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3 “Shuns” Social PR Superheroes Can’t Afford to Shun in 2017

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A Guest Post By Shonali Burke, Social PR Strategist, Teacher and Trainer

As you read this, I’m about three-quarters of the way through my month-long working tour of India.

It’s been pretty crazy, as I’ve basically worked in two time zones since the time I got here, so you can imagine how much sleep I’ve been getting.

But with all the craziness comes absolute wide-eyed wonder at just how lucky we are… that we actually live in a world where technology allows us to live and work from basically anywhere, as long as we can get Internet connectivity.

And being connected is the first step to becoming a Social PR Superhero.

Not too long ago, I shared the three areas of focus I think all Social PR Superheroes need to zero in on in 2017. They were:

  1. Integration.

Your boss could be concerned AF whether what you do falls into “PR” or “marketing” or…

“Show me the money!” could well be her refrain, because that’s how we show what we do adds to the bottom line.

So measurement and outcomes are what we should be focusing on, regardless of the “buckets” into which our work falls.

  1. Connection.

In a recent conversation, Sohini Baliga made a really important point about Twitter’s impact on the recent US presidential election.

Regardless of whether or not it’s profitable, whether or not it has as big an audience as Snapchat or Instagram or whatever… Twitter is still remarkable in the way it lets us connect directly, one-to-one, many-to-one, and one-to-many literally in the blink of an eye.

And that kind of access, that kind of connectivity is remarkable.

That’s what people are used to, and that’s what we need to incorporate in our work, as we focus on building mutually beneficial relationships for our organizations and their publics.

  1. Influencers.

OK, this word doesn’t end in “shun” but it’s still important. And yes, “influencer marketing” is a buzzword these days (or would that be “buzz phrase”?).

But words and phrases only become buzz-worthy if they’re seeing traction. And one of the great blessings/curses of the Social Age is that no one and everyone is an influencer.

So while in today’s Social PR world there are many more ways to reach our audience than before, this also means it’s incumbent on us to find those leading micro-conversations, connect with them, and learn how to engage and motivate them to tell our stories for us.

We live and work in exciting times. Scary, yes, but also exciting.

And if we are to do work that makes us proud, that makes our organizations proud, we owe it to ourselves to equip ourselves with the absolute best tools and knowledge at our disposal… so that we can live up to our own promise.

My way of helping you do that is to bring you a free, live, online mini-training, that will address these three critical areas of focus, and more.

It’s coming up on Feb. 10, 11, & 12, 2-3 pm each day – so just 1 hour a day, and there will be a 24-hour replay for registrants. Oh, did I mention it’s free?!

“LIFT OFF! The Social PR Superhero’s Guide to the Galaxy” will literally show you how to unleash your Inner Social PR Superhero, so that you can elevate not just your organization’s Social PR efforts, but send your career soaring at the same time.

Here’s a peek at the agenda:

  • Day 1: learn how to activate your own personal 3-point Growth Action Plan, so that you can go from Social PR Not-Quite-Zero to Superhero and master today’s Social PR landscape
  • Day 2: soak up my signature 15-minute-a-day formula for super-efficient AND effective social listening, so that your efforts add a whole new dimension of value to your organization’s revenue generation
  • Day 3: grab a 6-pronged Twitter-inspired media relations mind map, so that you can build better relationships with media the Social PR way, and do it faster, stronger, better!

Plus, you’ll have an opportunity to win some #amazeballs books, challenges in a very cool Facebook Group, and much more.

I do hope you’ll join me, and hundreds of other Social PR Superheroes-in-Waiting from around the world in just a few days, to give your Social PR efforts a real kick in the butt. Do sign up ASAP; it’s free but seats will fill up soon.

Because if we do it together, we really can change the world.

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Photo Credit: Cade Martin Photography


Shonali Burke, ABC, is a globally-acknowledged, award-winning Social PR strategist, teacher, and trainer. She is also the world’s biggest ABBA fan, and would have given anything to see Elvis live in concert.

