It's not just a fall nip in the air you might be feeling—you might also be tingling from all the chatter about PR metrics, as Measurement Week rolls to its conclusion tomorrow.
On Sept. 17 PR News led a finger-cramping Twitter chat with some of its PR Measurement Hall of Famers as part of Measurement Week, sponsored by the International Association for the Measurement and Evaluation of Communications (AMEC), which has been behind a longtime international effort to make data as essential to PR as brand storytelling. Joining PR News for the Twitter chat were PR News Measurement Hall of Fame members Pauline Draper-Watts, EVP, global lead, measurement and analytics, Edelman Berland (@PDWatts); Angela Jeffrey, managing director (U.S.), Salience Insight (@ajeffrey1); Diane Lennox, PR services manager, SAS (@Dilennox); and Mark Weiner, CEO, PRIME Research (@WeinerMark).
Here are 16 of the best measurement tips from the hourlong Twitter chat:
- @PDWatts: Agency or not, know what you want to measure from outset and do it - don't wait until the end. Allows for course correction
- @PDWatts: Understand the C-suite language and how they receive information. Focus on contribution to the business
- @PDWatts: Be bold to let PR prove itself to the C-suite. Find an advocate. There is nothing like show and tell
- @PDWatts: AVE = advertising value equivalent - not recommended
- @ajeffrey1: Don't report "PR metrics" to senior leaders! Report some connection to business outcomes
- @ajeffrey1: See newest AMEC Framework for social media for paid, owned, earned measurement. Really makes sense
- @ajeffrey1: ROI is a financial metric for the entire organization only - http://bit.ly/1uGeKTf
- @jeffrey1: To create measurable PR goals, start by analyzing your history and benchmarking against competitors
- @Dilennox: Understand that numbers are part of a story - we're storytellers. You don't have to be a quant or math whiz
- @Dilennox: Big data is not just lotsa data, but data from many sources (not just company), formats
- @Dilennox: DON'T ask your PR firm to evaluate their own activity. It's in their best interest to look good
- @Dilennox: Next big thing: disappearance of differentiation between social media and traditional media. It’s all earned
- @WeinerMark: Measurement is more than media just like public relations is more than just media relations
- @WeinerMark: Don't assume to know what mgmt considers "meaningful." And don't assume to enforce your values upon mgmt. Big Mistake!!!
- @WeinerMark: Tie social to leads and sales by tracking patterns, preferences, intentions and behavior (through links)
- @WeinerMark: "Data" is the language of business. Any measure is better than none if you can show growth over time & vs. Competitors
Follow Steve Goldstein: @SGoldsteinAI