Measuring PR impact is one of the most difficult yet most important parts of the practice. Communicators must be able to show how their work impacted broader business goals, but because PR works in subtle, sometimes mysterious ways, it can be difficult to draw straight lines. But measure we must, and as technology improves, there are more ways than ever to measure PR.  

I asked a simple question on LinkedIn: “Nerds only: What is your favorite way of measuring PR impact?” 

Obviously, there is no one right way. It all depends on what you’re trying to accomplish. But the question yielded dozens of responses from PR pros from a variety of disciplines, many approaching it in very different ways. 

Here’s a sampling of some of their answers. I’d love to hear yours in the comments. 

Responses have been lightly edited for style, clarity and brevity. 

Lynnea Olivarez, founder and community manager, Ticket to Biotech 

While quantitative metrics are critical, qualitative analysis is underrated and also imperative to tell the whole story.

A few philosophical examples: 

• Should a NYT A1 mention be weighted the same as a trade publication feature? 
• What about a CEO who comments that more employees are saying hi to her in the hallway and just “seem happier”? Yes, we hope we could back that up (or in some cases, disprove it!) with an engagement survey, but I’d argue that there’s tremendous validation in your CEO’s belief that your comms or corp affairs function had something to do with that. 
• Or in my industry (biopharma), patient community relationships are incredibly important. If the leading organization in one’s target area publicly gushes about your company, that’s uber valuable but how do you put a numeric value on it? 

Mike Nachshen, president and owner, Fortis Communications 
In the B2G space, where the sales cycle can take months, if not years, measurement nirvana is when you learn that a customer read an article you placed or saw content you created, and then asked the sales team questions based on the work you did. 

Gabriel De La Rosa Cols, principal, Intelligent Relations

Publication reach + spikes in website traffic.

I’ve had bad experiences in the past trying to tie PR results to spikes in sales or lead generation, as sales teams will most of the time claim those for themselves (as is their right).

Most of my clients measure the impact of PR by comparing earned media ROI versus what it would have cost them to pay for sponsored articles in those publications.

I would argue that for a company to measure the true impact of PR, it would need to gather data on all of the above. 

Lindsay Lapchuk, fractional PR and communications consultant 

There are so many vanity metrics in PR.

One approach I’m big on is “penetration” or “drumbeat” lists.

Do your research and create two lists (to start):

1.The most influential journalists in your space.
2. The most important media outlets for reaching your audience.

Then track your outreach and progress to understand what it takes to move journalists along the spectrum from “never heard of you” to “trusted relationship.”

• How many pitches does it take it get your first email opened? 
• Which angles earned you the engagement?  
• What type of engagement did you get?  
• Did you land an informational interview? Was your exec sourced in a story?  
• Was your company featured?  
• Has the journalist written about your company more than once?  
• What percentage of journalists or outlets can you move along the spectrum in a one-year period? Two-year period?  

Using a tracker like this, you can not only visualize the impact you’re having similar to a sales funnel, but you can also showcase the value of the long game to your C-suite. 

Anya Nelson, SVP and public relations practice lead, Scratch Marketing + Media 

As an agency PR pro, it depends on a client and their business objectives. But in general, I always encourage each client to come up with a PR quality index of some sorts. It should include several metrics or criteria but not too many so that reporting/measurement doesn’t become this giant exercise of its own.  

Metrics we typically measure by: core messages inclusion in the article; SME quotes; publication tier or domain authority; real estate (e.g., headline/first paragraph placement); prominence (full feature vs. paragraph vs. mention); links; branded image or logo; whether it’s covered by a reporter or publication on a “bullseye” list; etc.  

Then each category converts to a point system – e.g., 3 points for a feature, 2 points for a paragraph and 1 point for a mention. Then data science does its magic and boom, we have math that carries us throughout the year and lets us benchmark our progress. Outside of the quality index, we look at things like SOV and pure coverage volume (number of articles secured), but SOV is my least favorite metric because it’s the one you’re least in control of. The one I love the most, even though it’s anecdotal, is HDYHAU (how did you hear about us?) — always, ask your client’s customers this question! 

Melissa Musiker, interim head of communications, UPSIDE Foods 

I always start with the question “what does success look like?” and build a program laser focused on those goals. KPI’s are built at the beginning of a planning process with a focus on quality versus quantity and outcomes, NEVER vanity metrics like reach or impressions alone. Vanity metrics focused on quantity must always be qualified with outcomes that assess quality. What did we want the audience to think, feel and do? How did our work support key business goals?  

For example, if the goal was to attract investor interest, did the PR program lead to qualified investor outreach? If the goal was to attract talent, did we place stories in the outlets that our talent trusts and did that lead to a better applicant pool and correlate with a higher acceptance of top choice talent? Did our key messages pull through into stories? Did we get invited to speak at the right events improved the reputation of our leaders or business with the audiences that mattered most? 

Elliott Burr, senior director of corporate, crisis and executive communications, Juniper Networks 

*Part* of our comms function is to provide air cover for sales, so I’ve always loved it when I hear anecdotal feedback from our sales teams around the world that they were able to start or advance a conversation with a prospect who mentioned they read an article we drove. I’m still figuring out a way to quantify “when PR turns cold calls into lukewarm calls,” but it’s certainly an outcome we look to influence. 

Shane Collins, former brand and communications lead, Grammarly, exploring new opportunities 

Pitch conversion. Of planned/opportunistic pitches, which are converted to coverage and which pitches aren’t. This helps 1) calibrate a brand’s POV, 2) fine-tunes storytelling programs, much like social media content testing, and 3) underscores impact over effort. 

Mark Nolan, director of marketing, Modulate 

The best metric: Days since CEO/investor/client asked “why aren’t we in this [insert top-tier media outlet] piece?”  

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I envision Mark Weiner reading this piece from his slice of heaven and then calling to applaud my latest work, to ask what I meant by a certain phrase, and by the way, is there anything he could do to help me out this week?

In the two decades I’ve had the honor of knowing Mark, I could always count on him to give the most honest feedback, the most genuine support and without fail a conversation filled with belly laughs and intellectual wit.

Mark’s passing on December 10 is a terrible loss, a life taken too soon. I know Mark wanted to do more and be a part of more great things.  In my view, years ago he had surpassed so many communicators in his contributions to the trade.

He enriched countless lives, personally and professionally. His professional legacy will be one of formidable contributions around PR measurement, evangelizing for research and outcome-based communication strategies.

Early in my career, Mark took me under his wing, connecting me with communicators and media execs whom to this day I count as friends and advisors.

Mark sponsored me throughout my career, giving me an extra boost of confidence, sometimes sprinkled with unsolicited advice (he was always right). As a member of the PR Daily Advisory board, he redefined what it meant to contribute to a board, going above and beyond the original list of responsibilities.

Mark’s most recent book, “PR Technology Data and Insights: Igniting a Positive Return on Your Communications Investment,” is a tangible leave-behind for students and practitioners who appreciate the science behind the communications practice. He made measurement accessible.

He cared about our profession and throughout his career advocated for the role of communications.

I will greatly miss my chats with Mark, his unique insights and ideas, and, most of all, our friendship.

********************************************

A memorial service for Mark Weiner will be held in January 2024. Read more about his life and legacy here. 

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Sometimes it can feel like you’re working in a vacuum, unsure of how your peers are handling the same communications challenges you’re working through. 

Now, Ragan’s 6th annual Communications Benchmark Survey offers you the chance chance to gain unique insight into the industry at large – and how your communications department compares. 

Please take 10 minutes to complete the 2024 Communications Benchmark Survey from Ragan’s Communications Leadership Council. Your responses will help inform the state of communications and identify needs, challenges and progress among communicators like you. 

Your answers are strictly confidential, and the results will be aggregated and anonymized.  

In return for your participation, you will receive an executive briefing of the survey findings — full of timely,  proprietary insights that will inform your decisions and help you navigate what’s ahead in 2024. 

Thanks for contributing! Please respond before the survey closes on January 5, 2024. . 

Take the survey now.  

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It’s 2023 – you know you need to be measuring your social media success. 

But even more than a decade into the field of social media, that’s still easier said than done. Even experienced, clever social media professionals can sometimes default to the easy path of proving value through engagement and impressions. 

But true social media measurement must go far beyond those metrics. Tina McCorkindale, PhD, APR, and president and CEO of the Institute for Public Relations, recently presented on “Social Media Measurement Toolbox: Top Recs for Tracking Reach, Results and ROI.” She also emphasized the importance of avoiding what she calls “success theater.”  

“What happens is you promote the success theater where you’re like, ‘look at all these impressions of what we did and look at all the amazing things that we do,’” McCorkindale said. “But yet, then you don’t deliver it the next month, because if the definition you have for engagement doesn’t actually measure engagement, then it’s problematic. And then all of a sudden, it results in a loss of credibility for the data.” 

Here’s how to avoid sitting through that familiar play. 

Use common sense metrics 

Sometimes people give numbers that seem impossibly massive – and they are. McCorkindale gave the example that 7.8 billion (with a B!) people read about the Washington NFL football team’s training camp in 2014. 

Does it seem wild that more than every person on earth read about this camp? That’s because it is. Make sure your stats pass the sniff test, first and foremost, even if that big number makes you feel good. 

