May 2009

Who are your audiences and how are you engaging them? Most PR practitioners have given considerable thought to these questions. After all, the key to getting your brand or company noticed includes knowing which outlets your audiences frequent and then developing relevant messages. In addition to reading traditional media, those you engage may also comment on blogs and visit social networks sites such as LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, and Plaxo – along with any number of others.

The importance of realistic measurement

There is no question about it: Media measurement is an important part of proving your media relations efforts. Measurement allows you to identify strengths and shine light on how to improve future initiatives.

Quantitative metrics, such as circulation and impressions, are common in most traditional PR measurement programs. While numbers certainly matter, count them carefully and don't overestimate your figures.

When measuring traditional media, it is best to use metrics, such as:

• Number of stories over time
• Number of impressions delivered over time
• Media (ad) value over time
• And include qualitative measures, too

Social media has a parallel set of quantitative and qualitative measures and its own set of issues. The section below answers some of your common social media measurement questions.

Social media measurement uncovered

Q: How do you weigh the influence and impact of social media initiatives versus traditional media?
A: This is a prime example of why a holistic approach to measurement – one that uses both quantitative and qualitative metrics – is a viable one. Services such as Nielsen Net Ratings and sites like Technorati can help you better understand your online audience, who is blogging, and their authority. You'll also want to look at comments on the blog and their relevance to your particular industry. From there, begin to measure the story or post based on qualitative metrics, like sentiment (aka tone), among others.

Q: What is "PR effectiveness" and how is it applied to Internet-based PR and social media?
A: Social media and PR campaigns, in general, try to influence the conversations taking place. You might want to consider the recent Motrin case. The premise: Motrin will help ease your pain from lugging your baby around. Mommy bloggers across the virtual universe rose up, stating that the ad was a poor representation of moms caring for and bonding with their babies. Within 48 hours, the ad was pulled down and an apology issued. The mommy bloggers responded positively and thanked Johnson & Johnson for listening. Motrin successfully took part in the conversation, made a business decision based on what it heard, and responded right away.

Q: What is the best way to measure micro-blogs such as Twitter?
A: The answer depends on your objectives and level of participation. If you are involved in the conversation, a personal tool like Twinfluence can show you how well you are engaging your audience and if your posts are retweeted. If you wish to know how your company is portrayed, then you will need to employ solid qualitative and quantitative metrics and include Twitter in your overall plan.

Q: How can I measure photos appearing in online stories, someone's blog or a social network?
A: Consider where your story first appeared, how your article was represented in that outlet, if your spokesperson was quoted, and how those messages came across. Include the picture as part of your metrics, if one accompanied the original article. Remember most aggregators will not include the picture if they rerun the story because they aren't always sure whether it is a picture or an online advertisement.

Q: How can you optimize social media mentions so they gain more prominence?
A: Optimizing your press release and other media relations content for easy distribution across social media is a good place to start. Craft a multimedia piece with "share this" buttons for easy forwarding and tracking. You'll also want to make your pieces searchable – include relevant and popular tags, keywords, and the like. (BurrellesLuce offers a helpful tip sheet on SEO that provides additional strategies for optimizing your media relations). From there you can apply metrics, assess your efforts, and make adjustments.