A recent PR Week piece entitled, "Recruitment consultants find digital skills in short supply within PR industry," has highlighted again the percieved disconnect between traditional PR and the digital skills needed to operate in the 'new' social world. 

The clients we work with in social media absolutely buck this supposed trend so it seems that it is just taking a while to filter through the whole industry.  The piece is good feedback, however, on the areas that are lacking. 

Metrica will be at the Social Media World Forum talking about these very things.  Be great to see some of you there. 

It’s that time of the year that we all look forward to.  Snow is falling and festivities flowing as we prepare to say goodbye to 2009.  It’s been quite a year.  Not least remembered for a heavy downward pressure on budgets; in turn fanning the flames of the eternal debate about how much should be spent on PR measurement.

Back in 1998, the CIPR, PRCA, Public Relations Standards Forum (PRSF) and AMEC put their heads together and produced best practice guidelines on the use of planning, research and evaluation within the industry.  The aim of the campaign, known as PR Week’s Proof campaign, was to encourage companies to allocate 10% of PR budget to measurement.  Over ten years on and, although the 10% figure is often cited, the reality is rather different.  Metrica Insights found that over half (52%) of respondents spend between 1-5% on measurement.  The respondents do, however, believe they should be spending more on evaluation: almost half the participants currently spending between 1-5% recognise that they should be spending between 6-10%.

So, herein lies the conundrum. When budgets are being squished and results are under close scrutiny does it pay to hold fast and continue dedicating 10% to measurement?  Here at Metrica (heavily vested interest aside!) we would argue that the answer is yes.  As long as it’s done properly.  There’s little point spending swathes of money on measurement if it doesn’t demonstrate PR’s contribution to the success of the business.  Counting clips and presenting AVEs won’t make the money spent worthwhile; generating ROI metrics that help prove and improve the effectiveness of PR will.  If you can use your measurement for well-informed planning, tweaking and improving then the budget really starts to sing hard for its supper. 

Interestingly, while more respondents’ 2009 PR budgets decreased (30%) than increased (20%), the majority (46%) stayed the same.  This was a very encouraging result during a global recession.  The widening remit of PR in the social media realm may well have had something to do with this.  Even more reassurance came as 28% of respondents were confident of an increase in overall PR budgets coming into 2010.  Is this result a reality?  Have your budgets been decided yet? And, most importantly, have you put aside a set amount for measurement? 

Next time we’re looking at opinions around ROI – the catch of the day, the phrase du jour, the Holy Grail. At long last there’s been increased demand for PR ROI.  How are our respondents satisfying this demand?  We’ll be back in the New Year to find out. Happy Christmas everyone!

After Metrica's exciting news last week regarding our acquisition by Durrants, it’s back to business as usual on the blog.  So, on with our introductory post from Metrica Insights...  

With solid PR objectives sorted, the next thing to think about is how they will be measured.  Do you need to do pre and post research?  Do you need to feed into a marketing mix model that the advertisers are running?  Do you need to measure your media output? A wise man once said, “not everything that counts can be counted, and not everything that can be counted counts.”  One of the biggest barriers to doing the right measurement is often cited as money.  Gravitating towards the quick ROI win helps.  Piggy back on the advertising department’s econometric model.  Add an evaluation question to your newshook research.

A worrying 12% of respondents don’t measure the results of PR.  It brings to mind a couple of business maxims that still ring true: what gets measured is what gets done; you can’t manage what you don’t measure.  Clichéd, yes, but oh so true.

So how are people using measurement? Overall, the trend shows the growing importance of media evaluation.  Which is great.   

What looks worrying however is the decreased use of PR measurement for planning since we last asked in 2006.  Only when measurement is used for tactical readjustments as well as strategic planning and refinement does it truly show its value.

For the first time we also asked if measurement is used to track and respond to social media.  68% said yes.  Now, I don’t know about you but I can only imagine this increasing overtime.  Tracking effectively is the first step.  Chris Brogan, an internet sensation known for his sagely advice says, “grow bigger ears”.  Listen first and listen hard (or get your media measurement agency to do it for you).  Then you can decide what action to take.

