From the desk of Elaine Schoch...

In keeping with previous discussions about measurement, we thought it would be helpful to discuss how to measure social media initiatives.

Did you know that 86 percent of respondents to a recent survey said they had adopted social technologies for their business, yet only 16 percent were measuring its success? 

If you are using social media tools such as Twitter, blogs, Facebook and podcasts for business, how are you measuring their success? Do you know if they are building your brand and impacting your bottom line?

One of the challenges in measuring the ROI for social media is that you are trying to put numeric quantities around engagement with real people having real conversations, which is not quantifiable. While you cannot put metrics around engagement, there are metrics related to social media that are trackable.

Common Metrics to Measure Social Media

• Increases in customer engagement: click-throughs, opt-ins, content downloads, registrations, time spent on the website, page views
• Improvement in Google/Yahoo! search rankings
• E-commerce: overall, jumps around specific social media pushes, sales from people coming in through social channels
• Blogs: Comments left on your blog, subscribers, time spent reading posts, etc.
• Twitter: Increase in followers, RT’s, @, DM, links back to the site via URLs tweeted
• Facebook: Increase in fans, comments, fan photos, links back to the site via Facebooks posts

Keeping these metrics in mind when developing and implementing a social media campaign – or evaluating an existing program - will help to ensure social media initiatives are impacting the bottom line.

At this time of year, most companies are formulating their plans for the year to come. Setting your marketing budget and allocating a portion of that budget for public relations should be part of this process. Since we have been examining how to measure your investment in public relations in our last few posts, we felt a discussion about budgets is perfectly timed.

While budgeting for marketing initiatives is crucial, for some reason we often find clients and prospects have trouble revealing their budget, when asked. Maybe the truth is that many companies do not know where to begin.

Here are some basic budgeting parameters that may help.

From the desk of Patrick Ward...

Over the past few weeks, we have been discussing the challenges and benefits of measurement of PR programs. As we have said in other installments, measurement represents a critical issue in this economic climate, but it is also frequently misunderstood, employed haphazardly, and often doesn’t reflect the true intent of the exercise.

Many people think that measuring PR programs is a function of sales or other customer engagements. While this is the valuable measure of any business success, PR isn’t really about sales, at least directly. To understand public relations as a discipline, it might be helpful to refer to its roots. The father of PR is generally considered to be Edward Bernays, a nephew of Sigmund Freud, and a devoted follower of the shifting understanding of psychology in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Among Bernays’ major programs were the 50th anniversary of the light bulb for GE and a comprehensive program for Lucky Strike cigarettes in which he orchestrated the popularity of the color green, which coincidentally was the color of the Lucky Strike packaging.

Bernays understood that PR was the tip of the sales sword. If you control the opinion of the audience or customer, then the sales effort is greatly facilitated. This can all lead to sales, but sales is not the only parameter to measure results.

We believe that real measurement comes in two stages. First, understand exactly what you want to achieve. Let’s say hypothetically that a company was planning an extension of its product lines from a business-to-business customer base to a consumer one. At a very rudimentary level, some of things you would want to consider would be the awareness of this product to consumers, whether they believed they needed it and whether or not they thought this company was the right company from which to buy it. So from a PR perspective, you would want to try and introduce the product to people, demonstrate that need and demonstrate that this company was the one to supply it. But how would you measure it?

You could say sales, but those sales might not show up for some time after you had achieved the goals outlined above. One way to really understand if a PR program has moved the needle is to understand the baseline awareness and then, once you have concluded the programs, talk to the same customer base and ask them again. If you raise the awareness and raise the sense of need and raise the acceptability and brand awareness of the company in that market, then PR has done its job.

The obvious way to do that is through surveys. Most big agencies have done this kind of work, but it has traditionally been expensive and clients with more modest budgets shy away from the high costs. But now a number of online survey companies have emerged and greatly reduced this expense. Companies like SurveyMonkey, surveygizmo and QuestionPro are three of these services. They are all free services, but that plan limits the reporting you get. For a subscription fee that can range from a few hundred to a few thousand dollars a year, you can get much more of the service.

Measurement is a funny business. We have discussed a few different measurement techniques in this series of emails. PR pros and their clients and/or management need to assess which is best suited to their business and their goals. But measuring is a good thing. PR is truly more art than science, but applying appropriate measurement to a program can tip it at least somewhat in the direction of science. And that is good for everyone involved.

From the desk of Ben Johnson…

With the increasing amount of people flocking to Twitter, it isn’t a surprise that Twitter etiquette is still being defined. While many of these are old news to the veteran tweeters, this is more about helping out the noobs and maybe the veterans that have become a tad lazy. Remember “manners don’t cost a thing,” even on Twitter.

Be all you can be. Make sure your bio describes who you are and what you do. Upload a recognizable photo of yourself and stick with it. Your photo becomes more recognizable than your Twitter handle and therefore can be the deciding factor to read or move on.

Don’t be a copycat. While it is fine to RT information you find interesting, no one wants to follow someone who doesn’t have any original content. Be more than a personal RSS feed and tweet something about your day, something you saw, or news that interests you.

