PR Pros: Take a Seat at the Table

Wendy Glavin, Founder & CEO, Wendy Glavin Agency

The National Press Club in Washington, DC was the ideal venue for PR News’ Measurement Conference. The Club’s emblem is the Owl, in deference to wisdom, awareness and nights spent working.

Global thought-leaders and 2017 Hall of Famers, Richard Bagnall, CEO Prime Research UK, Mike Daniels, Principal, Measurement Practice, John Gilfeather, Executive Vice President, Koski Research, Elizabeth Rector, Senior Manager, Customer Experience & Insights, Cisco Systems, and other communications specialists discussed PR and social media measurement strategies and provided case studies.Ray Kerins, Senior Vice President, Head of Communications & Government Relations at Bayer Corporation says, “80% of my day, night and weekend job is insuring Bayer’s reputation is as strong as ever.”Kerins gave credit to Jimmy Kimmel’s great piece, “What’s a GMO?”: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EzEr23XJwFY, adding, “We met with the organization, other Capitol Hill staffers and GMOs. Our goal is to engage, educate and promote or disprove the stories that are untrue."Kerins' advice:

• Be Part of The Solution

• Stay Proactive Instead of Firefighting

• Stop the Problem Before It Becomes a Crisis

• Don’t Rely on a Single Data Point

• Have Your Own Set of Metrics (a collective understanding of what’s being said both inside and out)

Danielle Brigida, National Social Media Manager, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service reflected, “We weren’t painting a full picture with our digital presence. When we started doing social media measurement, first we listened, then we engaged. After, we were in a better position to provide original content.”According to Brigida, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service's process is to measure across platforms, export data from those platforms and analyze it. With Twitter, we read the tweets to determine how specific words perform. Also, timing, current variables, trends, and earned media are key measurement variables, she said.When Brigida and I spoke further she provided a framework. “There are 561 National Parks created with wildlife. Some National Wildlife refuges post at the local level. I watched their behavior on social media and created a Facebook post about turtles crossing the street.  We create content around it every year. It is connecting an ecosystem. We need to create value.”Brigida’s social media measurement “weapons” are:

• Share this

• Google Analytics

• Google Webmaster Tools

• RSS Reader Subscribers (Feedly)

• Mentions (Google Scripts, Social Mention)

• Sprout Social, a Social Media Monitoring Tool

• Evergreen Content Used Beyond an Event

Sally Falkow, Strategist, Meritus Media, recommended Sendible, a complete social media platform. In response to a question about which tool is best, Falkow responded, “There are different types of campaign methods. In-depth analysis comes first.”Falkow’s advice:

• Define Your Goal

• Identify Your Target Audiences

• Determine What the Content is About

• Listen to the Conversation

“You can build communities with influencers and enthusiasts with smaller followings by finding people who are passionate. They can influence a lot of people,” Brigida added.Keynote Speaker Chris Roth, Global Executive Vice President for Burson Marsteller and author of “Reputation Strategy and Analytics in a Hyper-Connected World” trusts feedback from consumers and influencers.“Measurement is a journey and businesses are on a different part of this journey. For me, metrics are important because it gives me an understanding of the impact of the communications I do every day to build and defend brands. Without metrics, I don’t know the impact of the work I’m doing.” Roth says.Steve Goldstein, Editorial Director of PRNews announced the 2017 Hall of Fame inductees who’ve advanced and championed key metrics, put data at the heart of communications, are evangelists, and contribute to the well-being of the profession.David Rockland, Ketchum Partner, spoke about the Barcelona Principles, a document created by a large committee of public relations professionals that establishes broad guidelines. Changes from the original principles 2010 to 2015 are:

• Principal 1: Goal Setting and Measurement are Fundamental to Communication and Public Relations

• Principal 2: Measuring Communications Outcomes is Recommended Versus Only Measuring Outcomes

• Principle 3: The Effect on Organizational Performance Can and Should Be Measured Where Possible

• Principle 4: Measurement and Evaluation Require Both Qualitative and Quantitative Methods

• Principle 5: Advertising Value Equivalents (AVEs) are not the Value of Communications

• Principal 6: Social Media Can and Should be Measured Consistently with Other Media Channels

• Principle 7: Measurement and Evaluation Should be Transparent, Consistent and Valid

To find out more, read Forbes 2016 interview with David: https://www.forbes.com/sites/robertwynne/2016/02/01/explaining-the-barcelona-principles/ - 5fd346df5faeIn summary, what is good measurement?

• Know the Business

• Do Great Work

• Work with Different Types of People (left and right-brained thinkers)

• Take Risks

• Bring People Together

• Collaborate and Co-Create

• Eliminate Silos

• Have a Seat at the Table