Why the way we measure PR needs to change

In the digital era, the measurement of PR needs to change. While AVE is no longer an accepted measurement, the impact of B2B tech PR is still undervalued because as an industry – in a data-driven world – we have failed to crack the way we measure and report.

PR activity covers the full spectrum of paid, earned, shared, and owned media. As an industry, we need to develop programmes that make use of these channels and that integrates into the wider organisational goals, usually of growth and sales.

To really create campaigns that impact an organisation we need to be able to measure, not just to show impact from particular campaigns, but to evolve and generate highly effective activity that moves the needle and makes all stakeholders happy, from the board to CFO, COO, CEO and the PR teams.

And while the industry is lagging behind in its approach to measure, all this is possible with the right skills, tools and processes. In the digital age, we can measure impact in real ROI. 

While number of clippings, share of voice and sentiment all has its place as a measurement when speaking to marketing teams, we need to be brave and develop campaigns that have the wider business objectives at their heart, and find ways to measure and prove our value.

Here at Resonance, we have launched the #DataDareYou campaign to challenge ourselves, our clients, our industry to get data smart.

Here are my top tips for starting a data-driven approach:

1. Understand the business goals. For example, a 20% increase in revenue.
2. Work out how your PR campaign will help achieve that goal. For example, we will bring 30 MQLs this quarter through this campaign. Think about the channels to get the message out there - more than ever, PR needs to work in harmony with paid promotion and your contacts database.
3. Establish what will drive prospects into the funnel; content is king here and speaking to the motivations of your target buyer is something we have always done as PRs ( it’s in our DNA.) Use it to succeed.
4. Work out how you will measure this and what tools you will use. Some of your clients will have a CRM system established. We are HubSpot partners and trained in Marketo too. We use digital marketing tactics to implement PR campaigns and measure impact.
5. Work out what questions you need to ask of the data to prove value.
6. Measure, report and use this reporting to learn and create even more impactful campaigns. Turn insights into action.

We DataDareYou to take a fearless approach to your programmes and measurement.

If you’d like to discuss how you can use data in your programmes, get in touch for a free 20-minute consultation by emailing hello@resonancecrowd.com.