C-suite executives traditionally viewed the value of public relations with some skepticism due to PR’s inability to prove its contribution to the bottom line. In the past, PR contributions could not be measured, other than anecdotally. Now that’s changing.
Public Relations and PR measurement will become more important in 2016. Here’s why.
Importance of Earned Media
Business leaders will recognize the importance of earned media. Many surveys show that that consumers trust earned media more than any other source other than other consumers. For instance, most consumers rank family or friends (72 percent), online reviews (72 percent) and third-party experts (61 percent) as their top trusted sources when making a buying decision, according to a study by Experticity. Only 49 percent of consumers surveyed said they trust brand social media campaigns.
An Ogilvy Public Relations survey of journalists found that most (65%) agree or strongly agree that the more the media covers a brand, the more credible the brand appears. Traditional media [newspapers/wires/magazines] are their most trusted source of news, followed by influencer-driven news. Company-driven news ranked as the least influential.
More C-suite executives, as well as executives in other departments, will begin to appreciate the importance of earned media and seek to verify its value.
Emerging Technologies
New technologies will make PR measurement easier. New technologies will better integrate monitoring and measurement of traditional media with social media. In the past, most corporations placed a giant bundling board between the two, like Puritans who permitted the parties to only occasionally contact under strict rules, Katie Paine, CEO of Paine Publishing LLC explains. Most traditional media monitoring vendors didn’t understand social media listening, and most social media listening companies did not care about or were bad at traditional media monitoring.
However, now platforms are available that can perform both functions well. In addition, many PR measurement services employ human analysts to improve automated tools. The tools can monitor media mentions, determine how positive or negative the coverage was, and correlate the coverage to business objectives like sales.
PR Measurement Standards
The trend toward standards will continue. Leading PR organizations unveiled updated Barcelona Principles, dubbed Barcelona Principles 2.0, this year. A global guide for PR measurement, the principles further refine recommended PR measurement practices, emphasize the importance of measurement, and establish a distinction between measurement and evaluation. The revision expanded its scope beyond PR, reinforce the importance of integration, include a greater focus on qualitative assessment, and emphasize the need for transparency and consistency.
While the initial principals focused more on “what not to do,” the updated version provides more guidance on “what to do,” said David Rockland, Ketchum Partner and Immediate Past Chairman of AMEC.
The Barcelona Priciples will continue to gain traction as more organizations embrace them in 2016.
Bottom Line: Public relations will become more important to corporate America in 2016 as sophisticated PR measurement tools become more prevalent and corporate leaders develop greater appreciation for the value of earned media.
William J. Comcowich founded and served as CEO of CyberAlert LLC, the predecessor of Glean.info. He is currently serving as Interim CEO and member of the Board of Directors. Glean.info provides customized media monitoring, media measurement and analytics solutions across all types of traditional and social media.
