media.