You won’t hurt anyone’s feelings. If you don’t like someone’s content then unfollow them. Be aware that there is a service called Qwitter emails you to inform you who unfollowed you and the tweet that might have caused the unfollow.

Enforce neighborhood watch. Twitter has made a few clean sweeps to rid spammers and botnets but it is still your responsibility to report spam that crosses your feed. You can easily report spam by going to the spammer’s page and clicking “report for spam.”

It’s called social media for a reason. Twitter is social by design and therefore try to interact with people you follow. If someone tweets a question, reply back. If someone needs a restaurant recommendation, recommend one. 

Dirty mouth? Clean it up! Keep your tweets free from derogatory language. Remember what you tweet can be viewed by anyone on Twitter. Would you want your grandmother to see that?

Verbal vomit. Make sure to include context when you @ reply, not only does it rid the global feed from useless tweets but also helps your followers understand what you are saying. Don’t replying with “yes”, “no”, “LOL”, “that’s funny”, “I know”.

Don’t hide. Being transparent is just as important on Twitter. If you recommend a brand, product, or service and they are your client or you were paid to check them out make sure you say so. 

T.M.I. (Too Much Information) Tweets are intended to encourage dialogue among all of your followers, so if they turn into a private conversation then switch over to a direct message.

RT a RT. You only need one RT when you are retweeting a RT from a friend.

From the Desk of Kathryn Marshall...

Today, my colleague, Ben Johnson and I had the distinct pleasure of guest speaking at the CU Journalism school in Boulder.

Our goal was to give students an inside look into the PR industry and what it’s like to work in this ever-changing market. We started the conversation by discussing some of the major trends shaping the PR industry. Clearly Social Media was on the top of the list and as I suspected, they were a bit surprised that the way in which they communicate in their everyday life with friends was having such a monumental effect on our industry. In particular, they were floored by the statistic that the fastest growing user group on Facebook is age 55 and older. In addition, they were surprised to learn that nearly 40 percent of Fortune 500 businesses are using some sort of social media with blogs being most prevalent in that size of companies.

Ben and I were really encouraged by the thought the students put into their questions and wanted to share three of the most interesting ones asked:

Q: What is the most challenging aspect of your job?  

A: There are many challenges we face on a day-to-day basis but the one that continues to come to mind is being able to navigate and garner a steady stream of noteworthy media placements in the ever-shrinking world of publishing.

Q: What is one thing that you wish you could have been more prepared for when starting your job?

A: Ben answered this one being a more recent graduate of the CU Journalism school. He encouraged students to learn more about how to conduct research for potential client campaigns and learn the fundamentals (e.g. how to build a powerful media list from scratch). He also suggested learning how to utilize information they already have on issues like pop culture and how to put that knowledge to work for clients.

Q: How is your firm dealing with economic stress? Have you had to adjust your strategy or target a different audience?

A: What a great question. 104 West is constantly striving to differentiate itself from other PR firms and find new sources of revenue streams. Keeping clients happy is our number one priority as they are often times our biggest advocates in the marketplace.

From the desk of Jen Roane…

This article is the second in a series of three intended to shed light on the subject of measuring ROI in public relations.

Always a subject of discussion among marketing and PR professionals, measurement seems to be even more important these days. The question is coming up earlier in the discussion process than ever before. Is there a way to understand the ROI in public relations without using outdated ad values or extensive research that eats up resources?

“If I hire a sales person, I have a clear return on my investment and it’s pretty immediate.”

We’ve heard this statement or a version of this statement a half dozen times in the last six months from executives looking for a corresponding way to measure their public relations efforts.

Yes, there are hybrid approaches that can be used to effectively measure public relations and deliver a clear return for businesses.

Consider this: Content + Engagement = Influence

Identifying upfront what the substance is, the content, for any given program will start to build the what, how, and when pieces of the next element of the equation – engagement. Are there key stakeholders? Who makes up the circle of influence? Is the content right for each audience? It’s critical to look at all of the relationships and then start evaluating the progress of the overall engagement with these constituencies on a regular basis.

By combining a continuous stream of content with a solid set of engagement goals, the influence of any given PR program starts to become clearer. Add to this attentive communications between the agency and the client, and all parties have a solid map of what success will look like. This also provides a consistent feedback loop in case adjustments need to be made along the way.

This formula can be applied across PR programs – everything from traditional media relations to more of the community and social-based relations. Overall, success can be measured not only by whether or not the targets are hit, but also whether or not the broader effort is sustaining itself and therefore truly forging a place for a brand in the market.

As we have discussed, measurement can take many forms. If you’re content with how your program is measured, you are ahead of the game.  If you haven’t really implemented a system or you are not satisfied with the way you are currently measuring the investment your company is making in PR, you might consider utilizing this method of measurement.

Next week we’ll examine yet another valid way to approach measuring your public relations efforts.  Stay tuned…

From the desk of Johanna Erickson…

Many of us enjoy shopping for that perfect gift as we flip through the pages of a favorite magazine or watch the morning news. What could be better, experts telling us what is popular, affordable and memorable for this year ’s holiday season - they do the leg work for us, we just have to make the purchase. The question for businesses – specifically many of our clients – how do you get a product to be a part of the infamous gift guide? 

