Measuring and evaluating the success of public relations and communications programs has moved a long way from the simple measurement of column centimetres. Gone are the days when a positive story repeated across a chain of newspapers was enough to credit the success of a media relations campaign.
Today, when communications outcomes are inherently linked to business objectives, the SMART approach to public relations measurement is essential. The SMART (Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Relevant and Timebound) approach to setting communications objectives removes much of the uncertainty that has often surrounded the practice of public relations. Good communications objectives are:
Specific ... to the communications program being implemented and are not so broad as to relate to other elements of the client’s business, such as its advertising or investor relations.
Measureable ... a quantifiable measure can be applied, recorded and reviewed. It is important that exactly how this measure is arrived at is agreed by both parties.
Attainable ... there is no point setting communications objectives that are unrealistic or unattainable, especially with the available resources and budget and within the current business or organisational environment.
Relevant ... to the business objectives of the organisation and relevant to the stakeholders being targeted as part of the communications program; and
Timebound ... in that they have a beginning and an end. The result that is to be measured must lie within a clearly defined timeframe that both the client and consultancy recognise.
Examples of SMART Communications Objectives are:
- For 60% of <Client> staff to rate internal communication as ‘Highly Effective’ in the annual staff satisfaction survey;
- For 20 metropolitan media outlets to have requested information from <Client> relating to <Issue> between 1 January and 31 December;
- To achieve unprompted awareness of 20% for <Product> by consumers by 1 December, as measured by national omnibus;
Specific goals, outcomes and performance indicators are essential, and must be mutually-defined and measured by the client and the consultancy.
There exists a fundamental question in developing these measures and indicators: What does success look like? This helps clients articulate and acknowledge their expectations, as well as focus the consultancy on the desired outcomes.
At Ethical Strategies all aspects of the communications plan are reviewed on a regular basis and clients are encouraged to be involved during this process. Like all business outputs, public relations must be accurately measured in order to have its true value recognised.
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