How to ensure your PR delivers results

While there have been varying metrics placed upon PR measurement over the years, from the no-longer-accepted AVE to the various iterations of the Barcelona Principles, a set of seven ‘guidelines’ devised and adopted by the public relations industry to help measure impact and efficacy of PR, only one metric matters, and that’s the one you’ve agreed upon.

It may well be as simple as outputs, ‘three pieces of coverage per month’, or ‘15 backlinks per campaign.’ Or, the quality of those outputs may be more important ‘tier one press’, ‘domain authority above 45’.

Motivation for PR

Here at Catalyst PR, a growth marketing agency, we’ve recognised that, more often than not, the motivation to engage with us is to achieve business growth.

How does PR help with this? It should align with all other marketing activity, and it should underpin clear business and commercial objectives.

What about those metrics?

Ultimately, measurement and metrics remain a thorny issue. If you can provide meaningful objectives that a PR strategy can support – we have a platform. The alternative, and we’ve been here many times, is a shoehorn of theory into practice.

It’s also quite difficult to put a value on a business outcome, unless that outcome is a sale, or at least a qualified lead.

So conversations around metrics should always start with an agreement of a measurable business objective that can have some KPIs attributed to it. It’s then our job to understand the audience, what their pain points are and how you can address them; we’ll then devise a strategy that best fits.

We have tools to measure impact, click throughs, press clippings and their reach, shares from articles, shares from social media, impressions, web traffic, outputs Vs outcomes, domain authority, SEO rankings and even leads and sales. We can provide a barometer of corporate reputation, share of voice, and also protect and repair your reputation should you be managing a crisis.

But what really Matters…

…Is that you understand the journey, from the get go, and that we agree what we want the outcome to realistically be.

Only that way can you truly measure. You want headlines, let’s agree what, and where, and then we can measure. You want leads, let’s work together to understand your audience better, and then deliver a digital PR programme that drives people to you. If you’re e-commerce, it’s even easier to measure. If not – we’ll kindly ask you to close the deal.

One final thought

Having moved into a new house about nine years ago, I had to fix a toilet. It soon became evident all I needed was a new flush handle, but I couldn’t source one through the usual outlets, as it was quite an old system. So instead of trying to match pictures and descriptions, I typed my problem, my pain, into a search engine. Within 15 minutes my problem was answered in a web article, accompanied by a ‘virtual assistant’ who confirmed they had what I was looking for, so I bought it. About £20 from memory.

Not only was I a satisfied customer (and left a review) I was also a proud member of the digital PR community, knowing that my purchase had been measured, and had just helped someone’s end of month presentation.

“You had one eye in the mirror, as you watched yourself gavotte” – Carley Simon, 1972.

We can’t help you with your faulty toilet, but we can certainly help you reach your prospects through a robust and sustained digital PR campaign.