 

 

 

 

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Book Review: Digital Marketing Analytics

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imgresI spent the last week in Rhode Island vacationing with my family. One of my favorite vacation activities was reading on the beach. My book of choice was Digital Marketing Analytics: Making Sense of Consumer Data in a Digital World by Chuck Hemann and Ken Burbary.  After finishing the book, I’m happy to report it was a great read.  If you’re looking to dig into consumer data and analytics, then this book is for you.  Here’s my video book review detailing why I like Digital Marketing Analytics.  The video is just over eight minutes, so as you can tell, I have a lot to say!

 

 

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August #PRStudChat Recap: Unraveling the Technical Aspect of PR

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A Guest Post by Murewa Olubela

Two months ago, I had an epiphany, or at least the beginning of one. I sat on a couch in my living room, questioning my non-existent interest in metrics and analytics. I wondered why I readily would attend another social media track, even if I knew what the speaker was going to touch on, but I have never attended any track that tackled measurements. I came to two conclusions: either I didn’t give two hoots about assessments and measurements, or I assumed that I had no present need to master metrics.

Neither one of the answers suited me. In my discovery, I had fallen into the current millennial discussion. Yes, as a millennial, I have the advantage of being a “native” user of technology. However, I needed to learn more about technology and social media, other than their use. Because, being social media savvy isn’t the same as being technical savvy.

While ruminating on my newfound thesis and writing half-completed blog posts on the subject, I was given an opportunity to moderate the last edition of #PRStudChat’s SummerCamp. What more could an inquisitive student pray for! I jumped at the chance. On August 15, 2012, I partook in an online discussion about Unraveling the Technical Aspect of PR.

Question 1: Is the technology tester role important in public relations?

Of course! In today’s practice, communications and technology are joined by the hip. Public relations professionals are expected to identify and test new technologies, in order to determine their use and benefits for their client(s). I think of it this way: how would you convince your client about the benefits of a new platform except if you are convinced yourself; and how can you be convinced if you aren’t comfortable with the said platform? Besides, as Deirdre Breakenridge, CEO of Pure Performance Communications, says, “technology helps us in our own planning and allows us break down the silos to work with other areas. So, hooray to all millennials, we’ve got one foot in the door.

Question 2: Which social media management tool do you use and why?

The usual platforms came up: Tweetdeck and HootSuite. A couple others like ArgyleSocial, Engage121, Radian6 and BufferApp did crop up. Truth is there are a million and one social management tools out there. And Valerie Simon, director, marketing communications at Plymouth Rock Assurance, will tell you that “it’s important to understand the strengths and differences among them.”

Question 3: Is it advisable to optimize news releases for social media?

Absolutely! Social media has changed the game and isn’t going away anytime soon. The way information is being dispersed and broken is no longer controlled by traditional media. “People do get their news from social media, as it is, and journalists are on SM at all hours,” says Mike Steier, an NYU graduate student. So ask yourself, what’s wrong in reaping the benefit(s) of an added advantage? And it definitely “doesn’t hurt to craft a social media release that is different from the traditional release,” says Jason Mollica, president of JRMComm.

Question 4: Why should a public relations student understand Google analytics or web metrics?

AVE is an outdated metric for PR measurement. Hence the reason for measurable goals and outcomes. It’s no secret that research is important in all stages of a public relations endeavor. You need data in order to figure out who your information would reach. And you need data to measure the success of your online actions: where the traffic is coming from and what’s driving action. It also “helps with adjustments in strategy,” should you need to tweak your plan, says Jeff Eisenberg, a Villanova University graduate. The thing to remember is that “where social media analytics end, website (Google analytics) begin; from click to conversion,” says Breakenridge.

Question 6: What’s the most important thing to know about web metrics?

For Lisa Brock, principal of Brock Communications, the most important thing to know about web metrics is how to “use them to gain business intelligence and improve your communication.” For Amy Bishop, digital media strategist at Campus Crusade for Christ, it’s “learning which metrics will represent progress toward your designated business goals and knowing which to focus on!” For Lisa Larranaga, social media manager for Cision, it’s important to remember that web metrics are “just estimates and shouldn’t be used as end-all-be-all.” The reason, Jennifer Rideout, a PR Consultant at StrategicAmpersand, will tell you, is because “there are always more metrics. [So], determine what is important, analyze and strategize.”

Question 7: Are QR codes dead?

