Over the last few years, more and more people have said that they
don’t recognise Advertising Value Equivalency (AVE) as an effective way to measure the success of public relations performance. This has led to a lot of debate as to whether or not PR is actually a must for brands.
However, there is no denying that
it is more important than ever before. PR pros do maintain trust, bring in the human-to-human element and showcase a brand’s value; their role should not be underestimated!
So, if public relations is so important, then how can a PR pro actually prove the value of their work? Well,
media update’s Talisa Carlson takes a deeper dive into how a PR practitioner's efforts can be measured here.
Ready to get into? Let’s do it:
1. Keep track of all communications
As a PR professional, you spend a
lot of time speaking to publications and journalists to ensure that essential press releases get published and read by the
right audience. Gaining earned media for a brand is not as easy as some people make it out to be (but you obviously know this).
It is vital, then, to keep a record of all the messages that you send to clients, publications, journalists, or the public. This is important because if you ever need to go back and show what work you’ve done in the past, having that paper trail will show
everything required to argue your skill, effort and worth.
This can help prove the efforts you have put into place to reach earned media and meet the goals set out by the client. So, be sure to keep a record of your emails, direct messages on social media and take relevant notes during phone calls. This is a great way to ensure you stay on top of all communication efforts.
2. Make use of a social media auditing platform
Social media plays a
vital role in the success of any communications strategy; this is because, as a PR pro, you can reach hundreds (if not thousands) of people with the message your client wants to provide to their audience.
Since social media is such a fast-paced environment, it can become easy to miss important mentions or conversations surrounding your client’s brand. This can lead to you missing opportunities where you can prove how invaluable your services for a brand are.
Enter social media auditing tools.
This type of
tool helps you keep track of:
- mentions of your client’s brand
- loyal followers or fans of your brand, and
- trends and insights into important engagement metrics.
This valuable information will prove what an important part you have played in your client's success.
3. Keep the client up to do date
It is vital to keep your clients up to date. Not only does this ensure an ongoing communication and relationship-building strategy, but it also informs them about what you are currently working on. We are not talking about micromanaging here but rather just having open and continuous communication between the PR pro and its brand.
Having ongoing conversations surrounding press releases and meetings with the public is a must. This will ensure that expectations are being set by the brand and that the PR pro will be able to meet them.
By keeping your client up to date, you can constantly show and prove that the work you are doing is actually making a difference.
For example, you can tell the client that you sent out a press release on a Tuesday morning and it already received the expected amount of engagements on the Wednesday morning. This way, you can ensure that you continue showing your efforts and worth.
What are some other tips on how PR pros can prove the value of their work? Let us know in the comments section below.
Now that you know how to prove the value of your work to your clients, be sure to read Four metrics PR pros need to measure.
*Image courtesy of
Vecteezy