Move beyond outputs and outtakes to outcomes 

It’s easy to measure outputs – it’s the number of things we do to try to get a result. And it’s easy to measure outtakes – what people did with your output, including things like engagement, follows and so on. It’s hardest of all to measure outcomes: how you lifted your overall brand through your social media work. That requires looking at variables like sales, trust, reputation and more. 

Outcomes aren’t something you’re going to typically find on a social media dashboard, McCorkindale advises. You’re going to need to do surveys, interviews, look at stock price and sales, and more. It might be out of your comfort zone as a social media practitioner, but this is a time to make friends with other departments and grow. 

Let goals determine the data you collect 

The outcomes you hope to create determines what data you collect. If you want to impact sales with your social, you need to look at overall sales data tied to specific dates that used specific redemption codes, for example. But if you want to improve brand reputation, you need to get out there and talk to people. 

Let your goals guide you. 

Watch the full presentation below. 

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Lucas Miller is founder of Echelon Copy. 

One of the biggest challenges for any PR professional is to prove the return on investment (ROI) of their work. The link between a traditional media appearance and an increase in sales can usually be inferred, but proving the direct link isn’t always so simple.

With digital PR, on the other hand, you have a better opportunity to show that your efforts are delivering a tangible result for your client. The increased visibility that digital PR brings to your business allows potential customers to easily find you, learn more about your brand, and transition to loyal customers.

This form of digital footprint is harder to track, but there are some unique ways to figure the ROI of digital PR. By incorporating other ways to measure digital PR’s ROI, you can showcase your full worth to your clients.

1. Domain authority

Yes, domain authority also has a lot to do with SEO. But digital PR and SEO are closely intertwined. Domain authority measures a website’s relevance and perceived authority with search engines for a particular topic. The higher the score, the more visibility the site has, and the more traffic it is likely to receive as a result.

While not an official search engine ranking factor, Moz’s Domain Authority can help you better gauge how you stack up against the competition. Notably, much of your domain authority is derived from obtaining high-quality external links (a key focus in digital PR).

By pitching to relevant and authoritative sources, you can grow your domain authority in a manner that delivers meaningful results for your clients.

2. Brand awareness

Like traditional PR, digital PR prioritizes the reputation of your brand and building relationships with your audience.

As Relevance explains, “One of the ways digital PR helps is by providing people with an opportunity to get to know you and your brand. Done right, this opportunity shows up in a low-pressure, low-stakes encounter. If a target customer (a person most likely to want and need your services) does not know your company exists, they cannot even consider that you might be able to solve their problem.”

If target customers are unaware of your brand, new customers will be harder to come by. Digital PR provides a pathway for potential customers to become loyal ones because of the increase in visibility and credibility it brings to your brand. If your brand has become more recognizable to the public, chances are your digital PR efforts are paying off.

3. Branded search lift

As awareness for a brand increases from digital PR efforts, it can actually change customers’ search habits. For example, for an automotive brand, this could be seen in searches shifting from broader category searches like “best hybrid cars” to searches for a specific vehicle brand or even model.

This is a relatively easy metric to track through Google Analytics. Simply track how many search queries include the name of your client each month. As digital PR efforts take effect, you should see the number of branded search queries increase month over month. With increased brand awareness, more people begin searching for the brand itself, because they have come to know and trust it.

Tracking brand search queries can also help you uncover trends and public perception related to your client. For example, if you were to notice an uptick of searches with the phrase “[company name] scam,” this would warrant further investigation and a discussion with your client to determine why this has become a topic of concern.

4. Share of voice

Share of voice (SoV) is another metric that can help you gauge whether your digital PR efforts are helping shape online discussions. Share of voice is a way to measure how much of the online conversation is dominated by your brand, compared to its niche as a whole. While this is most often done with social media mentions, it could also be used with web traffic and other metrics.

As Rebecca Riserbato explains for HubSpot, “To calculate share of voice, divide your brand’s measures by the total market measures. This could be your social mentions, paid advertising clicks, or website traffic. To find these numbers, you’ll need to use some of your marketing tools. You can look at your social media automation tool, for instance, to count how many mentions your brand has. Then, you can calculate how many mentions your competitors have. After you add all those together, you can divide your mentions by the total to find the share of voice percentage.”

Measuring share of voice can give you a channel by channel breakdown of where your clients’ brands have the greatest awareness, and where they can improve. Social listening tools can help you dive even deeper to understand the sentiment behind brand mentions to better gauge PR effectiveness.

Prove your worth

While digital PR campaigns can often contribute to direct sales, any public relations professional worth their salt knows that PR is typically a long-term game. By incorporating these other metrics in your ROI measurements, you can gain a big picture understanding of your campaigns’ effectiveness and prove your true value to your clients.

The post 4 unique (and lesser-known) ways to measure the ROI of digital PR appeared first on PR Daily.

Data can be a treasure trove providing information that unlocks opportunities, sparks new campaigns, piques curiosity and so much more. In the wrong hands, it can create problems instead of solutions.

Mark Weiner, strategic measurement advisor at the University of Florida: Professional in Residence, said at PR Daily’s “PR Measurement Workshop: Dispelling Myths to Prove Value-and Improve PR Performance” in June that, “data is means to an end.”

What do you want data to do for you? That depends on your overall goals.

During the conference, David Cantor, deputy director of measurement and insights at the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, spoke about how to wield data for good.

Cantor said that evaluating data can’t be done in a silo and it’s not about simply looking at the numbers and asking for results.

“Building this (communications) continuum allows you to do real evaluation,” Cantor said of using data as opposed to being frustrated that an end result didn’t work based on data alone. Get curious and always ask what you learned, he added.

Too often, Weiner said, people claim that PR is an art form and thus immeasurable. The art begs to differ, Weiner explained.

“Data is the language of business and will enable your internal clients to understand what you do and a little bit more about how you do it.”

But part of our challenge is both listening to and educating those internal clients on what data is valuable.

Think about decision-makers and the next people below them and reach those types of people. Find unique ways to reach those people,” Weiner counseled.

From agency leaders to CEOs and beyond, there is a need to use data to demonstrate ROI in a way that demonstrates value to those overseeing PR departments and allocate funding, Weiner said.

However, the part where communications professionals often draw a blank is understanding which metrics leadership values.

Weiner designed an executive audit, which features interviews with roughly 2,000 executives who shared what measurements they value most. The audit revealed that the most valued forms of measurement are delivering key messages in target media and raising awareness.

Attitude changes is also data valued on the executive list. Trailing behind that are sales and volume of clippings.

“What these all have in common is that they are reasonable, meaningful and measurable,” Weiner said. Some metrics that executives value, like sales or revenue generation, are certainly meaningful. The difference is that they aren’t always reasonable to deliver via PR in a short period of time — and luckily, executives recognize that, Weiner said.

Weiner said that PR pros should have conversations with their executives about what they value most and least.

“And whether it’s reasonable, meaningful and measurable,” he said. “And when it comes to reasonable, that’s your opportunity to negotiate about what’s reasonable because they might not know what’s reasonable, but you do.”

Weiner explained that when interpreting data, insights, technology and subject matter expertise all matter. If you remove any part of that equation, your results could be skewed.

“If you have technology without subject matter expertise, you can have a lot (of data) but it might be all wrong,” he said. “Or if you have subject matter expertise without statistical acumen, it can be inaccurate.

Weiner said that data should be shared within an organization to a consumer insights group, market research team or some group in one’s company who “are eager for data.”

“By introducing your data to them you’ll be helping them out and then in return, they may be able to help you make sense of the data,” Weiner said.

Sherri Kolade is a writer at Ragan Communications. When she is not with her family, she enjoys watching Alfred Hitchcock-style films, reading and building an authentically curated life that includes more than occasionally finding something deliciously fried. Follow her on LinkedIn. Have a great PR story idea? Email her at sherrik@ragan.com. 

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Measurement is often one of PR pros’ least favorite tasks.

Mary Elizabeth Germaine, chief data & strategy officer at Ketchum, thinks she knows why that is.

“It’s people coming from a place of fear quite often on the measurement side of things, because they’re just like, ‘well, what if it doesn’t prove that something sold?’” she told PR Daily during a recent interview.

But she pointed out that simply selling things often isn’t the role of PR at all.

Germaine bucks the trend of measurement-averse PR professionals. A self-described nerd, she’s worked at Ketchum for more than 20 years and has seen the data and analytics team grow from six to more than 100 worldwide.

That’s because data is a vital part of Ketchum’s overall strategy. Not just on the backend, in evaluating a campaign, but also to guide strategy from Day 1.

“It’s probably like a 50-50 split between the work that we do in terms of planning, and then how we measure,” Germaine said. “And how we measure is going well beyond just counting clips, and measuring reach and impressions and even beyond message delivery.”

Using data in planning

Germaine describes today’s media landscape as a “surround sound of content and storytelling.” The PR practitioner’s job is to break through that cacophony in a way that’s worth listening to.

At the most basic level, figuring out how and where to tell your story starts with knowing who your audience is and how they spend their time.

“If you’re communicating with a super busy working mom, how you have to tell your story and where you have to tell that story is going to be very different than if you’re communicating to a 23-year-old who’s just out of school and entering the job market,” she explained. “What the things that are occupying their mind space, are two very, are very, very different.”

