A public relations campaign is an important piece of any effective communications strategy. A good one provides an opportunity for the audience to learn more about a brand, without being pressured to purchase a product or service. Successful campaigns make a positive connection with the public, focusing on the right channels and message – it’s about the brand’s identity. The result of an effective PR campaign is greater credibility of a brand with its audience, becoming more memorable.
At 50th Parallel, we use a variety of metrics to gauge the strength of a campaign strategy. Below, we share a few of the ways we determine a campaign’s effectiveness.
Media monitoring measures the efficacy of a media release and gauges pick-up by media outlets. This can be done regularly, such as every month, or after a specific action is performed such as distributing a media release or completing a campaign. Keeping tabs on stories that are published by searching keywords and visiting the websites of local media outlets will help to determine the project’s success.
Social media engagement measures the number of engagements (reactions, comments and shares) your content receives as a percentage of your audience. Most social media platforms provide this information, making it easier for you to track. A good engagement rate is between 1% and 5%.
The click-through rate (CTR) is used to gauge how well a call to action is working. It shows the percentage of users that clicked a link from your social media content, email blasts or other communications. A CTR of 6% to 7% is considered average.
Utilizing calls to action to increase traffic to your website will also help to determine a successful campaign. Measuring website visitors during and after a campaign can provide useful data. Analytic software can help tell the story of what your visitors did while on your website, showing what pages were visited and how long, and what referred them to our website in the first place (Google search, social media, etc.).
The most important metric is speaking with new clients. Asking how a potential client heard about your brand can be very valuable. Making this question part of the onboarding process offers key information into what communications strategies are more effective than others.
These metrics are a few of the ways you can track your PR campaigns and gauge their effectiveness and strength. Knowing how and if your public relations efforts are reaching people and how those metrics affect your goals is important. A successful PR campaign can boost brand identity, increase followers and engagement and improve overall brand awareness. Are you ready to elevate your brand? Get in touch with us and see how the 50th Approach can help you.
