Measurement

As the boundary between marketing and PR continues to blur, two surveys provide perspective into building a sound media relations strategy. They also remind us that marketing and PR must not be operating with siloed measurement strategies. Ahead of PRNEWS’ Measurement Conference, April 17-18 in D.C., these surveys emphasize that correctly measuring influencer ROI and communicating up are greatly unrealized opportunities for PR and marketing to be on the same page.

As we look to next week’s PRNEWS Measurement Conference in Washington, DC, we asked several scheduled speakers to prognosticate about PR measurement’s future. Up ahead, they said, is more data integration and testing of well-established ideas. In addition, tools will be smarter and (thank goodness) easier to use, which will encourage the use of measurement for decision-making.

It’s an unfortunate reality that some C-suite executives are either unaware or unconvinced of how communications and PR are providing value to their business, which can lead to slashed budgets and high turnover rates. Proving PR’s worth to the C-suite is one of the most hotly anticipated sessions at PRNEWS’ upcoming Measurement Conference April 17-18 in Washington, D.C. Here are six steps you can take to show PR’s value in a way that your company’s leadership will understand.

What’s next for PR? Why not ask a futurist! Scott Steinberg is regarded as one of the world’s most celebrated business speakers, futurists, authors and strategic innovation consultants, as seen in 600+ outlets from CNN to Time and The Wall Street Journal. Here’s a sneak peek at his keynote for PRNews’ upcoming Measurement Conference.

For years, PR measurement suffered as the forgotten stepchild of communications. It’s a bit different now, measurement advocates say. In anticipation of PRNEWS’ Measurement Conference later this month, we asked several people scheduled to speak at the Conference about C-suite expectations of measurement and what they see ahead for measurement.

In each edition of PRNEWS we highlight takeaways from select articles as well as important notes for subscribers and additions to the PR News Subscriber Resources Center. This month we have takeaways from several articles and a reminder to PRNEWS subscribers to take advantage of the 33 percent discount on all PRNEWS events and webinars.

Most measurement initiatives proceed in three stages. First, you need to define your business goals, then you need to determine the key performance indicators that align with them. And then comes perhaps the most important, and difficult, part: Communicating the outcomes to senior leaders in language they understand and tied to the goals they are prioritizing. Here are some sample KPIs linked to three business goals popular with the C-suite.

By most accounts, PR is making progress on its measurement journey. Unfortunately, many PR teams focus solely on counting impressions to assess the effectiveness of earned media. PR data science company AirPR argues more context is necessary to form a truer picture of Share of Voice and how it contributes to business goals. Today it’s releasing a product to facilitate adding that context.

Admit it, PR measurement has a PR problem. It’s particularly bad because some communicators resist working with data. Yet communications’ reliance on data is growing. The good news is data expert John Glinski says communicators need not be data experts to garner answers with data to important questions.

With March Madness permeating the zeitgeist in a few weeks, we asked some of the 2018 PR News Rising PR Stars to answer our roundtable questions this month. We asked, “What gets you mad about PR and communications?” And, “What can be done about it?” Their edited responses follow.