finding your a-ha moments, nonprofit university, june 22, 2016
TRANSCRIPT
Finding Your “A-Ha” Moments: Resources and Examples for Measuring Meaningful PR Metrics
LORI MILLER, @lorimillerwhnt June 22, 2016
“We talk about big data, but its actually big insights [we need]”
Unilever CEO
@lorimillerwhnt
CLARIFY What do I want to
know so that
I can act?
MEASURE What do I need to measure to find out?
ANALYZE How do I use the
data to make a decision?
@lorimillerwhnt
Basic Steps for Better Measurement 1. Get alignment on goals
2. Define your audiences
3. Write SMART objectives
4. Define your benchmarks
5. Define your metrics
6. Define the data collection tools
7. Collect data, analyze results,
take action, measure again
clarify
measure
analyze @lorimillerwhnt
What do I want to know
so that I can act?
STEP 1: Better Goals Over time, you need to reconsider your assumptions. Do you need… Agreement on the most pressing organizational problems? Better data on who your target audience is? Better intel on what elements motivate your target audience to purchase, support, donate, or change a habit or opinion? To know what parts of what are already doing work or don’t work?
@lorimillerwhnt
STEP 2: Target Audiences 1. What is desired action of you target audience? 2. What demographic groups are most likely to take the
desired action? 3. How do they think? 4. What needs, challenges, and frustrations do they have? 5. How does your idea, service, or product help your target
audience? 6. What drives them to make purchasing decisions? (or
donating, volunteering, sharing, etc) 7. Do they currently use (or support) a product or service of
your organization or that of a similar organization? 8. What media do they currently use? 9. How can you best reach your target audience? 10.Are you confident you picked the right target audience?
@lorimillerwhnt SOURCE: Katie Paine
Local Example
STEP 3: SMART Objectives Objectives should be “SMART” • Specific (both action to be taken and public
involved) • Measurable • Attainable • Results (outcome) oriented (or relevant) • Time-specific
Objectives should always 1. Define WHAT opinion, attitude or behavior
you want to achieve from specific publics, 2. Specify how much change you want to
achieve from each public, and 3. Tell by when you want to achieve that
change.
@lorimillerwhnt SOURCE: Universal Accreditation Board
OUTPUTS (what you do) Work Created
[ not enough ]
PROCESS (impact on audience) Influenced awareness
New attitudes
[ better ]
OUTCOMES (impact on organization)
Donations/leads New behavior
[ much better]
Objectives come in three general types
@lorimillerwhnt SOURCE: AMEC
Local Example
What do I need to measure
to find out?
Measurement is a comparative tool
@lorimillerwhnt
STEP 4: Define benchmarks Decide who or what you are going to
compare yourself to • Peer organizations • Your own performance over time
@lorimillerwhnt
“Benchmark and measure what keeps you up at night”
STEP 5: Define metrics
STEP 6: Define data collection
tools Decide on a small handful of metrics that are most informative AND let’s you act
It’s useful to think of them at the same time to plan
Let’s see some examples!
@lorimillerwhnt
To help us get from principals to actual practice,
let’s see some examples!
OUTPUTS (what you do) Work Created
40 pieces of targeted coverage 3 tweets per day #1 SOV at 32%
[ not enough ]
PROCESS (impact on audience) Influenced awareness
New attitudes
Brand image +5% Reputation +5%
Performance +4%
[ better ]
OUTCOMES (impact on organization)
Donations/leads New behavior
$50K sponsorships
Lead conversion 15%
[ much better]
@lorimillerwhnt
no direct value
SOURCE: AMEC
Draft plan – PRCA PRobono 2016 Committee
@lorimillerwhnt SOURCE: AMEC
AMEC’s International Best Practices for PR Measurement and Evaluation
http://amecorg.com/downloads/resource/ValidMetricsFramework7June2011PrintVersion.pdf
Recommendations from “Valid Metrics Framework”
http://amecorg.com/downloads/resource/ValidMetricsFramework7June2011PrintVersion.pdf @lorimillerwhnt
Recommendations from “Valid Metrics Framework”
Metrics change over time
http://www.businessesgrow.com/2015/09/09/content-marketing-measurement @lorimillerwhnt
What may be acceptable in the beginning perhaps isn’t sufficient for more established programs
Top Metrics to Measure If you aren’t sure what to measure, start here 1. Conversions
2. Messages that drive action
3. Share of voice (SOV)
*Make sure the value matches the objectives
@lorimillerwhnt SOURCE: Katie Paine
The Matter of Proxies
Can’t measure an action? Choose as a proxy something you CAN measure. An acceptable proxy is a metric that everyone agrees is representative enough to be acceptable to senior leadership.
Question Do PR programs increase donations?
Obstacle Can’t get access to donor data
Proxy Metric and Tool • Unique sessions on “Thank
you for your donation” landing page
• Google Analytics
@lorimillerwhnt SOURCE: Katie Paine
Local Example
How do I use the data
to make a decision?
“You need to do more than just develop discipline around collecting data. What you want is the discipline to look at what you’ve collected and
generate insights.” Katie Paine
STEP 7: Collect, Analyze,
Take Action, Measure Again
CLARIFY
ANALYZE MEASURE
@lorimillerwhnt
ASK: What Will I Do With My Information?
@lorimillerwhnt
Local Example
IN SUMMARY Measurement is the best way to demonstrate the value of your
work so use it – it’s there to guide you, not criticize you Don't obsess about the number. Focus on the link between
activities and outcomes Don’t just count – analyze! Develop the discipline to use
measurement to track progress and design better programs
http://new.praccreditation.org/resources/documents/apr-study-guide.pdf
http://amecorg.com/
International Association for the Measurement and Evaluation of Communications
DEADLINE July 11, 2016
