Metrics, “Return on Investment” and other measurement-oriented buzz words have been part of the public relations lexicon for a decade, but the reality for a small to mid-sized nonprofit is usually different. All public relations courses stress the need for measurement starting before a campaign and aftewards, to measure for effectiveness. Mark Weiner, in “Unleashing the Power of PR” acknowledges that research and measurement is usually the weakest area for corporate PR, based on professional awards entries.
Aimed at corporate communicator, Weiner writes, “for as little as $20,000 annually, a corporate communications department can track its own reputation as well as those of its competitors and peers.” Gulp. O.k., that figure is close to the salary offered at some nonprofits for a communications professional.
Despite the bent toward corporate communications, the book offers real meat for the nonprofit communicator. Using research by Delahaye, where Weiner is president, he presents a research-based ranking of what portion of media is most remembered by viewers/readers. They are, in order of impact:
1. Front page or cover [placement].
2. Headline or lead.
3. Initial mention.
4. Extent of mention.
5. Dominance.
6. Visuals. [i.e., having your organization's photo, logo or other visual element in the story].
The “Impact Score” is one piece of how Delahaye measures organizational reputation and Weiner presents content evaluation in a clear and concise way.
An outstanding feature of the book are the full texts for executive and media audits.
Your readers that are interested in measurement might like to know that my entire book on PR measurement, Measuring Success, the Data-Driven Communicator’s guide to Measuring Public Relationships, is available for free on our blog http://kdpaine.blogs.com/bookblog/
Comment by Katie Paine — July 5, 2007 @ 11:21 am