As marketing communications and public relations continue to play a significant role in the success of businesses and organizations, it is essential to determine the effectiveness of these efforts. Here are five ways to measure the effectiveness of marketing communications and public relations efforts.
Media impressions refer to the total number of times that a particular media outlet, such as a newspaper or television network, has featured an organization’s message or story. Media impressions are a vital metric to measure because they can indicate the potential reach of a message or story. By measuring media impressions, organizations can determine how many people have seen their message or story and how many may have been influenced by it. Several programs, such as Cision, Muck Rack and Meltwater, can provide these numbers, albeit inflated, since viewership (of the article) is not available typically from media outlets. Rather, entire website viewership is reported with these services. Jayme Soulati covers off more on how.
Social media has become an essential component of marketing communications and public relations efforts, and measuring social media engagement can provide valuable insights into the effectiveness of these efforts. Social media engagement metrics, such as likes, shares, and comments, can help organizations determine how many people are engaging with their social media content and the level of interest in the organization’s message. HootSuite, SproutSocial and Loomly are three popular services that pull in metrics together. Alternatively, use the native Facebook, Instagram and LinkedIn analytics to pull those numbers. Elena Cucu’s article here goes into some detail.
Brand awareness is a critical metric for measuring the effectiveness of marketing communications and public relations efforts. Brand awareness refers to the level of familiarity and recognition that potential customers have with an organization’s brand. By measuring brand awareness, organizations can determine how well their messaging is resonating with their target audience and identify opportunities to improve brand recognition. In addition to consumer surveys, use what you have to measure brand awareness — trends of your own direct website traffic, internet search volume for your brand name (Google Trends), social media share of voice from listening tools such as Critical Mention, Cision, Brandwatch and others. Warner Geyser has a helpful list.
A company’s website is often the first point of contact between the organization and potential customers or stakeholders. Measuring website traffic can provide valuable insights into the effectiveness of marketing communications and public relations efforts. By analyzing website traffic, organizations can determine how many people are visiting their website, how long they are staying on the site, and which pages are most popular. This information can help organizations optimize their website content and determine the effectiveness of their messaging. Check Steven Kelly’s article here for lots of resources.
Conversion rates refer to the percentage of website visitors who take a specific action, such as filling out a form or making a purchase. Measuring conversion rates can help organizations determine how effective their marketing communications and public relations efforts are in driving website traffic and engaging potential customers. By analyzing conversion rates, organizations can identify areas for improvement and optimize their messaging and website content to increase conversion rates. Corey Morris discusses more here about conversion rate calculations.
All the efforts — in earned media, paid media, owned media and social media — come at a price. Be sure the spend is paying off.