How to measure your PR efforts in 2024

Good news! Public Relations efforts can be measured and should be!

Avoid the frustration of not knowing the impact of your PR campaign, and justify your PR spending against business goals.

Watch our one minute video below, and then read on to find out how to measure your PR efforts in 2024.

The frustration with PR

Picture the scene – you’ve invested a substantial amount of resources into a PR campaign. You’re eagerly waiting to see the impact, but days turn into weeks, and weeks into months, yet you have no idea if your efforts are making any difference. This is the frustration many marketers face when they invest in PR without measuring its impact.

In this article, Deputy Managing Director, Liz Churchman, uncovers the critical importance of PR measurement. She’ll explore how it not only maximises your return on investment (ROI), but also guides your strategic decisions, ensuring your PR efforts hit the mark every time.

What is PR measurement?

PR measurement is about gaining deep insights into the impact of your PR activities. It involves evaluating the effectiveness of your PR efforts through various quantitative and qualitative metrics, going way beyond just counting media mentions.

When we consider the key components of PR measurement, it includes multiple aspects, each providing different insights into your PR success:

1. Media analysis – the volume and quality of media coverage.
2. Sentiment analysis – understanding the tone of the coverage.
3. Share of voice – comparing your media presence to competitors.
4. Engagement metrics – measuring audience interactions such as comments, shares, and likes.

Why is PR measurement important?

PR measurement ensures that your PR activities are aligned with broader business objectives, supporting overall growth strategies. Effective PR measurement provides tangible evidence of PR’s impact, making it easier to justify budget allocations and demonstrate value to stakeholders. It’s like ensuring your ship’s course aligns with your ultimate destination.

The data insights that can be harnessed from PR measurement can also inform and improve your future PR strategies, making them more effective. A better understanding of which activities yield the highest ROI allows for better resource allocation, ensuring that your PR budgets are spent efficiently.

When considering crisis communications, effective PR measurement can help manage and mitigate those crises by keeping a watchful eye on sentiment and media coverage in real-time, enabling quick and informed responses.

Now that you know media has a powerful influence, let me explain to you why that is. The media works in tandem with all marketing strategies. Whether premeditated or as a bout of good luck, the media automatically impacts public perception of your brand, boosting its performance and reach… or destroying everything you worked strenuously to build.

How can PR be measured?

Establishing SMART objectives (Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, and Time-bound) is the foundation of effective PR measurement. Your Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) act as the compass guiding your journey. Picture setting sail on a voyage without a map or destination. That’s what PR without clear objectives looks like.

Once on your journey, you want to check regularly to ensure you’re still on course. Continuous monitoring and regular reporting do just that for your PR strategies. Monthly and quarterly assessments help ensure your PR activities are aligned with your objectives and allow you to adjust your strategy as needed.

In the age of technology, advanced analytics and AI are your secret navigational tools. They provide deeper insights from your PR data, uncovering patterns and trends that might not be immediately apparent. These technologies are becoming more prominent within our industry, enabling us to provide more precise measurement and forecasting.

How is PR value measured?

Before you embark on a PR campaign, setting clear, measurable goals is non-negotiable. These objectives should be directly tied to the desired outcomes of your campaign. Gathering data is also essential.

There are currently several ways PR is measured. Key metrics to analyse include:

• Media coverage – assessing the quantity and quality of media mentions gives you an idea of how widespread and influential your PR activities are.
• Audience reach – this metric measures how many people have been exposed to your PR message, giving you an idea of your campaign’s breadth.
• Sentiment analysis – understanding the tone of the media coverage and audience conversations helps gauge public perception of your brand.
• Engagement levels – interactions such as comments, shares, and likes indicate how deeply your audience is connecting with your PR content.
• Website traffic – monitoring changes in website traffic can help attribute spikes to specific PR activities, showcasing their direct impact on audience behaviour.

Using various methods such as media monitoring, surveys, and social media analytics will help you to gather insights into the effectiveness of your PR efforts.

Once you’ve collected your data, it’s time to evaluate it.

Calculating the return on investment for PR activities involves comparing the costs of your PR efforts to the benefits they generate, both monetary and non-monetary.

At EC-PR, we understand the vital importance of quantifying the impact of PR campaigns. Our PR measurement services are designed to provide clear, actionable, and business-focused metrics that help you evaluate both direct outcomes and the broader impact of your communication strategies.

• Measurement ‘Lite’ – this foundational PR measurement service is included as standard for all clients, focusing on essential metrics such as Outputs and Outtakes. Measurement Lite provides a clear view of publicity volume, impressions, and engagement.
• Measurement ‘Grande’ – For those seeking a comprehensive understanding of their PR campaigns, Measurement Grande offers a fully bespoke service. It includes all metrics from Measurement Lite plus tailored metrics that reflect the contribution of PR activities to your business objectives. This service measures Outcomes and Impact, aligning with SMART business goals and providing deeper insights into the tangible business value of PR.