Monitoring & measuring the success of a PR campaign is a crucial final piece of the puzzle. Measuring the success of a campaign involves assessing the effectiveness of the campaign & evaluating whether the desired outcomes have been achieved. There are many different metrics that can be used, & these can vary depending on the goals of the campaign.
One of the most important metrics to consider is the total opportunities to see or ‘reach’. This refers to the number of people who have had the opportunity to see or hear the message of the campaign. This can be determined by analysing the number of views or impressions that the campaign has generated across various mediums. Note – always feel free to ask journalists for the select publications Media Kit so you can get a better understanding of their reach / demographic. For bigger publications, a quick google search should give you an idea of their total reach.
Other key metrics to consider when analysing the overall success of a campaign include:
1. Audience alignment – does the coverage reach the people your product/service is targeting?
2. Website link inclusion (for digital coverage) – was your website included in the Media coverage, to make it easy for readers to find you?
3. Image inclusion – did the publication include a photo of your brand/business? They say a photo is worth 1000 words, so we always push for this!
4. Social Media share / tag – most notable Media publications have a substantial social following, so a share on socials can go a long way in driving people to your article
5. Call-to-Action included – at Straight Up PR, we’re big on our call to actions! Something like, “Swing by your local Woolworths to pick up XX today!”. This helps create urgency as well as telling the reader exactly what to do
6. Spokesperson mention – whether it’s the business owner, CEO or an external Spokesperson, having a person represent your brand goes a long way in building trust & credibility
7. Key Messages included – did the Media feature include your brand’s key talking points? Key Messages can be anything from ‘locally made’ & ‘ethically sourced ingredients’ to a specific product feature
These metrics help to evaluate the effectiveness of the campaign & can be used to identify areas for improvement or further refinement for future PR activity.
We recommend compiling an excel spreadsheet to track all activity throughout your PR campaign, taking note of these key metrics, which is what we do for all our clients at Straight Up PR. This will make it much easier to look at your campaign through an analytical lens & work out what went well as well as opportunities you wouldn’t explore again.
If you’re interested in executing a PR Campaign for your brand or business but don’t know where to start, get in touch with us at Hannah@StraightUpPR.com.au – we are here to help!