Maximizing Your PR Metrics: A Guide to Choosing the Right Reporting Platform and Measuring What Matters
As corporate communicators, you understand the importance of measuring the effectiveness of your public relations efforts - in fact, you are likely regularly reporting to leadership. But with so many different metrics to consider and so much data to sift through, it can be a daunting task to determine which metrics are most meaningful and how to report on them in a way that resonates with stakeholders.
That's where reporting platforms like Muck Rack, Onclusive, and Prowly - to name a few - can be incredibly valuable. These platforms allow you to track your coverage and metrics in real-time, identify trends and patterns, and generate reports that showcase the impact of your media relations efforts. Each platform will offer slightly different features, but many offer free trials so you can get a feel of what will work best for you and your leadership team.
Here are a few things to consider when thinking about your metrics and the platforms that will help you:
Ease of Use: The platform should be intuitive and easy to navigate, with a user-friendly interface that doesn't require extensive training or technical knowledge to use. This is especially important for busy PR professionals who need to quickly access and analyze data to make informed decisions. The trial period is the perfect time to learn, explore and get your questions answered.
Flexibility: While you should have your KPIs (key performance indicators) determined at the beginning of the year, we all know that things change. Consider whether the platform allows you to customize reports and whether it offers integration with other tools you use to track your communication efforts. A flexible platform will allow you to make adjustments to your reporting strategy as needed and provide the insights you need to improve.
Responsiveness: Customer support is an important factor to consider when choosing a reporting platform. The salesperson may be nice, but you want to ensure that you have access to a dedicated account manager or support representative who can answer your questions and provide assistance as needed. Consider whether the platform offers a direct point of contact and how quickly they respond to requests. Communication efforts are often time-sensitive, so it's important that your questions are answered in a timely manner.
Visual Appeal: The visual presentation of your data is just as important as the data itself. Executives may have different preferences when it comes to data presentation, so your reporting platform should offer a range of visualization options to accommodate different preferences. Consider whether the platform allows you to generate customizable reports with a range of charts, graphs, and tables. Look for platforms that offer clear and easy-to-read visualizations that highlight key data points and provide a quick overview of your efforts.
Now let’s dive into what we’re measuring. First and foremost, it’s important that we strive to measure outcomes, impact and outputs. We believe in using the Barcelona Principles, a list of seven voluntary guidelines established by the global PR industry to measure the efficiency of PR campaigns. With that said, we know there are common metrics to look at to assess how your media relations efforts are moving the needle. Here are a few:
Share of Voice: Share of Voice compares the number of your brand's media mentions to those of your competitors. This metric is useful for understanding how your brand is performing relative to your competitors and identifying areas where you may need to improve.
Sentiment: Sentiment measures the tone of articles and whether your brand is being discussed in a positive, negative, or neutral way. If you choose to measure sentiment through a program like Muck Rack, be sure to read the mentions yourself to make sure it was interpreted correctly.
Media Mentions: This is one of the most basic PR metrics. Media mentions indicate how often your brand is being talked about in the media, which can be a good indicator of your overall brand awareness. Depending on the platform, you can track online, print and broadcast hits.
Reach: This measures how many people your media mentions are potentially reaching, or how large the audience may be.
Social Media Engagement: Social media engagement measures how often people are interacting with your brand on social media platforms, including likes, shares and comments. This can be a good indicator of how well your messaging is resonating with your target audience.
Measuring and evaluating your PR campaigns is essential for understanding the effectiveness of your efforts and identifying areas for improvement. We regularly work with our client partners to understand what success looks like and how we can work together to demonstrate both value and impact.