Measuring PR Results

It may seem like a difficult task, but measuring the results you achieve from your public relations campaign is crucial.  Measurement helps provide you with the details of how successful or how unsuccessful your PR campaign was in achieving your campaign goals.  What would be the point of identifying your goals, intiating tactics and then never understanding the impact those tactics have had on your goals?  There wouldn’t be much of a point.  Consider the following tips when measuring PR campaign results:

1- Set Specific, Measurable PR Goals:  You cannot expect reasonable results if you set unrealistic goals, so with any goal you set along the way with any PR campaign, make sure you are setting goals that are achievable.  Make sure  the goals you set are also measurable.  Again, what good are tactics if you cannot measure their success rate?  Not very good at all.  

2- Use Analysis Tools: There are many tools out there on the market today to help you analyze your PR campaign progress, so use them throughout your campaign as a way to help track your results.

3- Analyze Everything!: Analyze everything and anything!  Track and evaluate any company, product, service or spokespeople mentions, check industry trends, check competitors and monitor any issues and pay attention to issue responses.  A good PR agency knows that throughout any PR campaign you need to make sure you are analyzing everything and anything related to your campaign to ensure your efforts are paying off.  Analyzing will also let you know what is not working allowing you to change course if necessary.  

4- Don't be Afraid to Change Tactics: While monitoring your PR efforts don't be afraid to change tactics and strategies quickly if you find that they just aren't working for you.  If you find that you are not seeing the results you were looking for from a tactic, then try something new.  Never underestimate the power of a solid backup plan.  Come up with some strategies or tactics that can be used just in case a tactic is not working for you.  

5- Outcomes and Changes in Public Opinion: At the end of your PR campaign determine the outcome and see if there have been any changes in public opinion about your company or brand.  After all, one of the goals of public relations is to shape the way the public feels about a company or brand.  Check out what people are saying about your company or brand on the internet via social media, blogs or forums.  It should give you a pretty good indication of the impact your PR campaign has had on the public.

If you're looking for more tips on measuring PR results, feel free to leave us a comment or contact us.