That’s where the research and data analysis comes in.

Germaine explained that recently, Ketchum worked on a campaign with the National Egg Board. This was a tricky assignment: eggs already have a penetration rate of more than 90% of American households. Those who don’t buy eggs already are unlikely to do so in the future. The goal was to increase egg purchasing by existing customers.

Initially, the client was interested in partnering with a certain celebrity to drive their message. But when Germaine’s team analyzed her audience, they found that her audience had a low proportion of current egg buyers. But they were able to identify another influencer who already had a following of egg lovers and engage with her instead.

The result? A high ROI at a lower cost than the initial celebrity would have demanded. All because they took the time to properly analyze the audience.

Using data in evaluation

Ketchum uses a proprietary tech stack to profile their audiences and determine ROI. But Germaine acknowledges not all PR pros will have access to these bespoke tools.

That doesn’t mean you can’t measure.

“You launch a PR campaign today. You get your client sales data, do you start seeing an uptick in sales or uptick in search as a proxy metric for people responding positively to what you’re doing? So even in the absence of the technology and the data that we have, anybody within the industry can start pulling disparate data sets together and looking to see if things are moving in the same direction at the same time,” Germaine explained.

Indeed, she believes that the biggest myth in the PR industry is that it’s too hard to measure the outcomes of the work we do. And that feeds back into the fear of failure she mentioned earlier.

“I would argue, though, however, that some of your best learning can come from, actually, failure. And understanding what doesn’t work can make you that much more effective and stronger.”

She also stressed that sales are not always the right metric to look at when gauging how well your campaign performed.

“A lot of times, it’s more kind of upper funnel, creating a halo, a positive brand image, getting people to feel really good about a brand so that all the direct marketing efforts, like the advertising and all that precision marketing is more effective, because PRs created this kind of positive environment for the brand,” she said.

Getting clients to ‘take a step to the right’

Germaine said that PR as an industry does not always do the work of sitting down the clients and setting the proper measurement objectives at the beginning of a project. But that doesn’t mean going from “0 to 100,” she said, but rather getting clients to take small step toward more effective analysis.

“So if all they’re measuring volume and reach, what can we introduce today? That builds that out a little bit. And then once we get more of the qualitative, the message delivery, the prominence of those types of engagements, things like that, then what’s the next step to their right, to make it more robust?”

The important thing is to take the time to have conversations with a client’s internal teams to figure out what data they’re already capturing and how it can best be used. They might already have all the data they need — but they need your help and expertise to connect it to their goals and activities.

Looking to the future

Germaine lights up when asked about the future of measurement.

The possibilities of automation — not necessarily AI, she stresses — to help analysts focus on understanding the data more, are exciting to her. As is a new wave of young professionals entering the field with a keen interest in data.

“I can’t believe how many people are now … specializing in the data side of comms over comms just in general at this at this point in time. And I think it’s because it’s more of that critical thinking skill set that’s being brought to bear and understanding really what the data means,” she enthused.

In other words: the future looks bright for those who keep their eyes on the numbers.

Allison Carter is executive editor of PR Daily. Follow her on Twitter or LinkedIn.

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Scott Ward is principal at Fifth Estate Communications, a full-service firm specializing in strategy, storytelling and stakeholder outreach, and a co-chair of the PRSA National Capital Chapter Association and Nonprofit Committee.

Untold dollars and hours — not to mention tons of enamel from gnashed teeth — are spent each year trying to answer one of our profession’s questions of the ages: How do you measure return on investment for public relations and strategic communications?

Is it clips? Is it hits? Is it engagement? How do we know they mattered? How do we know if our campaign is moving the needle?

Actually, the answer is a lot simpler than those in the cottage industry of creating complicated metrics to measure success would have you believe. If you’re not sure of your ROI, then you’re not measuring the right thing.

At the most fundamental level, all strategic communications is — or should be — a means to an end. Too often, we get in the habit of treating PR as an end in and of itself. Doing so by its very nature puts us in a defensive position when a boss or a colleague or a board member pointedly asks, “So what?”

Whether you’re working in-house or as a consultant, what we should be benchmarking against is not what’s in the communications plan, but rather what’s in our organization’s broader strategic plan, be it formal or informal; engraved in a tablet or a living document on the Google Drive.

Take our sibling profession, marketing. While we may scowl at the “four Ps” and roll our eyes at the day-long packaging summits, you’ll notice that very rarely is anyone asking about the ROI. That’s because of what they measure.

During my time as marketing and media relations manager for a sports and entertainment arena in Texas (think Disney On Ice, WWE, Harlem Globetrotters and, yes, championship bull riding), from the front office to the ticket counter, only one thing mattered: butts in seats.

So if I ran a great publicity campaign, with a pile of clips to show for the effort, there was still only one thing the promoter cared about at the end of the night: Did you make me money? If the show made the numbers, the campaign was a success. If it didn’t, the promoter would say something like, “Great. I can use those clips to feed my family until I get to work with someone who knows what they’re doing.” (Promoters can be really harsh, if a bit dramatic.)

And while lucre is not the end game for all or even most types of organizations, something is, and that something needs to be spelled out clearly in the organization’s strategic plan (if it’s not, that’s a whole big other mess that you need to solve first). Which makes ROI straightforward: If the organization achieved its something — the clear goal laid out in the strategic plan — then the campaign worked. If the goal wasn’t met, the campaign didn’t come through.

An example of this might be passing a piece of legislation, which has a lot of moving parts and requires that a number of different disciplines work together. Communications tactics might include a district-by-district op-ed campaign. No matter how many we place, at the end of the day, the legislation passes or it doesn’t, and we’re part of the greater whole of succeeding or not.

Of course, saying this and putting it into practice are two very different things. It takes a sometimes seismic shift in organizational culture to get there:

• Start with who’s talking to whom. Is the communications team at the organizational decision-making table from the start? If not, that needs to change. To be accountable to metrics, you have to have a hand in shaping them.
• Next, make the clear and compelling case for your theory of impact. There are numerous ways to do this, but a good place to start is the question “why?” If someone says the goal should be a million likes, ask why. Is that really going to make something happen? Could the resources we spend on trying to achieve that be more effectively directed somewhere else?
• Finally, it’s time for the trust falls. This approach requires that everyone take ownership of the entire organizational pie, not just their own slice. If we didn’t get where we wanted to go, maybe there was a fundamental flaw in execution. Maybe the goal was unrealistic. Either way, we shouldn’t try to hide behind a mountain of social media engagement, and the boss has to come halfway and own the management challenges. The good news for PR people is that we have the ace in the hole. Trust begins with dialogue, and dialogue is our bread and butter.

Bottom line? When communications plans walk in lockstep with overall strategic plans, the results actually do speak for themselves.

The post This is the only PR measurement that actually matters appeared first on PR Daily.

While communicators regularly work with copyrighted material and intellectual property, many in the field still have different understandings of what constitutes fair use, the distinction between copyrights and trademarks and more.

That’s why Ragan partnered with the International Association for Measurement and Evaluation of Communication (AMEC) on their inaugural Copyright Benchmarking survey, which will capture how our industry’s understanding of this important but complex topic measures up.

Please fill out this brief survey by Wednesday, May 3. Your input will be reflected in the results, which will be unveiled at AMEC’s Global Summit on Measurement and Evaluation, May 15-17 in Miami, Florida.

The post Take Ragan and AMEC’s Copyright Benchmarking survey appeared first on PR Daily.

According to Ragan’s 2023 Communications Benchmark Report, measurement is one of the most challenging aspects of the industry. Thirty-three percent of respondents said a lack of measurement is one of the things most holding them back from producing better comms.

Even if you’ve started a robust measurement program (good job!) and have data, there can be that niggling doubt.

Are you asking the right questions to measure what you’re trying to understand? Is the data you’re getting showing what you believe it does?

If you’ve struggled with this, you’re wrestling with the question of validity.

As Tina McCorkindale, president and CEO of the Institute for Public Relations, explained at Ragan’s 2022 Strategic Communications Conference, “Validity is if you’re measuring what you intend to measure.”

This can come into play in a variety of different areas of measurement. It could be in your own survey questions. It could be in the data you’re looking at. Or it could be measurements you’re being offered by outside parties.

Validating external data

“If you deal with vendors, question how they’re measuring things,” she cautioned.

Many vendors might offer you an all-in-one score that measures a huge, abstract concept like “trust” or “brand awareness.” These scores seek to condense these difficult ideas into one score that seems easy to digest.

But if you don’t know what they actually mean, what’s the point of it all?

It’s up to you to ensure you understand what’s going into that score.

“If they’re like, ‘it’s proprietary, I can’t tell you, ’say ‘bye,’” McCorkindale said. Question their definitions. Don’t let scores that seem simple become a black box that seems to offer clarity but only raises more questions — especially for the executives you answer to.

Because you can be sure they’ll ask what the scores mean. And if you don’t have a good answer they won’t be pleased.

The same logic applies to influencers. If they offer you an easy-to-digest “influencer score” to prove they have a huge reach, ask what precisely that means. In many cases, it might just be based on the number of followers they have.

“There’s a lot of bots that have a lot of followers too, FYI,” McCorkindale noted.

Validating your own data

But you also need to apply that same rigor to ensure your own studies, surveys, focus groups or other measurement activities are also getting the results you most need.