Years of helping clients get their products be included in gift guides has taught me quite a few things about what works and what doesn’t. With the gift guide season nearing an end we thought we’d share s few important “rules of the game” that we share with our clients who have a gift guide programs.

    Gift Guide Fact or Fiction:

• The expression Christmas in July is actually very factual. Magazines begin working on gift guides as early as June and are typically closed by the end of August! This means you need to send product and get on their radar in June for a shot at the guide.

• Jack-of-all-trades is true here. The editor in charge of gift guide is probably not who you would guess. This assignment changes year to year and can be the food editor or even a freelancer who just comes in to do the gift guide. Don’t let your product get lost in the wrong hands, do your homework first.

• Sending product is never enough. Editors are overwhelmed with products all hoping to be included in the gift guide. You need to stand out in the crowd through follow up. What are the categories this year? How many gifts will they include? Do they need images? Help them through the process to better position your product for inclusion.

• Know your audience. Many publications run gift guides but not all of them include gift ideas in multiple categories. Don’t send a gift for kids to a magazine that does not include children’s items in their gift guide- sounds obvious, but it happens all the time.

• Print is not the end all be all. Many publications hold a print version AND an online version of the gift guide. The online version is often larger and contains different recommendations. Don’t just pitch the print editor- make sure and reach out for online coverage too. (Hint: the online version may actually be better since it can link directly to the product for immediate purchases.)

• Tickle Me Elmo - not so much. You never know what is going to be the “it” item of the season or for a publication. Gift guides often come down to specific guidelines such as price or a theme. In many cases it is about the layout or the editor-in chief’s final verdict. Gimmicks not needed here - the rules of gift guide are subjective.

• Don’t forget round two! While it is certainly Christmas in July, it is also Christmas part two in September. Short lead publications and broadcast are just starting to think holiday as the leaves fall and the chill comes in the air.

• Gobble Gobble! As you carve the turkey, gift guide season is officially closed. Most guides start to run in November and are stuffed by the time you sit down for Thanksgiving dinner. Yes, you have truly been pitching since June, but it is finally over!

In November the March of Dimes celebrates Prematurity Awareness Month. We’ve blogged before about our involvement with the organization and Kathryn Marshall’s personal experience with her daughter, Jordan. This year Kathryn was asked to speak at two of the March of Dimes major fund raising events in Denver and Boulder, which drew more than 850 attendees. These two events raised more than $345,000 (Team Jordan raised more than $25,000 of that money)!

The March of Dimes produced a very touching video which was shown during both events – Kathryn’s story is featured about mid-way through. Beware: It’s a tear jerker...

From the desk of Patrick Ward...

In today’s economy, the need for measurement of and accountability for PR, either traditional or social have never been greater. However, the lack of definitive metrics is making it hard for companies to commit to PR programs because there is no clear path to value. This post is the first in a series of three I plan to write to shed some light on an issue that has been the subject of discussion in this field for a long time.
 
The Traditional Measurement Approaches

Since news articles appear in newspapers, magazines and on electronic media, the natural measurement approach in PR has been to try and replicate advertising measurement models.

The simplest method for measuring success of a PR program is to add up the circulation of the media that covered the story. That idea sort of works for TV and radio - if you’re watching or listening to the news, then you can’t really skip something. Sure, you can change the channel, but Nielsen factors that into their ratings.
 
It’s even more inaccurate when you try to measure print mediums. Circulation numbers simply represent total distribution. There is no way to tell who read what articles. So even if an article is in a prominent publication, if it’s poorly positioned in the magazine or newspaper, the actual readership may be much lower than the circulation. Furthermore, there is no way to measure if it’s the desired readership.
 
This approach starts to touch on issues of article placement, size and number of mentions in the article. This method often leads to measuring an article by using comparable advertising rates. If a half-page ad costs so much, then a half-page article should be worth the same. That often is a skewed way to look at it. Advertising is like renting a room in a house. PR is more like getting the homeowner to let you spend the night for free. Presence in an article is a validation to many; if it’s in the editorial, it must be true. Advertising is often viewed through a more cynical prism.

PR is rarely a blunt instrument. Advertising can be and often needs to be. Think about the major ad campaign from Yahoo! several years ago in which the company tried to make ‘Yahoo’ a verb.

The holy grail of marketing is to turn your brand into a noun or a verb that has distinct meaning - Kleenex and Xerox come to mind. The company that actually won that battle was Google, whose name is now synonymous with online search. They basically created the concept of a search engine without ever conducting a major national advertising campaign. Google was trying to alert people to a sophisticated technology that required and benefitted from the explicit approval of technology evangelists and trusted reporters.

The right story by the right reporter at the right time can be much more valuable than a comparable ad in the same medium. The Yahoo! ad campaign was easy to measure. Google’s PR probably wasn’t. But which was more effective? That feels like the ultimate measurement.