It seems like a long time ago when QR codes were a constant fixture in advertising campaigns. However, even though the question sounds appealing and quite funny, QR codes aren’t dead. The hype about QR codes has however gone down. Infographics is the new status-quo. Nevertheless, should your client still request for QR codes, you need to provide “a creative placement and unique destination,” says Bishop. It should definitely not be like my recent encounter: a giant green QR code on the floor of a bus-stop. I brought out my phone, but it was only to twitpic and not to scan the code.

Question 8: Why is incorporating mobile technologies into communication campaigns necessary?

A whole lot of people are spending more time on their mobile device(s) than their computers. And as Allison Matherly, social media coordinator at Texas Tech University, says, “if your audience is there, shouldn’t you be? You are likely missing opportunit[ies] if you skip mobile.” Brock also pointed out, “If you don’t evolve, neither will your business.”

Question 9: Which aspect of mobile technology should brands and companies focus on?

Mobile apps and mobile optimization. And not just any kind of optimization, but responsive web design. You’ve got to provide an extra incentive for your target audience to hang around online. However, in your bid to be mobile conscious, it’s necessary to evaluate your need for an app. You might not need it. Should you create a mobile app, it should be consistent with your company’s brand. So, no half-hazard attempt.

Question 10: What do you wish you had known about PR before declaring your major?

Internship, internship, internship! I wished I had known the importance of gaining experience. Also, like Mike Hopkins, vice president of PRSSA BYU-Idaho, I do wish I knew that public relations would engulf my life and become my social life because of its incredible nature.

Thank you Deirdre Breakenridge and Valerie Simon, for extending me the honor of moderating the chat. And thanks to everyone who participated in the chat. You all taught me. I do hope that this isn’t the last #PRStudChat’s SummerCamp. It has been an incredible and different learning experience.

P.S. the next #PRStudChat is on September 12 at 8:30 p.m. ET.

Murewa Olubela (@PRmurewa), who is an undergraduate studying creative writing and public relations at the University of South Florida.

8 PR Practices - Practice 8 Master of the Metrics

PR Practice #8: The Master of the Metrics Chart of Responsibilities

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Today’s blog post is the last in the “edited” or “cut” chart series.  In my book, Social Media and Public Relations: Eight New Practices for the PR Professional, PR Practice #8, the Master of the Metrics, focused on how communications professionals must deliver accurate metrics tied to their measurement programs. These metrics have to meet the expectations of their executives, as well as the professionals developing and implementing their social media programs.

I mentioned in the chapter, “Social media doesn’t change good PR measurement practices, although it may add to the complexity.  The same principles you learned about outcomes (quantifiable change in attitude or behavior) vs. outputs (the tangible elements in your campaign) and the outtakes (the key messages you want your audience to take away) still hold true.” Except now, as the Master of the Metrics you have many more metrics to benchmark and levels of engagement to report.  And, as the Chart of Responsibilities illustrates below, there are new practices to learn and embrace, from creating measurable social media objectives to tracking the appropriate metrics over time and clearly communicating the ROI and impact of your program.

 

 

© PR 2.0 Strategies

Here’s how the responsibilities breakdown in your new practice:

Breakdown Metrics From Simple to Complex

Social media communications has a wide variety of metrics for you to choose and a number of tools and resources to help you track your program success. However, setting up a social media measurement program means you must have a full understanding of the metrics available, from benchmarking simple community participation to more complex engagement with your constituents.  There are those metrics that help to illustrate how a company is reaching higher-level business communications goals, as well the metrics that track the goals for different types of social media participation by community. Identifying the simple to the complex helps you to present the types of metrics that executives in your organization expect from social media engagement.

Create Measureable Social Media Objectives

Understanding the different types of metrics is key, however, in order to even decide which metrics are the best to track, you must know what you’re trying to accomplish with your social media program.  The simplest question, “Why are you using social media?” is often overlooked at the onset of a program.  What you set in place as your measurable objectives will allow you to determine if you are reaching your goals.  Are you using social media to create more awareness, how much and over what period of time? Or, is your social media program meant to create leads, which result in sales and how many, by when?  Your metrics will also help you to benchmark how you are performing relative to the competition in the marketplace.

