All marketing companies, including boutique PR agencies, find ways to report results to clients. This runs the gambit, and with the swift evolution of the online news stream and social media channels together with how people consume news, there are new methods emerging. As a result, PR agencies are finding new ways to benchmark the value of the results they provide to the clients they represent.
The metrics our luxury lifestyle PR and travel firm uses is by compiling audience statistics for print or broadcast or online visitors, and then rating the coverage as to positive, negative or neutral. In the main, our stories are ones we generate and control, so they are positive.
Since we have longstanding relationships with the reporters and their editors, many of whom we have traveled with to properties around the world, and hosted at events we have organized, we have solid connections. This is a strong indication of our agency capabilities — depth and breadth.
Social Media PR Campaign Measurement – Be Truthful
However, with social media PR, it is important to keep in mind that numbers can be trumped up significantly when companies buy followers. This is a method we do not recommend to our clients because it is untruthful, and ultimately veracity is vital in the impact of a campaign.
Of course, you can measure the number of followers, but if they are not relevant to your bottom line, it will be unfruitful. Just trumping up numbers of followers is unproductive. Interaction is the most important indicator of success in social media.
With travel and luxury lifestyle, Instagram and Facebook are the most important. We do social media PR campaigns for our clients and post daily or numerous times during the week, checking repeatedly for interaction to see where we can jump in. Because these channels are driven by image, we are proactive in gathering a library of stunning shots, conducting photo shoots if necessary. Just like we need fresh content, new and alluring images are vital to the success of the campaign.
This also applies to mainstream online media as well — it is all driven by images nowadays, the standard being set by Huffington Post. From Business Insider to the New York Times, captivating pictures grab viewer’s attention.
If you are interested in discussing how we measure our campaigns and seeing samples, please contact me.