In today’s day and age, public relations needs to have a tangible return, as is the case with any business investment. However, the outcomes of a PR program, such as public perception, consumer attitudes or brand loyalty, are difficult to quantify, making PR measurement especially challenging.
Credit: PR News
But, while PR measurement – given its nature – will never be a perfect science, the good news is that the Internet has opened up a sea of possibilities when it comes to correlating a public relations action with a specific, measurable result. And all you need is a Google Analytics account to get started.
Here are the key digital metrics you’ll need to know and how to use them to help determine the effectiveness of your public relations efforts.
Referral paths – Identify where a site visitor came from to get to your website or client’s website. For instance, if you recently had your company or client featured in a Forbes article, measuring referral paths would tell you how many people read that article, and as a result, visited your website, filled out a contact form on the site, or took another specific action.
Shares – Measuring shares of an article that you published for your client, or a video that you posted on your company’s Facebook page, is a great way to determine level of engagement to your content and messages, beyond just impressions or page views.
Inbound links from quality sources – By looking at how many quality websites are linking back to your website or page, you can assess how well-respected your company or brand is in the digital domain – and it’s also one of the core criteria for building your brand’s Search Engine Optimization.
Duration of page visits – Monitor how long a user stayed on your web page, showcasing a news release or media win, for instance, to see how engaged he or she is with its content or messages.
Comments – The Data Hub Activity report in Google Analytics shows you how people are talking about and engaging with your site content on social networks. You’ll be able to see the most recent URLs people shared, how they shared it, and what they said.
So, as you can see, with just a website and basic Google Analytics account, you can tap into these five metrics in order to measure the impact of your public relations efforts with better accuracy than ever before.