McCorkindale uses the example of trust to show how complex it can be to accurately measure a concept we think we all understand. You shouldn’t simply ask, “Do you trust this organization?” Rather, you need to break the concept of trust down and ask pointed questions to best understand sentiment, as these matrices show.

“A simple concept like trust is complicated. Measures like reputation are complicated. So make sure you know how your organization is defining that,” McCorkindale advised.

And understanding these definitions is vital to ensuring you can take that data and use it to tell a compelling story to guide strategy and secure resources. If your executive leadership is confused about what your terms mean or isn’t convinced of their validity, you’re likely not going to get the buy-in you need to thrive.

That, in turn, can promote what McCorkindale calls “success theater,” where the numbers indicate you’re doing great so you pat yourself on the back — even  if there’s no real reason to.

Don’t just ask if you trust x. Ask multiple questions about multiple factors.

“A simple concept like trust is complicated. Measures like reputation are complicated. So make sure you know how your organization is defining that.”

“If you don’t understand, then you promote success theater.”

Remember: Your measurement strategy is only as good if you’re measuring the right things. Measuring the right things requires a proactive approach to data validation, but embracing this approach  can help you earn a seat at the table and guide more successful comms efforts overall.

And we can all applaud for that.

Allison Carter is executive editor of PR Daily. Follow her on Twitter or LinkedIn.

The post Why you need to consider validity in your measurement strategy appeared first on PR Daily.

The Barcelona Principles sounds like some kind of United Nations agreement. But it’s actually a set of simple, practical guidelines to help all communicators better measure their efforts and communicate their results.

Created by the International Association for Measurement and Evaluation of Communication (AMEC), the framework is now in its third iteration. Simply put, it’s a way of thinking about measurement to better understand and communicate outcomes in a way that creates real, lasting change.

The framework is “Focused heavily on measuring what matters to drive continuous improvement within an organization rather than solely improving only the value of communication,” according to Johna Burke, global managing director of AMEC.

If you’re thinking this all sounds boring and dry, you’re wrong.

Measurement is what helps us get better at our jobs. It helps us learn  what wild ideas paid off — and what fizzled. It allows us refine our strategies and tactics in ways that truly serve our audiences rather than just our egos. Measuring equips us with powerful stories to tell our leadership and help us guide them in decision-making.

Having a firm framework like the Barcelona Principles helps keep you, and your organization, accountable. So let’s go through the principles, with commentary from Burke, via Ragan Insider.

1. Setting measurable goals is an absolute prerequisite to communication planning, measurement and evaluation

If you don’t buy into this one, nothing that follows here will matter.

“Goals start with the change you want to see and should be founded in research,” Burke said. “Have those good benchmarks.”

2. Measurement and evaluation should identify outputs, outcomes and potential impact

You’ll see a theme emerge throughout the principles: you need multiple kinds of information and goals working in tandem to create a clear picture. In this case, you need to link together what you’re putting in, what you hope to get out and what that can accomplish overall.

“Making sure you’re aligned with your organization’s overarching goals and objectives, how your organization makes and spends money, is really going to be critical in being able to make sure you’re showing the impact that your organization needs and wants to see from you,” Burke reminded us.

3. Outcomes and impact should be identified for stakeholders, society & the organization

Repeat forever: “There is no one right way to measure,” as Burke put it. Determine what is relevant for the impacts you want to measure, beyond sales and services provided, such as employee retention, lead gen or change in attitudes.

4. Communication measurement and evaluation should include both qualitative and quantitative analysis

Again, it’s about seeing the big picture. You need numbers to tell your stories and understand your successes, but you also need to talk to people and get their thoughts, impressions and viewpoints. Otherwise you’re just telling half the story.

5. AVEs are not the value of communication

Advertising value equivalent is a flawed metric … but it’s one many organizations still turn to.

“The better you start with educating [others about] why AVEs are not the value of communication, it can only go to help expand your own reputation and the credibility you have when driving your own efforts,” Burke advised.

Instead of AVEs, try measuring quality of coverage or relevance of the coverage relative to its space.

6. Holistic communication measurement and evaluation includes all relevant online and offline channels

Don’t rely purely on the native metrics from your websites or social media channels to give you measurements. Again, keep your eye on the big picture. As Burke puts it, ignoring offline signals carries dangers:

“It puts you at risk of delivering results that have bias in them, making your organization vulnerable of making decisions that aren’t aligned with what their overall community are looking to do,” she said.

7. Communications measurement and evaluation are rooted in integrity and transparency to drive learning and insights communications

Our data is only as good as we  are. Without an honest, well-intentioned attempt to learn from our past actions, we’ll never improve.

Good words to live by, in measurement and in life.

Allison Carter is executive editor of PR Daily. Follow her on Twitter or LinkedIn.

The post How to take your measurement to the next level in 2023 appeared first on PR Daily.

Over the last 11 years, I’ve put a lot of clients in the press. Most of them have been in the political space; but since starting my business, my team has also worked with businesses, non-profits, and specialized professionals seeking to boost their credibility and recognition.

Our clients have sought all sorts of metrics of success. Some simply want more press; some are targeting specific types of press. Still others have personalized metrics -– one company CEO was pleased that retired generals responded favorably to his op-ed.

But it was only recently that I was asked for reach as a metric of success. This isn’t “potential reach,” a manipulative metric used by far too many PR professionals and PR-tangential companies (I once had an op-ed get a few thousand reads -– but the “potential reach” was in the millions). This is actual reach -– the number of people who read, heard, or watched the client’s press coverage.

Without a media outlet’s internal metrics, it’s impossible to determine total reach. Tools like SEM Rush offer some of that capability. But the more I think about it, that may be an academic question because reach just isn’t a very valuable metric of success for a PR and media campaign.

Reach vs. other metrics

Reach is a better metric of success than potential reach. However, it is very limited because a) again, it’s impossible to track all reach without an outlet’s internal data, and b) “reach” is most valuable when reaching the right people with the right message at the right time.

There are other metrics which, depending upon the circumstances, are more important than reach, especially for clients who understand that the best PR campaigns are long-term investments:

• The SEO value of press. For clients who rely heavily on Google searches for traffic, smaller metrics such as downstream media coverage (like material being republished or repurposed by other outlets) and backlink quality can create not just reach, but the opportunity for exponentially more reach through an effective SEO strategy.
• Press credibility compared to client brand reputation. Putting a little-known client into Newsweek, Insider, or USA Today sends their message into the national space, regardless of “reach.” And it gives them automatic credibility with stakeholders and other press outlets.
• Creating a call to action. Reaching 100,000 people doesn’t matter if none of them are interested in taking the client’s preferred action. Reaching 10,000 people who are likely to take action is 10% of the audience size – but may have 10 times the impact. This is especially true for political or activist campaigns.
• Starting people down the sales funnel. For clients seeking buyers, donors, or investors, putting more of the right people on their website is far, far more important than simply “reaching” them.

Press value is limited without effective marketing

But even the most effective press campaign is limited without the other side of the branding coin: effective marketing that repurposes press placements to reach other audiences with variations on the same message.

“Without effective marketing, you’re leaving a great deal of a media placement’s value on the table,” said Pinkston president Christian Pinkston. “Social media and email marketing, improved SEO, and repurposed website content are all part of turning press into messaging that reaches more people over time.”

“Reaching” people just means they’ve been touched once. The best clients know what PR professionals and salespeople know: that people need to be reached many times with different message variations before they are likely to take the desired action.

Dustin Siggins is a business columnist and founder of the publicity firm Proven Media Solutions.

The post Measuring PR success: How much does reach matter? appeared first on PR Daily.

When you’re working in communications, the main goal is always to get to the heart of the story. To that end, having supporting numbers that help you illustrate the point you’re trying to make will always result in a fuller, more vivid picture.

Michael Kaye, Global Head of Communications at OkCupid, knows that even communicators who mainly work in words can use data strategically to create a fuller story and find new stories within the sea of numbers and responses. Ahead of Ragan’s Future of Communications Conference this November, Kaye shared some of his thoughts on data in storytelling.

“For me, communications is just as much about strategy as it is about execution,” Kaye said. “I like taking a hands-on approach. That includes how I think about data when it comes to telling the OkCupid story.”

Building a relationship with your data team

Kaye relayed an anecdote about when he joined OkCupid in 2019. One of the first things he did upon joining the comms team of the global dating platform was sit down with the data and analytics team and learn how they work.

“After getting into the numbers with our data team, I spent months learning about the data and how it could be analyzed and used,” said Kaye. “Now, I’m the one using that same data every day to support our marketing and communications efforts. In today’s world, there’s no workaround or excuse to not use the data we’re provided. We need to find time for the data.”

Rethinking what you consider data in your storytelling

Michael Kaye, Global Head of Communications, OkCupid

Kaye urges communicators to remember that can come in all forms, not just an unending sea of confounding numbers. OkCupid obtains much of its data comes in the form of worded answers. When someone joins the platform, they answer a series of questions that matches them with potential dates based on the compatibility of the answers. Within these answers, Kaye finds his stories and determines how best to tell them.

