The theme for the past week has been showing value for PR. Dave Mullen’s latest blog post, asked what the biggest challenge is for PR in 2009. Readers were then asked to vote, and the overall leader has been better measurement and proving value.
I attended the National Capital Chapter of the Public Relations Society of America’s (PRSA-NCC), #PRSA_NCC, seminar on “Tips Showing Value in 2009″ on Wednesday. Heathere Evans-Keenan, Keenan PR, moderated a panel, which included Steve Grant, NEA, Dave Groobert, Environics, and Lucien Salvant, National Association of Realtors. Here are some great tips from the panel:
- Get to know your boss, and understand what is valuable to him/her. Work with him/her to define value.
- Remember the definition of value is changing, so you need to take time to review and redefine.
- Take ownership of an important piece of the overall strategy, like messaging. Then review your coverage for how your messages are being used and perceived.
- Set measurable goals.
- Measure your outcomes not just the outputs.
- If your boss asks for a particular tactic, ask him/her why they feel they feel the organization need to use that tactic. This will help you understand the real motivation behind the request, which will help you advise on an overall strategy.
- Do PR for PR. Remind stakeholders what your department is doing to help the organization. One great idea was to do a road show, so everyone in the organization will be aware of the PR strategy.
How are you showing value in your organization? What tips can you share?