Determine Metrics to Track Over Time

Shonali Burke, VP, Digital at MSL in Washington, DC, said it best in her interview on measurement in Chapter 8.  She stated there are simple mistakes professionals make with their measurement including that they don’t know what they are measuring specifically, and they also don’t track metrics over time.  In order to get a clear and more accurate picture of performance it’s important to track the metrics over a period of time. You may be monitoring your social media communications every week or every two weeks. However, it’s also very important, as you track over time, to compare “apples to apples” with respect to your competition. For example, if you are measuring consumer sentiment about your brand on a weekly basis, then you must be tracking the weekly competitive consumer sentiment as well.

Clearly Communicate ROI

The first step to clearly communicating ROI is to understand the definition of true ROI, which is involves a financial calculation. When you say “ROI” to a C-Level executive this means the money part.  How does social media communication lead to the bottom line? In many cases the metrics you gather are only a piece of the ROI calculation.  You need to show how your metrics, in conjunction with other data (web analytics, sales data, etc.), show click to conversation.  Social media can help to illustrate ROI, as long as you’re able to deliver the metrics that relate to leads, sales, reputation management, crisis mitigation, cost-effective recruiting, customer service efficiencies and/or employee productivity through your social media communications.

Develop a Six-Step Process Metrics Program

You can use a six-step process to evaluate analytics that measure what is or isn’t working in a social media program.  It’s important to realize that all programs from the macro level down to the micro department level need goals and objectives, with supporting strategies and tactics.  If your organization’s higher-level goals include reputation/image, dialogue and engagement, advocacy/relationship building, sales revenue and leads, and thought leadership and education, then your metric reporting may include:

  1. Reviewing sentiment data
  2. Evaluating the peaks and valleys of weekly or bi-weekly volume monitoring vs. the competition
  3. Identifying audience sharing habits through link tracking
  4. Analyzing share of voice in various platforms,
  5. Reviewing relationships with top influencers
  6. Tracking increases in thought leadership (as a brand influencer)

Identify the Inform, Inspire and Engage Metrics 

When a company makes the decision to participate in social media, there are three phases of participation.  At each phase, metrics can be captured with varying levels of importance.  The first phase is the Inform Phase, which focuses on the company’s outputs from their tweets and Facebook posts to the number of YouTube videos shared. The second phase is the Inspire Phase, which means your brand communication motivates your stakeholders to use the information you provide and to further share their experience (comments, blog posts, shares). The third phase is the Engage Phase, which is highest level of interaction with people in your communities. When you are truly engaged with your stakeholders, you are deep in conversation that leads to valuable business outcomes, including leads, sales, customer-service satisfaction, etc.

Evaluate High Level vs. Low Level Metrics

As the Master of the Metrics, you will want to make sure your program goals are always measurable and you are helping to report information that’s required by your executives vs. what department personnel need to monitor and measure community engagement. Another way to look at the metrics is to categorize them into lower level community participation (tweets, retweets, comments, views, friend/follower growth) vs. higher-level adoptions that lead to business growth (leads, sales, registrations, cost savings, productivity, etc.).  It’s the actions at a high level that interest the C-Suite the most, as these metrics are more financially based.

As a Master of the Metrics you have several new responsibilities. You must make sure your organization is capturing the metrics or Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) on the macro level, which is across the entire organization, and you’re also helping to guide metrics on a more micro level (by department).  You will be driving the metrics in your program and proactively capturing the information to meet the expectations of your executives. At the same time, you’re proving the value of your social media communications program.

 

 

 

Social Media Measurement: An Interview with EVP Marty Levine at Prosyna

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As I was conducting research for my new book, Social Media and Public Relations: Eight New Practices for the PR Professional, I came across many interesting measurement tools and platforms. Prosyna was on my list and I learned quite a bit about the platform from Marty Levine, Executive Vice President, at the company.  Marty is a marketing and communications specialist and veteran of multiple digital media and technology startups in Silicon Valley, Seattle and Vancouver. He worked in New York publishing for more than 20 years as a reporter, editor and publisher before moving to digital media and technology where as an executive team member he built alliances and commercial relationships with leading companies in consumer electronics, motion pictures and cable television.