“We’re the only dating app in the world that connects people on in-app questions, so to start, that makes the data set I’m working with unique,” he explained. These can range from questions about dating and relationships but also span across cultural, political, and other top-of-mind issues that are important to Gen Z and Millennial users. The responses to these questions are the inspiration behind the stories I pitch and tell.” Kaye said.

When he dives into these answers, Kaye sorts through them by age, demographic, location, sexual orientation, and a number of other factors. In this way, he’s able to determine behavioral patterns, cultural shifts, and other changes to the dating landscape that can be told through a data-based perspective.

This strategy ensured that over 70% of OkCupid’s earned media coverage in the U.S. included data points from in-app questions.

“Data storytelling is how I manage to help OkCupid break through a really crowded marketplace,” said Kaye. I consider us a true case study on how we can use data effectively, no matter how it manifests itself,” Kaye said.

Deploy data to increase the value of your comms

For communicators, data can also be a valuable asset to shaping, honing and speaking about how our strategies drive and highlight measurable, positive business results.

“During the height of the pandemic, I used an outside source to show how I managed to grow our power and share of voice through data storytelling,” said Kaye. “We then cross-referenced our significant press moments to see if there was a correlation with new downloads of the app. Yes, data is what we’re using to inspire our communications and content, but we’re also using data to prove how impactful our strategies are on the health of the business to our senior leadership.”

While data can come in all different forms, Kaye’s incorporation of data across all aspects of his communications strategy is a reminder that there’s always a story within the data, whether external or internal. It’s our job as communications professionals to tell it.

Catch Michael Kaye speaking about the future of data and analysis during his panel at Ragan’s Future of Communications Conference on 11/2 in New York City. Register today!

The post Making data part of your comms strategy, from OKCupid’s Michael Kaye appeared first on PR Daily.

You know it isn’t enough to just keep a running tally of how many media hits you get and use that as a sign of success. But you also aren’t sure how to present actual, nuanced data that signifies real success (or room for improvement) in a way your leadership will understand.

Katie Delahaye Paine, founder and CEO of Paine Publishing, has a better way. She presented her scorecard at PR Daily’s Media & Measurement Conference, and it’s worth taking for your own measurement purposes.

The card is self-explanatory: Rather than simply measuring whether or not you got ink, measure it based on how positive it is toward your overall goals. The more positive, the more points. Likewise, subtract points for things that might harm your brand.

This idea serves as a solid foundation for endless customization. You could add fields for different topics, including:

• How relevant an outlet is to your audience
• Overall reader/viewership
• Whether your leadership is quoted
• Whether there are links to your social media or website
• Follow-up metrics, including new purchases after publication, new followers or website visits

The list goes on. Whatever metrics matter to you — positive and negative — can be added to this framework to build a completely customized scorecard that’s easy for those up the ladder to understand at a glance.

What would you add to your scorecard?

The post Steal this scorecard: A better way of measuring media coverage appeared first on PR Daily.

Tina: Mark, let’s talk about something near and dear to both of our hearts:  data-informed communication.  Private equity money is flowing into public relations now in support of communications technology, or “commtech.”  So here’s this month’s question: “ Is commtech a present and enduring truth for public relations or just the latest craze?”

Mark:  Yes.

Tina: Mark, you didn’t answer the question.

Mark: I agree with both of those choices. It’s a present and enduring truth and it’s a fad. Other dualities come into play, too.  Fundamentally, the purpose of technology is to streamline tasks to make them faster, easier and more efficient. Using that definition, commtech is not new.  In fact, it’s been present throughout modern public relations:  consider the printing press, the typewriter and the telephone…all cutting-edge technologies at some point. Over time, as the speed of business – and life – accelerated, technology evolved to keep pace.  In this environment, commtech contributes greatly to data-informed communication. Now, there are many choices for either commtech bundles of service which include journalist databases, media monitoring, release distribution and automated analytics. Other offerings focus on a single element and do it extremely well. Focusing on research applications, it’s very good for study design, deployment and tabulation of structured data but not so good for unstructured data, like focus group responses, open-ended survey questions and media content analysis.

Tina:  Along those same lines, Mark, is the prevalence of real-time news, information and data, all of which add to the communicator’s need for contextualization to enable faster decision-making.  Simultaneously, senior communicators strive to provide solid counsel to guide positive business outcomes. Therefore, communicators must align the need for speed, accuracy, context, analysis and guidance.

Mark:  It’s not just the allure of “real time” but also the need for “right time.”  Most business decisions aren’t made in real time; they’re governed by the speed and pressures of the business, the magnitude of the situation and the implications of that decision. This rationale forms the basis of my opinion that the commtech pendulum has swung too far and will soon fall back.  This shift is driven by inflated claims of “artificial intelligence” and its purported advantages. Eventually, some people are confronted with the limitations of what technology alone can do.

Tina: I think we have a long way to go. When people talk about artificial intelligence or AI, they are not on the same page. In a 2020 IPR blog post entitled “AI in PR: The Conversation Has Just Begun,”  author Manuelita Maldonado who won the Institute for Public Relations’ master’s thesis of the year award, said that even though the number of AI tools available for PR is “exponentially growing,” the USC 2019 Global Communications Report showed that 86% of PR professionals and students considered themselves “somewhat” or ‘not at all’ knowledgeable about artificial intelligence in communications.” Plus, there’s a hot-off-the-press article from several communication scholars at Leipzig University specifically about how many commtech functions are still “digitally immature.” There’s still a long way to go.

Mark: AI technology is ubiquitous; most communicators use it to manage media contacts, media monitoring, social listening and traditional and social media analytics. The AI part is particularly troubling: These are not “thinking machines” even though commtech marketers suggest that they are. More to the point, the technology relies on “machine learning,” a lower form of artificial intelligence which requires the user to train the computer to determine the differences among such broad reputation attributes as “innovation,” “leadership” and “trust,” and to then attribute a tone/sentiment rating.  While humans make these determinations in an instant, the technology cannot accurately quantify the nuances of unstructured data for content analysis and focus groups, as two examples.

Tina: And yet, content analysis of traditional and social media is one of the most common commtech applications.  These trends suggest a significant misalignment between the limitations of what technology alone can accomplish and the resources required to properly manage the software. This is also a definition issue, similar to AI. There is an inconsistency across our industry of what commtech actually is — is it widely considered a platform rather than a combination of strategy with the technology. By the way, I’m not even a fan of the term “commtech.” It sounds like how people describe an old-school technology. I imagine a commercial from the ‘80s with Miami Vice colors and bad graphics…it feels too tactical.

Mark: You’ve hit the nail on the head! Conventional PR wisdom toward commtech falls short. Yes, the technology is fast, accessible and consistent…but it’s helpless without human expertise. The technology requires someone to manage, operate and interpret its output to ensure accuracy, actionability and, ultimately, positive outcomes. Higher value applications – interpretive analysis, actionable insights and strategic guidance – require two elements: accurate data and human expertise.

With increasing commoditization in the sector, buying decisions are made by procurement people who don’t understand public relations and by senior executives who will never directly use the technology. No one gets into PR to “run the machine.” To compensate for the technology’s shortcomings, communications teams are often redeployed to review content relevancy and data accuracy, leaving their primary responsibilities behind.

Tina: According to Burton-Taylor (the financial analysts who cover commtech), the sector grew last year at a rate of about 15% and now accounts for about $5.5 billion dollars! At the same time, I hear about low client retention rates. Perhaps communicators are switching from one platform to another?  What’s the solution?

Mark: Well, it depends on the problem you’re trying to solve. If you’re a commtech provider, the platforms are increasingly commoditized; they must find a way to differentiate in ways that are both credible and compelling if they are to survive. Corporate communicators may have the human, financial and technological resources to achieve a desirable outcome, but it’s not easy.  The appeal of low-cost technology comes with, well, a cost.  And there is a real cost of maintaining the status quo, including misplaced productivity, the expense of starting over when one tool fails and a similar alternative is chosen to replace it, and a loss of talent among those who want more from their careers than remediating commtech shortfalls.

Tina: Yes, this is why understanding research is so critically important. Even though communicators may not be involved in the tool itself, they must be the wizard behind the curtain and understand how variables are measured. And whether it is a valid tool.

Mark: Agreed. I’ve also learned that losing something doesn’t automatically constitute loss.  If you lose something that holds no value, it can be a net positive.  Losing talent and productivity is real and meaningful. And what of the cost of a bad communications or business decision based on poor commtech management and inaccurate data?  Not to mention the cost of starting over – again — when one tool fails?

Tina: Yes. This is why strategy is so critically important, which is why it comes up in almost every single article.

Mark: 100%, Tina! Same time and place next month?

Tina: Sounds good, Mark. Thank you!

Tina McCorkindale, PhD, is the CEO of the Institute for Public Relations.

Mark Weiner is the chief insights officer at PublicRelay, a research-based communications consultancy.  He is the author of “PR Technology, Data and Insights” published in 2021 by Kogan Page and named by BookAuthority.com as one of the 100 most important PR books in history. 

The post Is commtech a fad or an enduring truth? appeared first on PR Daily.

When it comes to the task of measuring our efforts, we often get overwhelmed figuring out where to gather data from, what KPIs should be and how to set up a dashboard that will resonate with executives

But Nicole Moreo, head of customer insights for LinkedIn, says the hardest part of measurement is the one that seems the simplest: figuring out your business goal.

