This debate will never end and rightfully so. Clients are unique, PR campaigns should never be cookie cutter and new communications channels are popping up all the time. So how can PR be measured, thus justified? Further, how can these measures be presented on paper to various stakeholders within a client who may have widely diverse PR knowledge and experience – from expert to none at all?

Define the PR Strategy First

However the metrics take shape, they should shake out of the strategy and not define it. The strategy can take any number of forms – from sales support to blanket awareness to pushing an agenda – and disconnected metrics can sink an entire program (after all, people work towards what’s being measured). Crafting metrics around a strategy is the first step.

Discuss what PR can and can not Do

There are good practitioners and poor ones, experienced clients and fresh faces, each will impact defining metrics. Sharing past experiences, doubts and definitions is important. PR is a wide discipline expanding and crossing into marketing through the emergence of social channels. Is it about clips, relationships, brand support, web traffic, third-party validation, creating influence? Biases and inexperience left undisclosed can derail the metrics process, thus impacting the overall effectiveness of the program.

Agree to Program Milestones

Some tactics produce quickly and others take months. Most programs use a mix of tactics and the agency should explain clearly to the client what to expect and why. This adds to the complexity of defining metrics because most programs should be measured on different scales. Some can be measured tactically – how many blog posts, how many press releases, how much web traffic – others are soft – are journalists becoming interested in the company but not ready to write, is an agenda picking up influence, are prospects becoming familiar with the product?

Make Clear the Decision Processes and Personalities

Probably the most common point of contention in the metrics process is miscommunication (or none at all) between the agency and client on this issue. This is also the hardest factor to account for, often requiring education for both the agency and the client. Is the CEO calling the shots and does he/she have the same understanding of the strategy, and PR in general, as the agency? Will reports be reviewed by a Board and have they been brought into the planning process or just budget allocation? Make sure all decision makers understand how each metric relates to the strategy.

It’s best for all involved to have a clear path to measure any PR program. Without considering how to define the metrics, a successful initiative will start off on the wrong foot – the agency may actually be motivated away from the strategy and the big picture will be missed.