Mind the measurement gap: stating the case for PR measurement & reporting
There is no definitive system of PR measurement. Still. For decades, the industry has been going around in circles discussing column inches, press clippings and AVE — pondering what to measure and how to measure it.
We know that measuring the impact of PR is crucial to the industry’s future. Without demonstrating the return on investment that strong communications provide, PR finds itself in trouble. Senior managers who are ever conscious of the bottom line will ask, but why does it matter? What does PR do for us?
For PR to get the investment it needs, it must demonstrate its tangible successes.
This is problematic. But data and analytics, now weaved into every corner of the workplace, are enabling us to understand the impact of communications in new and enhanced ways. Read more on our thoughts on the role of big data in PR measurement here.
Moving toward integrated communications is an important step in justifying how PR drives results. Now, we can measure and track campaigns at every stage to understand how communications activity is performing.
For instance, monitoring for specific spikes in traffic and engagement enables us to understand what type of content is successful. If we know what works well, we can optimise the process to capitalise on this success.
Equally, understanding what isn’t as advantageous can prevent us from wasting money on activity which doesn’t align with key objectives.
Using Google Analytics introduces reliability and rigour to comms measurement. It’s no longer necessary to spend hours determining how much space a client has in the newspaper or how much it would be worth in advertising rates. We can now understand how people interact with specific content online, how long for, and what action they took after that.
PR measurement remains nuanced, it’s an issue that is complex because so many models and frameworks exist. But as analytics become more sophisticated it’s becoming easier to state the case for PR as an essential part of organisations.
We are attending PR Analytics 2020 to ensure we remain on the front foot of PR measurement and continue to deliver clear ROI for our clients. Looking forward to hearing from some great speakers, discussing the latest topics in PR measurement and analytics and connecting with others to hear their thoughts. Get in touch if you are going along.
If you’re struggling to measure communications or if you’re interested in hearing more about our results-driven PR approach, email the team tech@aspectusgroup.com. Our team recently delivered an integrated campaign for ZoneFox which lead to a 300% increase in daily website traffic.
Ellie Clark is an Account Executive working in the technology PR team at Aspectus
