Especially during trying economic times such as what we’re experiencing now with the unfolding COVID-19 pandemic, communications teams must be able to demonstrate their impact in terms that matter to their businesses versus continuing to rely on outdated proxy metrics that may actually erode their credibility.
There has never been a better opportunity to claim your seat at the table by serving your company as a communications leader during this time of crisis, and providing unique insights that only you have access to.
But in order to get the credit you deserve and the resources you need as a PR professional, you have to make one key shift. You must learn to speak the same language as the people who make all of the investment decisions in your company — your executive team.
How would you and your team make this mission-critical shift?
Onclusive is here to help! Drawing on our expertise in providing essential data to communications professionals since 2011 and best practices from our customers, we’ve outlined the 5 steps we’ve seen work for brands who have already crossed over or are in the process of doing so.
We’ll be sharing our blueprint for shifting to data-driven PR and communications measurement with you every week during the month of April. In this article, we’re introducing the first step:
Align your PR metrics with business goals & executive KPIs
What are your company’s primary business goals for this year? We often see companies set goals around acquiring or retaining customers, improving brand reputation, creating a new category and educating the industry, or gaining meaningful brand engagement, among others, and they are almost always tied to revenue.
Once you’ve identified your company’s business objectives and overall KPIs, determine how your PR metrics can be directly tied to these. To do this, consider these key questions as part of your annual communications planning process:
Objective:
- What am I trying to achieve?
- What are the key messages I need to communicate?
- Who is my target audience?
Strategy & tactics:
- What content formats shall I choose based on the audience I’m trying to reach?
- What channels am I using to deliver my content so I can best reach my target audience?
Measurement:
- How am I defining success? Specifically, what do I want my audience to do after encountering the story?
- And, most importantly, how do these actions align with my company’s primary business goals and influence key business outcomes?
Success always starts with clearly defining what it means and how it should be measured. In our case, PR success must also be in alignment with your company’s desired business outcomes.
Completing this straightforward, yet essential, exercise during your planning process is the first step toward building confidence in the value of PR at the executive team level.
Join us for the “Using Data to Grow Your PR Budget & Your Team” webinar on April 30th! Our panel of top communications and PR executives will discuss how they have used data to grow their budget, expand their team, and advance their careers.