Most of the time people use a vision or a mission statement, Moreo says. “It is not measurable, it is not actionable, and I guarantee you, if they probably spoke to their CEO, it is not what the CEO would say the business goal is.”

Here are the six questions that Moreo asks about measurement — and you should too.

1. What is the business goal?

Yes, the first one is the hardest. If you’re worried a goal isn’t actionable or practical, ask your CEO or other top leadership what they consider the business goal to be.

2. What are the communications objectives?

Even if the business goal doesn’t seem immediately applicable to communications this is the time to find the ladder back. How does your work move the needle?

3. Who are the target audiences?

Moreo wants to make it clear that you can’t just say “millennials” here. Millennials are a huge, diverse group — about 72 million people — so you need to get more specific about who you’re trying to reach.

4. What behaviors are we hoping to change? What actions are we hoping the audiences will take? What perceptions are we hoping to shift?

All right, this one’s technically three questions, but roll with it.  These questions can all be summed up with one more: What do you hope your target audience will do? Defining a share of voice isn’t enough. You need people to take action or change a currently held belief, not merely become aware of you. It all ties back to creating actionable goals.

5. What information do we need to create a strategy?

Step five is the first time we’re talking about the things most people would consider measurement: the data stuff. Only once you’ve defined everything else about what you’re trying to achieve can you dive in and figure out what data you need to make this happen. This is where you might consider whether you need to deploy a survey, use  social media monitoring software or dig into SEO tools.

6. Have I thought about ALL the touchpoints my audience can/will interact with?

By the time a customer comes looking for you, odds are they’re already far along their journey towards deciding to buy. The question is, how can you get in front of them earlier? This happens organically when you spend time really thinking about that target audience. What podcasts are they listening to? What social media accounts do they follow, what websites do they read, what TV shows do they watch? Map out the entire content diet of your target audience and get in there with your PR skills to meet them sooner where they are.

These questions may seem deceptively simple, but they all require deep thinking, brainstorming and lots of going back to the drawing board. Once you can answer them, it’s a matter of layering data on top to create a measurement strategy that really gets results.

And isn’t that what we all want?

The post 6 questions to answer before measuring anything appeared first on PR Daily.

Google Analytics will officially transition to GA4 on July 1, 2023. This announcement signifies a monumental shift for marketers, as analytics are the foundation of how we measure and analyze our progress. You might think you have time, but it’s important to start the process now as it is not as simple as just turning on a switch. Here is what you need to know.

What’s the difference between GA4 and the current Universal Analytics platform?

• GA4 incorporates privacy-first tracking, AI predictive data, and machine learning to understand user behavior via an event-based operating model.
• GA4 looks to provide a cross-channel view of the customer lifecycle and focuses on active users vs. the total number of users in the current Universal Analytics platform.
• Combining web and app data in the same property, GA4 uses machine learning to improve and simplify insight discovery, whereas UA is very limited in automation.
• There will be fewer standard reports in the new GA4 model, making it easier to create custom, ad-hoc reports.
• All actions by customers are recorded as conversions (events) in GA4, not just transactions and goals.
• GA4 does not rely on cookies and instead leverages machine learning to fill data gaps as Google continues to increase its data privacy regulations.
• Google simplified its reporting interface to enable marketers to spot key trends and irregularities in data.
• GA4’s event-based analytics model and cross-device reporting, create a single user journey from the data, which helps optimize websites and online experiences.
• Rather than focusing solely on page views, GA4 tracks all customer events as important data streams in the customer journey.
• Machine learning allows GA4 to fill in gaps in consumer behavior to predict future transactions and revenue, which can help advertisers understand which consumers to target.

GA4 is the solution for how marketers can leverage data in a new way as we enter a privacy-focused online world. Without cookies and behavioral & conversion modeling, marketers can use web and app data to focus more closely on the user journey from the initial visit to conversion.

The new update enables innovative tracking without invading the privacy of consumers. Assisting you to steer your campaign in the right direction by providing marketers with the peace of mind to focus on the data that matters is aided by helpful insights and forecasts.

You must complete a few handoff tasks prior to your transition. Many marketers are aware that Google keeps data for 26 months. Consequently, it is imperative that you save your historical data. I recommend retaining all data from 2021 for future reporting purposes following the transition. After compiling all data, you are ready for your shift.

What you need to do to start the transition

• Login to your Google Analytics Account.
• Click Admin, the gear icon on the bottom left navigation.
• Confirm that your desired account is selected.
• Confirm the desired property is selected.
• Click GA4 Setup Assistant, the first option in the Property column.

The GA4 update may be intimidating to some, but the key is to start preparing and educating yourself as soon as possible. Your future campaigns will be more successful if you start the set-up now so you can see what is and isn’t in GA4. As we move into a space where user privacy is a primary concern, GA4 provides the analytical solution we need, but only if you get the set-up process right.

Marji Sherman is vice president of digital at Cognito. 

The post Big changes are coming to Google Analytics. Here’s what to do now. appeared first on PR Daily.

Measurement. It’s part of the basics: in order to prove how well a campaign or project performed, you need to compare it to a base line. Communicating success — and, where appropriate, changes that need to be made — to clients, executives and other stakeholders is part of the work.

According to the Institute for PR, organizations should aim for “outcome-based, data-informed predictive analysis and insights.” What we refer to as measurement actually breaks down into three elements: measurement, analysis and evaluation. All of these are important, both for day-to-day work and for proving return on investment to stakeholders.

Meanwhile, there is a growing connection between data science and measurement. Data that was once siloed in HR or marketing are flowing together into PR.

PR professionals today “aren’t looking at analysis just at the end of a campaign or year or certain term,” said Johna Burke, global managing director, AMEC. “They really are incorporating data analysis and evaluation, whether that’s campaign analysis, crisis simulation, etc., on a consistent basis. That allows the best practitioners to improve their effectiveness and increase their credibility with the C-Suite.”

Checking the pulse

“Historically, PR has been measurement, research and data averse,” said Mark Weiner, author of the book “PR Technology, Data and Insights.” “PR has seen itself as purely based on creativity. It’s a type of expertise, but not one based on data. That has changed over time.”

In part, the changes in the relationship between PR and tech comes from price point. The tools available today can be low-cost or free. They’re also less complicated and more sophisticated now.

“The evolution is being led by a new generation of PR comms leaders. These new leaders now have an MBA. They have a better understanding of business. Long ago, most PR professionals came from journalism,” Weiner said.

Although there is still a lot of cross over with journalism, PR is drawing from the world of business and mathematics now more than it has in the past.

This change comes from leadership as much as from the career pipeline, said Alan Chumley, managing director, analytics-based strategy at Real Chemistry.

“The way stakeholders think and operate now and where they receive their information and process it, what they do with it once you get it to them, is really pushing PR beyond its classic confines,” said Chumley. “It’s really PR, corporate communications, marketing, branding, reputation management, risk management. Historically, all of these are managed by different disciplines within a large organization. All of those are eroding or being forced to erode. So stakeholders are forcing these integrations, technology is, leadership is. You have the CEO increasingly up the nose of the chief comms officer to say ‘can you just play nice with the chief marketing officer, chief information officer, chief technology officer, what have you … We should be really taking more of a systems or network thinking approach to these things. An ecosystem approach.”

Strong writing is still the most important element, though, cautions Julie O’Neil, professor and associate dean for graduate studies and administration, Bob Schieffer College of Communication at Texas Christian University. “We’re in the business of telling stories. We tell stories to effect outcomes,” she said. “I think there’s room in the field for both skill sets.”

Preparing for the future of measurement

It can be a full-time job for an already busy PR professional to measure your worth to the organization.

“How do you make sense of this?” O’Neil asked. “You have to take time, you have to be confident and have the curiosity to ask the right questions.”

Young says developing metrics will be a core competency for working in analytics and PR in the future. “While we have this keen eye on all this advanced tech, driving PR tech into the same echelons as digital marketing, we also have to remember that we have to measure our own work.”

In general, O’Neil said there are still some proven ways to keep up. “Read articles, go to webinars, go to trainings, we might go back to school. Might get a certification,” she said. The two major measurement organizations, the PR Measurement Commission and AMEC, also provide resources.

In the end, no technology can replace humans who have strong institutional knowledge and good instincts.

“The human, I think, is the most important element. A human analyst can take data and transform it into insights,” said Young. “I don’t know how you get insights without humans, even with the best AI and the best tools in the world.”

The post Why you must develop your measurement skills to succeed in PR appeared first on PR Daily.

It’s undeniable that the world of PR is more data-rich than ever before, with tools like artificial intelligence and machine learning, predictive analytics, content analysis, and statistical and behavioral modeling becoming accessible to more pros. When it comes to measurement, not only do these tools help PR pros find out how well their campaigns did, they also help demonstrate that worth to their employers.

But do tools that claim to be “intelligent” or “predictive” really live up to the name?

“A lot of people will talk about predictive analytics,” said Johna Burke, global managing director, AMEC. “It’s predictive in the sense that it can help them see what happened in a similar situation, to see how they can steer through something. But I don’t know that there’s anyone, anywhere using predictive analytics to really predict what’s going on in a population.”

