PR campaigns and the strategy behind them can have a significant impact on a franchise’s success. When done properly, PR can increase visibility, strengthen a company’s reputation, build awareness, increase trust and boost lead generation. So, how do you measure the effectiveness of PR?
Measuring that changed perception and its impact can pose a challenge if you aren’t sure which metrics are important within any given campaign or outreach.
Setting clear goals, knowing the target audience and choosing the right metrics can help determine your PR’s effectiveness and demonstrate its value to your brand. In today’s media-driven world, PR professionals need to go beyond tracking headlines and initial impressions to get an idea about effectiveness. It requires a deep dive into the numbers to truly tell what is transpiring in today’s digital media landscape.
Media Coverage, Impressions and the Public’s Mood
Creating positive and engaging content sets the stage for enhancing your franchise brand’s visibility and reputation.
Through a comprehensive strategy that uses paid, owned, earned and shared content, a PR campaign can influence public perception.
Tracking media placements and the reach of media outlets help gauge the size of the audience in your campaigns. In terms of metrics, that translates to unique visitors per month (UVPM) for news websites, viewership for TV and circulation for newspapers and magazines.
Pitches and press releases of relevant news help reporters and editors at news organizations know what is going on with your franchise and its successes. They also can help call attention to specific topics you want addressed in the public space to drive additional messaging.
Coverage and messaging can come through direct stories, mentions, blogs and TV features. An increase in coverage in a positive tone can help build credibility and brand awareness. The number of pitches you distribute can also be tracked, and while not all are picked up for coverage, they keep your company’s name top-of-mind for news organizations’ plans for future stories.
Audience Engagement – Look Who’s Talking
As your content is shared through different online media channels, it’s worth noting and tracking who is talking about you. This can provide other opportunities for data you can track for success.
Using UTM codes in your shared and owned content can help you track where your website traffic is coming from, how long users stay on your website and how that traffic lifts your status in branded search.
Tracking your website traffic following PR campaigns helps connect media coverage to online engagement. By analyzing referral sources – hello, UTM codes – and tracking increases in website visits, PR professionals can prove the effectiveness of the efforts made in driving online interest and awareness of a franchise brand.
Through your social media channels, brands also are able to easily track additional metrics that include likes, comments and mentions across platforms. This helps monitor your audience engagement and how your amplification of PR messaging resonates with your audience of customers.
By tracking these metrics, PR professionals can provide franchise clients with comprehensive insights into the impact of their campaigns, identify areas for improvement and demonstrate the value of PR in achieving strategic objectives.
PR Metrics Checklist:
- Media placements
- Audience reach – UVPM, viewership, circulation
- Number of pitches and press releases
- Website traffic increases
- Branded search increases
- Social media engagement – likes, shares, comments
