The document discusses how PR and communications professionals can measure their value through various evaluation methodologies and metrics. It emphasizes the importance of planning, research, and ongoing monitoring to assess the impact of PR activities on organizational performance and reputation. Additionally, it highlights the use of free tools for online monitoring and measuring media engagement to understand the effectiveness of communication strategies.

1. How do we as PR and communications professionals demonstrate our worth?

2. Introductions Matt Appleby MCIPR Chair, CIPR Cymru Wales Managing Director, Golley Slater, Cardiff CIPR Chartered PR Practitioner Golley Slater PR Established in Cardiff 1957 UK-wide – 11 offices, 300 people Cardiff PR team of 12 Clients from private & public sector CIPR Cymru Wales Professional membership body for PR 350 members in Wales CPD, events, training & the voice of PR

3. Today What we can measure The PRE process Measurement methodologies Setting up a system Where the debate is – COI Other things to measure The Golley Slater system Online & social networks Questions/discussion

4. how can we monitor & measure Pic: Nomaan on Flickr

5. Public Relations can be measured in terms of… Contribution to management, leadership and organisational performance (commercial success, better decision-making, avoidance of mistakes) The process of communication, relationship & reputation building – and as part of programme development and implementation Its contribution to social and economic development The contribution and competencies of individual practitioners

6. The PRE process: Planning : Research : Evaluation PRE 2. OBJECTIVES Where do we need to be? 5. RESULTS & EVALUATION How did we do? 1. AUDIT Where are we now? 3. STRATEGY & PLAN How do we get there? 4. ONGOING MONITORING Are we getting there?

7. Setting up a system – 6 steps Define objectives – are they SMART? S pecific : M easureable : A chievable : R elevant : T imed Determine criteria – use IMPACT? I nfluence/tone : M essage Communicated : P rominence : A udience reached : C onsultant/spokesperson quoted : T ype of article Choose a benchmark (media audit, stakeholder audit, year’s coverage) Select a measurement tool – or set one up Compare results with objectives Modify campaign

8. © Jim R Macnamara 1992 & 2001

9. IMPACT - Media Content Analysis Number of articles per target media OTS received per message OTS per media activity Number of times key messages are featured Tone of coverage – scale of +5 positive, 0 neutral -5 negative Section in which articles appeared Number of articles per media titles Position of articles Visual impact of articles

10. Content weighting Percentage weighting on top of readership for: Tone of coverage Section in which articles appeared Number of articles per media titles Position of articles Visual impact of articles

11. where is the debate Pic: Nomaan on Flickr

14. Qualitative measurement

15. We haven’t mentioned AVE yet… Volume measurements are crude and of no use in the planning process (never mind the quality, feel the weight!) AVE increasingly discredited as misleading – why measure the value of PR against advertising? No way to measure and evaluate broadcast or online coverage Evaluation should be a tool that helps with planning campaigns in ‘real time’ and demonstrating that messages are reaching the relevant audiences through the right channels “ While AVE should not be used to measure PR, it is often requested and can sometimes provide a simple, though flawed, comparative metric across campaigns”. COI Standardisation of PR Evaluation Metrics

16. how does this work in practice Pic: Nomaan on Flickr

17. Golley Slater planning & measurement

23. what else should we measure Pic: Nomaan on Flickr

24. Demonstrating professional success Within (and on behalf of) the organisation: Performance of the team – appraisals, awards Professionalism of the team – qualifications, CPD, credentials Time input Recognition of counsel and advice role Case studies of success Internal PR for PR

25. Other methods of measuring success Depending on the objective and activity: Journalist audits Stakeholder audit Feedback from events Publications – feedback and reader surveys Focus groups Target audience surveys

26. Measuring outcomes Often requires investment in research Difficult to tie outcomes back to PR activities Can look at changes to behaviour enquiries up, complaints down, web traffic changes

27. monitor & measure online Pic: Nomaan on Flickr

28. Free tools for monitoring We should be monitoring online ‘chatter’ as part of our day-to-day PR lives We should be listening for ourselves, but also ‘buzz monitoring’ – comparing the amount and quality of conversation and engagement about us vs our competitors Free tools can also be used to evaluate the success of online activity against your set objectives Check out the PR Measurement Blog for discussions around social media monitoring or here http:// bit.ly/LoSzE for 100 ways to measure social media. Pic: imagesource.com (free content)

29. General alerts and trends Google alerts www.google.com /alerts set up regular checks for clients and also competitor brands send through competitor information to your clients Google insights www.google.com /insights Free industry insights and keyword data Google Trends www.google.com /trends Shows the most popular searches Compete www.compete.com Shows web traffic and compares up to three sites Social media stats and analytics www.forrester.com www.comscore.com

30. Blogs Blogs www.technorati.com is the main search engine for blogs as it also ranks them by authority. Google also offers the facility to search blog and the buzz monitoring tools below will pick them up too. www.co.mments.com just tracks comments use www.boardtracker.com to keep an eye on forums Find an influential blogger (start with the main media’s blog in the sector) and see who they subscribe to and link to – it will give you a picture of the network Tag clouds are good quick way to get a picture of a blogger’s main interests Use an RSS reader to monitor new blog content

31. Facebook Facebook Check regularly for Fan pages and work out how/whether to engage Also search for potential Anti Group Use Facebook insights on fan pages you run for data on what content is most engaging and to check if you’re attracting the right audience Facebook ad planner shows you demographic data against location and interests for planning campaigns

32. Monitoring social media and online buzz www.howsociable.com f ree weekly analysis of leading social media sites www.socialmention.com realtime social media search, alerts and analytics www.blogpulse.com track trends and conversations, search blog profiles www.netvibes.com set up personalised dashboard to track social media, brands or news www.perspctv.com compare up to five search terms for blog, news and social media mentions www.surchur.com real time social media search www.tinker.com Monitor conversations on twitter and facebook

33. any questions Pic: Nomaan on Flickr