PR measurement can wear many hats.  It can be a benchmarking or campaign measurement tool, it can be used for audience targeting and media planning, it can justify additional PR budget and resources and it can be used for agency or staff performance.  Ideally measurement should serve all these purposes, and more; the list’s by no means exhaustive.  By increasing the uses you put your measurement to, you increase the value you get from it.

Before we say goodbye, here are some practical tips to take away right this minute:

• Check your objectives match those of the organisation, are measurable and have timeframes
• Ask around your organisation about existing marketing mix modelling / econometrics and market research.  If it's happening, get involved.
• Have a good think about how measurement is currently being used.  Have you got an actionable tool that helps you tweak tactics, set strategies and communicate your success to the business?  Or do you just flick through your lengthy report and contemplate its usefulness as a doorstop? Make your measurement work hard for its money.

Speaking of money, our next instalment is all about money.  Everybody loves a £ / $ / € sign.  We’ll be looking at how much people spend on measurement.  Is there a right amount?  How have other PRO’s budgets been affected this year?  What’s the outlook for 2010?  Until then…

Hello and welcome to the Metrica Insights series.  The data fuelling these posts is a long running study of the UK PR industry’s measurement practices.  Since 1998, Metrica has been interviewing a large group of PR professionals every two years* to gauge their thoughts and actions around all things measurement.  Using the latest results as a springboard for thought and discussion, these posts will focus on the main issues facing PR practitioners in an increasingly ROI-centric world. This week we’re looking at the basics. 

As someone once said, the beginning is a very good place to start.  It sounds obvious but all too often we ignore the basics in the furore of everyday life.   

The best PR begins with solid plans.  Metrica Insights found that a worrying 23% of respondents have no formal plan driving their PR efforts.  Nothing documenting what they are trying to achieve, what messages they need to deliver to what audiences to do it and how they are going to prove that it got done.  Scary. Trouble is, planning takes time.  And that’s one thing that is in short supply in the world of PR.  So quick wins must be the way forward.  No PR plan should take place without setting strong, relevant objectives.  Real ones.  Measurable ones.  Getting “buzz” is not an objective. Generating X articles is not an objective.  Changing your target audience’s opinions from A to Z by the end of 2010 is an objective.  As is driving X number of your target audience to sign up online by 2010.  See the difference?  What’s more, PR successes need to talk to the success of the business.  A positive 88% of respondents use business objectives to drive PR.  This link is essential.  When PR can prove the effect it’s had on what matters to the business, it really starts to show its power. 

Fig. 1 How often do you set objectives?
 

When it comes to setting objectives, Metrica Insights found that a third of respondents set them annually and a third set them for every half year.  A similar story to last time we asked in 2006. Interestingly, over the last six years there has been a steady increase in the proportion of organisations defining business objectives to be achieved for every PR programme / project. In 2008/9 almost a third (28%) of PROs set objectives for every programme / project.  Setting out with a clear destination in mind and a way to prove you got there makes sense in this age of accountability. 

Respondents who never define objectives has dropped to just 6%. Hooray.  It’s still 6% too many but we’re moving in the right direction.

We’re going to continue on this theme early next week so tune in then for the second instalment.  This post will conclude our journey through the basics and closes with our top three practical tips to take away (as will all the posts in the series).  Until then…

*Data based on 100 qualitative in-depth interviews with UK PR practitioners

Every two years, Metrica runs a survey of in-house PR practitioners.  The in-depth interviews give tremendous insight into the UK PR industry’s measurement, planning and research activity.  This research, stretching back to 1998, uniquely documents the changing attitudes towards PR measurement over the past ten years.  As the social transformation of media impacts on the way we all work, Metrica Insights 2009 shows the reality of measurement for PR practitioners today.

Every fortnight until the end of 2009, we’ll be releasing an insight from this study via MeasurementMatters.  We’re hoping these snippets will allow you to benchmark your activity against a representative sample of peers, learn from the intelligence Metrica wraps around the results and plan for the ROI-focused, social wonderland that will be 2010. Exciting times.

The first post covers the basics of planning, research and evaluation and will be posted next week.  Make sure you subscribe to take advantage of all the updates.