Measurement

Without a clear understanding of why you measure, you may need to break with the past and start anew. That’s what we call “clean slate public relations.”

Content without a great a story to tell will fall flat, attendees learned during the AirPR Growth PR conference in San Francisco earlier in the year. Other takeaways centered on the use of data and analytics and the importance of technology for communications, writes ESET PR manager Anna Keeve.

Whatever your situation, consistently learning the ins and outs of data and applying them to your work can be tricky. As measurement gradually becomes a larger part of PR, there is a whole slew of terminology you may be expected to know, and it may rightfully feel intimidating. Here are three data terms you need to know and how they apply to the communications field.

As the year ends and numerous recaps of trends are discussed, a rise in the esteem of and necessity for communications measurement may be under-appreciated. A new survey from PR News and PublicRelay, a media monitoring and analytics firm, provides evidence. An overwhelming majority of communicators say upper management is asking for more data-backed decisions, the survey says.

Members of the IPR’s measurement commission and PR News got together with communications pros for a discussion on Twitter, using hashtag #PRChat, to discuss some of the challenges around measurement and what best practices to take into the new year.

The future appears bright for PR as advertising will cede its authority, a panel of veteran PR executives says. Yet PR pros must be prepared to grab the mantle, bolstering their knowledge and use of technology and working strategically. In addition, communicators must continue to build relationships with clients.

It comes up in most conversations and lingers, unresolved: how can I find and then retain great talent? During a panel I moderated recently on the future of PR, this topic was discussed at length,… Continued

Members of the Commission on Public Relations Measurement and Evaluation at the Institute for Public Relations point to the biggest measurement myths they’ve seen emerge as the world of PR measurement evolves. For a deeper dive on the future of PR measurement, join members of IPR and PR News for a Twitter chat on Tuesday, Dec. 4, using hashtag #PRNews.

PR practitioners understand the need for proof and empirical validation through analysis, measurement and evaluation. However under pressure to deliver results and meet targets, they will naturally default to the simple (sometimes simplistic) over the complex. This contributes to evaluation stasis.

In our continuing series for Measurement Month, professor Ana Adi offers tips on measuring the use of AR and VR in communications efforts. The key, she writes, is to avoid obsession with collecting and measuring data that means little to your business. Instead focus on what success looks like and the behaviors and attitudes you are trying to influence.