“For me, the term ‘predictive’ I worry about a little,” agreed Michael Young, global insights manager at Ford Motor Company. “How I use my tools is we set long trends. We have a deep archive, which is what you need to do forecasting in a proper way. Then we’ll have our data scientists forecast it outright. We might be looking at social media, traditional media, a multi-varied view …  combined with some kind of e-commerce metric over time.

Young prefers the term “forecasting” over predicting. Despite the name, most professionals agree true prediction is out of reach – for now.

Likewise, many tools and platforms today claim they use artificial intelligence. However, they are more typically using machine learning. Put simply, the difference is that machine learning is a process by which an algorithm may be used to scan and aggregate existing information. It doesn’t create new information, and it doesn’t make decisions on its own. Instead, companies often tout AI as a way to keep track of trends or to automate work.

“A lot of service providers tout AI. I can tell you now there’s no PR agency or in-house PR program developing AI for this purpose,” said said Mark Weiner, author of the book “PR Technology, Data and Insights.”

“I think in the last two or three years it’s been overhyped,” said said Alan Chumley, managing director, analytics-based strategy at Real Chemistry. “It’s been confusing, it’s been ill-defined. Heavy on promises, lighter on delivery. But that’s changing quickly. We’re seeing some real smart use cases emerge as the AI tools have been trained and tire-kicked.”

How artificial intelligence and machine learning is being used

One example of a company he sees as using AI and ML in a unique way is PRophet, a database for creating pitches and connecting PR professionals to journalists.

Another contemporary use case for machine learning is Black Bird AI, which gathers and ranks news articles to find mis- and dis-information. Today’s tools tend to blend multiple data sets and multiple methods on a single dashboard.

AI is also being applied to classic measures of reputation when it comes to content analysis, Chumley said. Where “measuring reputation” used to be survey based, some AI services such as Kelp Data show how multiple data sets come in to one broad overview that measures behavior, not perception.

Similarly, Young said he isn’t using AI “in my daily job.” However, he uses a similar dashboard, especially the Social Velocity metric from NewsWhip, to measure social media interactions.

“Velocity basically tracks how much and how fast. How much is social engagement growing around a particular story or theme over a period of time?” Young said. He also predicts more platforms like this will include alerts and push notifications going forward, enabling the PR professional to note when their work’s Velocity score is increasing rapidly in real time, whether they’re in the office or not.

“If the advanced tech can alert us without us even knowing where to look, that’s where it’s going to help,” he said.

The human element

Humans still have “empathy and nuance” an algorithm can’t match, Chumley said. Among the professionals we interviewed, most agreed that a human will always need to be in the loop. It’s well known that PR is a mix of art and science. Is the needle swinging further toward science in the days of rapidly proliferating tech tools?

“We can all agree the tools are changing, but really the process and our goals in PR are staying the same,” said Julie O’Neil, professor and associate dean for graduate studies and administration, Bob Schieffer College of Communication at Texas Christian University. “It’s very basic strategy. Those principles of measuring outcomes, having smart objectives, using both quantitative and qualitative approaches — that has not changed. We just now have more tools to look at, including data.”

They key is the insight and the thinking a human can bring. No tool can consistently read sentiment from tweets or determine brand name mentions from casual conversation every time. PR professionals should also be keeping a careful eye on how their tools work.

AI and ML are good for “hunting and gathering” information, Chumley said, which frees up analysts and strategists to apply company goals and human insight.

“Where’s this data coming from? How are they sampling this data? Has it been cleaned up?” O’Neil said. “That’s just good critical thinking,”

The post How AI is changing PR – and what will never change appeared first on PR Daily.

PR professionals have been looking for a plug-and-play measurement panacea for decades. That’s a problem, according to Katie Paine, founder of KD Paine Partners.

“A ‘silver bullet’ mindset suggests a one-time fix,” says Paine, who presented at PR Daily’s Media Relations & Measurement Conference last week in New York City. “It’s not sustainable.”

The solution, she believes, is to think more strategically and “speak CEO.” Here’s how:

1. Think puppies and kittens.

“Instead of a magic silver bullet, make measurement more like cute puppies and kittens,” Paine suggests. “They were genetically made that way to be adopted, nurtured and survive longer. So make measurement something that will survive, be budgeted for and included.”

How to do that? Her advice is to “rebrand” measurement at your organization.

“The word ‘measurement’ can seem unapproachable. Better might be phrases like ‘assumption testing,’ ‘market research’ or ‘opportunity identification,’” she explains.

“They could be more in line with what your C-suite wants to hear,” she says. “They make you part of the strategy and planning, instead of being relegated to justifying expense afterwards.”

Jesse Lewin, senior director of communications at McDonald’s, agrees.

“Measurement doesn’t start when a campaign ends,” he says. “Metrics must instead help your execs inform their strategy from the beginning.”

2. Break up with vanity metrics.

“We won’t get a seat at the table if we keep talking about ‘building buzz’ or vanity metrics like impressions and share of voice,” says Nicole Moreo, who heads customer insights at LinkedIn and also spoke at the conference.

“We have to go beyond metrics like media impressions and story counts and instead focus on more descriptive metrics,” agrees Lewin, citing metrics like:

• Target media penetration
• Sentiment
• Message penetration
• Website traffic
• Story velocity
• Engagements
• Search performance
• Lead generation
• Offer redemption

3. Practice data storytelling for execs.

Pulling descriptive, qualitative metrics doesn’t automatically endear you to the C-suite.

“You also must link communications activity to business goals,” says Moreo, who in addition to her role at LinkedIn serves as the North American Chapter Chair for AMEC (International Association for the Measurement and Evaluation of Communication).

She calls it “data storytelling” and shares the following  process for doing it effectively:

• Step 1: Center your story around the behaviors, actions or perceptions you were trying to change.
• Step 2: Provide context:
  • How are you highlighting your target audience(s) and how they intersect with your industry/brand?
  • Dive into your category. What key topics/issues exist, where do your competitors play, what is the white space and what intersects with your value proposition?
  • Understand the cultural elements that are driving engagement and how they impact your audience, category and brand.
• Step 3: Connect to a business goal using the C-Suite’s language. “For example, ‘share of voice’ shows effort made—but doesn’t show the impact,” Moreo says. “Execs want to see impacts like reputation improvement, relationships improved or established, or even increase in sales and donations.”

Moreo also suggests checking out this downloadable AMEC Measurement Planning Worksheet or visiting AMEC for additional resources.

Brian Pittman is a Ragan Communications event producer. For more information about Ragan Training, contact him at brianp@ragan.com.

The post How to ‘speak CEO’: 3 surprising measurement tips appeared first on PR Daily.

Attendees at PR Daily’s Media Relations and Measurement Conference in New York City got a rare look behind the curtain at how McDonald’s measures its PR success.

Their secret sauce, if you will.

Jesse Lewin, senior director of communications for the burger giant, shared real-world examples of how his team helps tie PR goals to business goals, and to measure what successes are directly attributable to public relations.

Ultimately, Lewin says, good measurement is about helping pros be honest about what’s successful (and what’s not) and what matters (and what doesn’t).

Why do we measure?

It’s easy for the real goals of measurement to get lost. But it’s important to keep in mind throughout what the measuring is for.

“Metrics must help us inform our strategy,” Lewin says. “If we’re thinking of metrics as the end and not the beginning and not throughout, we’re not using them the most effectively.”

This is why McDonald’s believes so strongly in measurement:

• Demonstrating how communications activities contribute to business goals
• Providing the “so what” insights that inspire meaningful action, including to executives and others who may not be overly familiar with PR
• Comparing performance and improving results over time
• Encouraging communicators to shift their thinking and adjust strategy

Of these, Lewin says, the most important is grounding everything in the business goals of the organization. He suggests meeting with business partners from various departments to map out the road ahead and better understand how PR can ladder up into those goals and support the overall business objectives.

This should all help create a measurement loop in which each metric measured helps inform your next strategy and make it better and even more successful.

The full article is available only to members of PR Daily Leadership Network. For more information on becoming a member, click here. 

The post How McDonald’s measures PR success appeared first on PR Daily.

Here are some of the best takeaways:

Fireside Chat with John Simmons, executive editor of TIME

• Readers want to hear about solutions, not just problems, though it’s still important to accurately reflect the state of the world.
• The Barney Rule: The basic rule is not to lie to the reader. One of the tenets is that if you’ve written that someone won’t comment on the story, you can’t Include something in the story given on background from the same person.
• PR pros should give journalists access to data and leaders, but also to experiences, Simmons said. Rather than having a reporter speak to a president at a corporate desk in New York, go to the factory floor. Experiences inspire writers to describe.

Panel Nuts & Bolts: Secrets of landing better coverage in a fractured media landscape

• Go beyond the pitch. Make sure you’re creating a two-way relationship, not a transactional one.
• Spokespeople shouldn’t start and stop with the C-suite. Find human interest and diversity in telling your differentiated story.
• Empathy is a key trend.
• Know when you can be a media spokesperson and when you need to bring in experts. Don’t feel that there can only be one spokesperson.
• Make sure your social channels have a strong point of view.
• Don’t just pitch diversity stories during Black History Month or Pride. Check your bias – ask the reporter if there’s a diversity angle you should consider.