Here are a few of the questions I asked Marty, which related to Prosyna and social media measurement:

Q: What are the main reasons to capture social media intelligence for the CEO, CFO and marketing executives in an organization?  What do they expect to see with respect to metrics and measurement of their social media programs?

Each of those executives shares the common goal of helping the organization to succeed, but they each also need to maintain a particular focus. The CEO and CFO in particular are looking for transparency – is the organization’s overall investment in socials media of budget, time and people paying sufficient dividends? While you can say the same thing about the CMO that person has to get a bit more granular: what’s the ROI on a particular marketing campaign? How is the target audience responding to overall and specific messaging? And for many of them, how is social media performing against more traditional marketing channels?

With that in mind it’s a shame to waste social media on a series of one-to-one conversations – even if there’s a larger audience listening in on those conversations. What does that really tell you about what you’re trying to achieve? It misses the larger opportunity. If you’re going to use social media effectively you should be using it to convert your target audience into customers of whatever it is you’re selling. That means getting them to the websites and content that will influence them to sign up for a service, buy a product, participate in a promotion or event, read a third-party review that will materially influence purchase decisions – something that will have a bottom line impact.

If that becomes your social media strategy – as it should – you then need to measure the effectiveness of your efforts. Did you drive people to one of those transactions that connect to your overall and specific objectives? And it’s not just an aggregate number. If you’re going to measure you need comparative metrics that you can use to modify and improve on your social media execution. For example: If you’re an airline when should you tweet about a weekend seat sale? If you publish four Tweets with different wording and hashtags which one generates the best response?  I was at a recent panel discussion with marketing executives from Walmart, AT&T General Electric among others and they all stressed their reliance on data-driven marketing to understand customer behavior patterns. To be effective, social media has to fit that model.

Q: What is the best way to gauge whether or not the content you have created for a campaign is performing well through different channels?

It has to be apples to apples. If you Tweet a link and post it on your Facebook page you have to be able to capture the click-through response, with equivalent metrics, for each channel. And it’s not just overall numbers. You need to see if people respond through different channels at different times. If there are geographic factors that affect response. And you need to understand the impact of third-party influencers – both individuals and websites – that are helping to propagate your message. If something goes viral – and you probably want to repeat that type of success – then you need to understand whether it was what you published on Twitter, Facebook or some other channel that got you that mass response.

Q: What are some of the important metrics to track if you want to identify whether or not audiences are truly engaging with your brand?

Remember the truism: It’s not what people say, it’s what they do. Facebook Comments and Twitter Replies are a great way to get anecdotal evidence on audience reaction. But that type of activity represents an infinitesimal percentage of audience engagement. The same is really true about building up followers and fans. That tells you that you were able to get them to opt in on getting additional information – but it doesn’t say they will pay attention.

If people are truly engaged, they are following the links you publish to the online destinations you set: product and service pages, third-party reviews, news that supports your marketing message. If you are consistently getting a significant number of your target audience to engage with your brand that way – and I’d define “significant” as an ROI-based number compared to your other marketing activities – then you are doing your job.

Q: What advice would you give PR and communications professionals about gathering critical business intelligence?

It starts with having measurable objectives. This has always been a huge challenge for PR. The old metric used to be largely press clippings, though there have been efforts to link specific time-based PR activities to bottom line changes immediately following those events. So I can see the attraction of basing social media performance on easily obtainable data – the increase in followers/fans, number of comments, retweets, replies and such. But none of those numbers will tell you whether you are effectively executing on a specific objective. You have to go deeper and you need to use social media tools that can deliver relevant data. And I define “relevant” as “I can act on that information in a way that will get me closer to my objective.”

There are some good tools out there that provide different snapshots over target audience response. Of course, I very much believe in the comparative response analytics Prosyna delivers. But there are also sentiment analysis tools that, if used carefully, can also provide critical intelligence on how a large and diverse audience responds to a communications campaign. If I were running a PR agency or department, I’d be looking at all the tools that can deliver meaningful data that will make me more effective. We’re seeing a number of different business constituencies developing expertise with social media: Ad agencies, social media marketing specialists. If the public relations community is going to run social media campaigns on behalf of their clients and colleagues they are going to demonstrate bottom line, data-driven expertise that is natural to some of those other professions.