â–¶ Measurement an Integral Part of PR: According to a report released by Benchpoint for AMEC and the Institute for Public Relations (IPR), measurement isn’t called the Holy Grail of PR for nothing. The findings, culled from the responses of 520 global PR executives, revealed that:
• 88% of PR professionals believe measurement is an integral part of the PR process;
• While 77% of respondents claimed to measure their work (compared with 69% in a similar survey conducted five years ago), the survey results show that the PR profession still has not agreed on the best tools and methodologies;
• Measuring ROI on communications is viewed as an achievable goal by the overwhelming majority of professional communicators; and,
• Press clippings are still the most frequently used measurement tool, closely followed by ad-value equivalents.
Source: Benchpoint and IPR
â–¶ Internet Is Top Info Source for Senior Execs: They may have been slow to warm up to the social media craze, but Google and Forbes Insights ’ “Rise of the Digital C-Suite” report suggests that U.S. senior execs rely on the Internet as their go-to source for information. Among the findings:
• 74% of respondents cited the Internet as the most valuable information resource, followed by at-work contacts (51%), outside-work contacts (43%), print trade publications (37%) and personal networks (36%); and,
• In terms of locating business information online, 63% said general search engines are most valuable, followed by guidance from colleagues at work (40%), subscription search engines (34%) and links from Web sites, blogs or other online content (31%).
Source: Google and Forbes Insights
â–¶ Bloggers Like PR People, Don’t Like Being Called Journalists: Text 100 surveyed more than 400 bloggers globally to examine their communications/PR preferences, and the results indicate that blogging is becoming more mainstream as PR pros increasingly reach out to these online influencers. In terms of contact with PR people, the findings are as follows:
• More than 90% of respondents welcome contact from PR people;
• Most reported a high level of regular contact from PR people, with more than 96% of bloggers in the U.S. being contacted at least once a week;
• E-mail is the preferred form of contact, no matter where bloggers reside. SMS and IM, universally, are the least preferred forms; and,
• Bloggers are united in their desire for distinctive content, particularly about new product developments and reviews, feedback on content posted on their blog and interviews with key people.
As for PR people’s bad habits, cited by bloggers, the study’s respondents identified the following:
• PR people continue to blindly send corporate press releases to bloggers.
• PR professionals are failing to read the blogs and truly understand their target bloggers’ communities.
• They seem to expect bloggers to post corporate material, demonstrating a lack of understanding of the medium and the very reason why bloggers blog.
• They treat bloggers as they would journalists—not as influencers, which is more appropriate.
Source: Text 100
â–¶ Nonprofits Lead the Way in Social Media Adoption: Nonprofits are outpacing corporations and academic institutions in their adoption of social media for the second year in a row, according to a new research study conducted by professionals at the Society for New Communications Research and Financial Insite Inc. The findings revealed that:
• Only 16% of Fortune 500 companies have corporate blogs, compared to 39% of Inc. 500 companies, 41% of colleges and universities and 57% of charities;
• 79% of charities now use social networking and video blogging;
• Use of online video increased by 38% over the one-year period studied, and social networking jumped by 47%;
• 90% of charities that blog believe their efforts are successful; and,
• More than 80% believe that social media is at least “somewhat important” to their future strategy.
Source: Society for New Communications Research and Financial Insite