• 3 Traps to Avoid When Judging PR Success

    So you’ve decided your business needs PR. That’s fantastic news, as maintaining great momentum in the media has never been more important, and recognizing that you need a better way to relate to your partners, customers or stakeholders puts you firmly ahead of the pack. Unfortunately, even the most forward-thinking brand managers can fall victim to false assumptions about PR and how it should be measured. Confusion over the success or failure of a program can lead to frustration on both sides, and sometimes, it leaves a brand manager feeling like they signed their company up for little more than a dog and pony show.

    No matter where you are in the PR process – shopping around, deciding on scope, or putting out your 8th launch this year – there are three rules you should always try to keep in mind:

    1. Advertising metrics and PR metrics are not interchangeable.

    How do you actively judge the success of your marketing and advertising? Is it sales spikes? Massive boosts in social followers? Enormous impressions or click-thru rates? All of these metrics are great for deciding how you’re generally doing – in advertising. Yes, in PR we measure impressions and circulation, and yes, we even measure web traffic and click-thru rate. But these figures are largely beside the point. We work to create meaningful relationships with journalists so they can tell their readers about your brand, and hopefully, those readers will then reflect upon your brand in a lasting, positive way. A major hit may produce a lot of impressions in the moment, but those readers’ impressions of you are what matter most in the long term.

    1. “Increase our web traffic” isn’t a goal because it doesn’t mean anything.

    It sure sounds like it does, right? Of course you want more people landing on the website. But why? Is it because you want them to learn your name? Read your annual report? Sign up for a newsletter? Is it where you generate leads, or sell product? Your website is the most critical card in your deck, but it needs a purpose. If it doesn’t have one, your web traffic means nothing.

    Remember this when you think about “growing social followers”, too.

    1. “Results” does not equate to “Sales”.

    Unless you need it to. Even then, we urge you to reconsider. Our work supports the divisions of your business that drive sales – it does not replace them. When we say “results” we’re talking about the incremental positive changes we’re seeing in any number of places, which all depend on what your priorities are. PR is a long game, designed around how you want your audience to think of you now and years from now. We’re thrilled to have access to data that can show you how your public is interacting with your brand – on your website, on your social channels, on your favorite publication – but this data is meant to tell the story of how your brand’s season is beginning to change. Seasons don’t change in a day.

    …Unless you’re in New England, of course.

    Vanessa Boynton

    , , , , , ,

  • Content Creators: “Nobody knows anything.”

    Whenever I tend to get philosophical about the current media landscape (in my case, mainly as it pertains to video content), I’m reminded of perhaps the most oft-quoted, yet undeniably true, maxim that I’ve ever heard regarding media creation:  “Nobody knows anything.”  This quote is from multi-Oscar-winning screenwriter William Goldman, speaking in particular about the business of Hollywood (if you have a chance, watch this fascinating documentary to find out how true it really is), but I feel it applies to any type of content creation.  I also do as the King of Pop suggests, and I look at that Man in the Mirror. 

    Fundamentally, what it all comes down (one humble video producer’s opinion) is audience engagement in your media content.  I use the broad term “media content” all too often not to be elusive or to appear academic, but simply because there’s no longer any real distinction between television, film, online video, photography, text, graphics, or anything else we can access on the array of screens we shove in front of our faces on a near-constant basis.  Unfortunately, as Billy Goldman will tell you (disclaimer: NOT on a first name basis with the guy…) there is really no way to predict, or even study, what really engages an audience.  If there were, I would love for someone to definitively explain to me what sociological patterns have led to my mother having any idea what “Gangham Style” is.

    So I force myself to look inwards, to study my own habits for consuming media.  And when I look in the proverbial Mirror, dissecting what media I’ve been spending my time with, I always come to the same conclusion: huh?

    Hence my development of the highly unscientific, very untimely “SNL vs. The Wire” Conundrum, illustrated below as all great theses should be:  via a meme.

    I’m currently binge-watching HBO’s “The Wire.”  For the second time.  Now, binge-watching is not a new phenomenon – in fact, it’s been acknowledged by Netflix as the proper way to roll out a series (can’t wait for May 26th!) – but by admitting that I could easily watch 5-6 hours of one show at a time certainly shows that I’m engaged.  On the other hand, I haven’t been able to sit through a 6-minute Saturday Night Live Sketch without checking my watch in years.  Now, I don’t mean for this to be a shot at SNL (I have the utmost respect for anyone working on what has to be the hardest show to produce on television) and I’m not even suggesting that I don’t like the show.  In fact, it’s unfair to even attempt to compare the two shows in any way (hence the “unscientific” disclaimer).  Mainly, I’m looking at myself and wondering, “how is it that I can be both completely engrossed and have the attention span of a 2-year old?”

    The short answer:  Who knows.  The longer answer:  “Nobody knows anything.”

    So what do we do as content creators? The best we can do – good work.  Acknowledge that every project is different, that there is no metric to predict how your media content will be received, and that the onus is on you to create what you feel is the best, most engaging content you can put out there. 

    Most importantly, take a step back and be an audience member to your content.  If you were stumbling upon this video, photo, article, or graphic for the first time, with no prior knowledge, would you stop and devote your entire attention to it? Objectively, would it engage you? If the answer is yes, I’m willing to bet others will feel the same. 

    Now, I have to go back into hiding, ‘cause “Omar Comin’!”

     

     

    Matter

    , , , ,

  • The Dramatic Impact of Social Video Recommendations on Brand Metrics – from REELSEO

    The Dramatic Impact of Social Video Recommendations on Brand Metrics – from REELSEO

    From REELSEO: According to new research, viewers are far more likely to recall a brand name and engage with an ad’s message if a branded video has been recommended to them by a peer. The survey, conducted by Decipher Research to measure the effectiveness of social video advertising, found that social video recommendations had a direct impact on traditional brand metrics and ad enjoyment. (more…)

    Tim Bradley

    , , , , ,

  • Merry metrics

    This time of year is brutal.

    We’ve hit Reality Check Season here at Matter. In addition to the regular, end-of-year PR stresses of chasing reporters and stories, staying on top of the latest holiday trends, and planning for the New Year ahead, we fine PR pros subject ourselves to something called metrics. (more…)

    Matter

    , , , , , , ,

  • Missing the mark? Think solutions, not excuses

    This morning a group of us met with our client for a quarterly planning meeting. Four times a year, we get together and sit at a table to recap recent successes, challenges and plans for the next three months. It’s an efficient process and one that keeps us focused on what we need to achieve to get to where we want to be at the end of the year. (It’s also nice to get some extra face time with our client, since they’re a great group of people and we always look forward to seeing them in person.) (more…)

    Matter

    ,
    , , , , ,