The Public Relations Blog

Applying the PDCA/Deming Cycle to public relations for strategic growth and improvement

Using measurement and evaluation (M&E) is a process that takes deliberate planning to thoroughly implement. It’s more than lifting some data from your analytics software and hoping to do better next month. Our previous blog posts discussed the difference between measurement and evaluation, the importance of knowing your purpose in this process, what kind of measurement data to collect and how to create SMART goals.

4 tips to be sure you’re measuring your social media efforts correctly

Just because everyone is doing something wrong doesn’t make it right. This is especially true when it comes to measuring social media efforts for your company. With these tips, you can learn the correct way to measure and get the most out of your social media.

With the increased emphasis on quantifying the results of public relations actions, having a solid grasp of the fundamentals of measurement and evaluation is essential in making wise decisions around the use of data. Although many people put them together, measurement and evaluation are separate concepts. To be most effective, you must remember that they’re distinct tasks at different places within the framework of data collection and analysis. 

One of the first things we do upon rising in the morning is check the news to see what’s happened overnight. Some seek out the weather report or stock reports, while others prefer to digest leading headlines or sports news. The fact that news occurs around the clock is one of the main reasons it’s imperative to have a trained media spokesperson on staff at all times.

When crisis hits, bravely step up to the microphone

Living in New England has advantages, except for when our region endures treacherous weather conditions. The past few weeks, we’ve braved a multiple-storm nor’easter pattern that flooded our coastal residences and devastated interior areas. Heavy, wet snow and high winds felled hundreds of trees across power lines and roadways causing extensive outages. As a resident, I earned a ringside seat to the fallout and backlash the power companies received because, while they stated before the storms that they were prepared, they were not.

A guide for a PR informational interview

At some point during their education, most public relations students receive the assignment to interview PR professionals about the industry, the job and to offer advice to someone considering a career in the profession. Trying to find a PR practitioner who is willing to speak to you can be frustrating. We know that PR pros are busy; and we also understand how important it is to help students prepare for their future in PR. Therefore, we created a list of the top six questions we get from PR students in informational interviews.

Advertising Value Equivalency is an outdated PR measurement

Earned media coverage is a terrific way to get your organization in front of audiences that may want to purchase your products and services. Unlike advertising, earned media is an unpaid, third-party mention – that may be a quote, an endorsement or interview. How do you measure earned media coverage and prove its value to executives? Make sure you discuss measurement with your public relations agency early in the relationship so you have shared objectives for communication efforts.

When it comes to public relations, the term media relates to different channels a brand might use to attract new customers.

There are four types of media:

• Paid (advertising)
• Earned (news coverage)
• Shared (social media)
• Owned (web content)

Is a crisis an operations problem or a public relations problem?

Facebook has received its fair share of negative news coverage in the past; however, it’s nothing like the current firestorm around it and the political consulting firm Cambridge Analytica. While the debate continues as to whether Facebook knew that the firm was actively harvesting user data to personalize content based on profile analytics, there’s no question that many Facebook users feel Facebook violated their privacy and are even questioning if the information presented to them on their personal news feeds manipulated them in some way.

To a buyer, sharing is caring

Understanding the journey of a prospective online buyer is essential to designing a flow of information that encourages the behavior you value. Shared media (social media, online reviews and user generated content on channels and sites you share with other companies and individuals), often pivotal in the online shopper’s journey, is a public relations game changer. However, it can also be a wildcard. After all, we don’t dictate who’s doing the sharing or what the audience is saying. This can be scary considering that, professionally, our goal is to control the product message and facilitate interactions between the company and consumer in a positive direction, typically with the overall intention to drive sales.