Improving Corporate Reputation: How to Tell Your Purpose-Driven Story to the Press

• Crisis management has a cadence, and that cadence is not always urgency. 
• Purposeful storytelling means creating storylines for those who are most vulnerable.
• “Cause not charity”: Don’t pitch the organization, pitch the reason behind it.
• Make sure content creation is editorially supporting the bandwidth of purpose issues that matter to the organization.

A Better Measurement Matrix: New Ways to Quantify Media Results, Reputation and ROI

• Make measurement something that will be a survivor, budgeted for and included.
• Let measurement help you stop doing the stupid stuff.
• Use the Barcelona Principles: 
  • Look for specific outcomes, outputs and impacts 
  • Follow good research principles to transparency and integrity 
  • Search is the first line in terms of measurement – can you be found? 
• Measurement starts with audience, not activity.
• Outcomes need to tie back to corporate goals or they won’t be seen as valuable.
• Metrics should inform strategy, not just be tacked on at the end.

Are You In or Out? The Great Debate on Web 3.0, NFTs, the Metaverse and More

• NFTs are losing a bit of hype, but the Metaverse is not.

Keynote with John Avlon of CNN

• “When you tell stories, particularly about our shared past, it reframes our conversation. It puts us in a place where we can have a more civil, a more constructive conversation.” 
• Abraham Lincoln’s comms strategy was based in storytelling and jokes.. He met people where they were and his stories were even reprinted in the hostile South. 
• Use humor rather than attack people for attention. 

Alternate Platforms: How to Add Podcasts and Substack to Your Media Strategy

• The channels you own are part of your currency with journalists.
• Podcasts can be powerful networking tools.
• Don’t count yourself out if there are others in the space doing what you’re doing.

Thought Leadership 3.0: Tech, Tools and Techniques to Reach and Influence the Media

• Media has changed, but reporters haven’t. They still:
  • Want the truth, now, in a useful format.
  • Need context and to understand.
  • Don’t want to be sold.
• Thought leadership is about telling a good story without selling it.
• Act like a media outlet. Break your own news. Newsjack.

Become a Better Data Scientist: How to Decipher KPIs and Transform Them into Golden Insights 

• You don’t need shiny tools. You need to ask the right questions.
• If you aren’t an analytics person, find a data person who is to help.
• People live their best life on Instagram. They live their real life on Google search. 

New Social Media and Influencer Marketing Strategies to Boost Buzz and Engagement

• Data-based, employee-shared spots can earn 24 times more engagement vs. the same content on company social.

Interactive Pitch Panel: How to Break Through in the Era of Shrinking Newsrooms

• Know the business model and medium of the outlet you’re pitching. If there are no video opportunities, it may be hard to pitch TV.
• Good pitches are short, personalized, tailored to the reporter, clear and offer exclusivity.
• The best way to get a reporter to open your email is to have a personal relationship with that reporter.
• Pitch before events so the reporter can do due diligence. For example, don’t pitch Women’s History Month halfway through March.
• Let the reporter know who else you’ve reached out to.

The post 32 key takeaways from PR Daily’s Media Relations & Measurement Conference appeared first on PR Daily.

Media monitoring is an essential tool for detecting and managing a crisis, and reporting on metrics like reputation, brand awareness and engagement. Yet, PR pros seem oddly hesitant to include podcasts in their monitoring strategies.

Why? Your organization might be small. Your brand might be niche. You might not be actively pitching podcasts. Yet, that doesn’t mean you can afford to leave them out of your monitoring.

Since January 2021, the number of people (over the age of 12) who listened to a podcast for the first time increased by 5% in the U.S. Another 10 million episodes were released and the total number of shows surpassed 2 million.

That’s a lot of people listening to a lot of conversations you’re not tuned into.

Look beyond yourself

It’s a best practice to go beyond monitoring just for your brand, products and spokespeople. After all, no one works in a vacuum. And no matter how niche you think your brand is, you are part of a larger industry.

Hopefully, you already keep an eye on industry-specific trade magazines, newsletters, blogs and influencers in your media monitoring. Why not extend that to podcasts? With so many different shows, there’s bound to be at least one dedicated to your industry.

The show doesn’t even need to be industry specific. Your industry might be mentioned in a news roundup or featured on a completely unrelated podcast, like “Stuff You Should Know,” which dedicates each episode or couple of episodes to a different topic, from NATO to Tylenol to national parks. When your monitoring is set up to include industry keywords, all these types of mentions will be picked up.

The same principle of looking beyond yourself extends to your competitors. They may not have the same reservations as you and are taking advantage of the earned media and advertising potential of podcasts.

Don’t leave a gap in your earned media strategy

If you hesitate to include podcasts in your earned media strategy because you don’t think they are influential enough or reach your audience, think again. Monthly podcast listeners are now as ethnically diverse as the U.S. population according to “The Infinite Dial 2022” from Edison Research. Of the U.S. population, it is estimated that 50% of Americans between the ages of 12-34 and 43% between 35-54 listened to a podcast in the past month. It doesn’t matter what industry you are part of — your audience falls within that scope.

Monitoring for industry and competitor mentions will help you narrow in on the podcasts your spokespeople need to appear on or where you should place your advertisements. But as is essential with any form of media outreach, you need to know who you’re pitching, which you can only learn through research.

You need to know the shows, producers and hosts out there. What topics do they cover? How do they cover them? What types of questions do they ask? How long is an episode? Podcasts might not be as up to the minute as other media, like social and online news, but they can get very in-depth. Podcasts hold an audience’s attention for longer than a four-minute article or three-minute TV spot.

Podcasts aren’t going anywhere, and whether you’re tuned into them or not, conversations are happening. Rather than miss out on important industry, competitor and brand insights, treat podcast monitoring as the first step towards taking full advantage of this influential medium.

Joy Knowles is a marketing content strategist with Agility PR Solutions.

The post Why and how you should monitor for podcast mentions appeared first on PR Daily.

Women make up most of the communications industry. Why are they getting paid less?

Ragan’s Salary & Workplace Culture Survey: 2022 Edition reveals pay disparities by gender and geography, with salaries in the Northeast region slightly topping those of all other regions.

Industrywide, the average annual base salary is $111,312, the Ragan survey of internal and external communicators reveals.

Compensation lags for women

The Ragan survey shows that women’s average overall annual compensation ($109,593) falls short of men’s ($118,510). Men also reported higher bonuses at an average of $10,697—nearly $2,700 higher than bonuses handed out to women.

Female managers and other higher earners ($80,000+) also earned less than their male counterparts, averaging $90,924 versus $99,364 for males. The gap has widened since Ragan’s 2020’s survey, when women’s salaries averaged $94,200, versus $99,000 for male.

Women’s job satisfaction higher than salary satisfaction

Of the more than 500 respondents, men were only slightly more satisfied with their salaries than women (57% compared to 56%) despite men reporting higher base salaries by nearly $9,000.

The gender disparity was wider when it comes to overall job satisfaction, with 73% of women saying they were more satisfied with their roles than the 66% of their counterparts.

Women less satisfied with benefits

The Ragan survey distinguished between hard benefits (medical and dental insurance, vacation time, sick time, 401k matching, parental leave) and soft benefits (working from home, flexible hours, professional training and development, volunteer programs).

While 67% percent of respondents said they are satisfied or very satisfied with their company’s mix of both hard and soft benefits, the level of satisfaction varies by gender — 80% of men expressed satisfaction with benefits compared to 64% of women.

More women continue to work from home

The survey also found that 84% of women said they work from home at least one day a week, compared to 76% of men.

Coupled with the fact that fewer women said they have a ‘work spouse,’ or close confidante, than men (23% and 28%), these numbers suggest that women ascribe greater value their relationships and quality of life outside the office than men. As such, it stands to reason that they want to see benefits and salary match their lifestyle needs.

Click here for your free download  of the full findings from Ragan’s Salary & Workplace Culture Survey: 2022 Edition

The post Most communicators are women, but they still trail men in pay, Ragan survey says appeared first on PR Daily.

Pew Research has published a series of videos explaining basic research methods and best practices for polling public opinion.

It’s important information, as the accuracy of polling has been called into question by recent misses in high-profile polls, such as those for the 2016 and 2020 U.S. presidential elections. For PR pros, a refresher on research methods can be a helpful reminder for making sure your measurement practices are providing accurate answers.

And the videos are a clear example of how comms pros can explain data science to a wider audience—an increasingly important piece of communicating your message for business and general population demographics.

One of the most helpful videos is this explainer on how to avoid writing bad survey questions that could mar the results of your report.

Top mistakes identified in the video include:

1. Don’t use jargon. Don’t assume the survey taker has expert knowledge about the subject at hand, the video warns.

2. Don’t offer too much info. Your audience either won’t read the full question or could be influenced in their answers by how your survey explained the issue. Instead, just offer a reminder — without overwhelming them.

3. Don’t use leading questions. You can prime your survey takers to deliver a certain kind of response by negatively framing the issue, or even push them towards your desired response.

4. Don’t use double negatives. Making it difficult to understand what the question is asking is a sure way to an inconclusive survey result.

5. Avoid acquiescence bias. This is the tendency for people to be agreeable with each other — a bit of human nature that can thwart your efforts to get an accurate view of public opinion. Questions posed as “yes” or “no” can run afoul of this rule, so a different wording is recommended.

Watch the full video to see more of the survey question guidelines from Pew Research:

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