How do you measure the impact of media relations?

In my experience Comms is most effective when it is placed within a strategic framework, so it is properly integrated with Marketing and Sales. An approach like SOSTTAC is ideal to tease out the Comms elements associated with the situation, objectives, strategy, targets, tactics and control/measurement. This in turn then helps define the targets/channels and messages that can all stack up to deliver the desired outcomes.

When setting your objectives, consider what you are trying to achieve with your media relations activities. Are you looking to increase your brand awareness, improve your reputation, generate leads, or something else. Remember, having a media relations plan is like having a compass before embarking on a journey. Your plan will provide direction and guide you towards your desired results.

When setting media relations objectives, it can be difficult to identify goals that are truly measurable, especially for smaller organizations that don't have the means to conduct brand lift or brand awareness impact studies. We recommend organizations always track straightforward media relations metrics, such as number of placements, penetration in key outlets, share of voice, etc. and then also look to identify ways to connect media relations efforts to larger marketing and sales goals. For instance, website referral traffic from digital media placements, "how did you hear about us" mentions in Contact Us form fills and more.

Being clear on objectives has been essential for my projects. Without this clarity, hunches and guesses on progress are not translatable to an organization's C-suite, or to your client.

All I will say here is that the objective of "increasing media coverage by 20 percent over the next six months" is not a great objective. Bud Light has seen a stark increase in media coverage recently, for example, because it has made spectacularly bad comms decisions and, as a result, sales are cratering. More often than not, significant increases in media coverage are driven by bad news (because bad things are newsworthy), so if you're staring at a 20% jump in earned, then it's not likely to be the kind of coverage you want. At the absolute least, score bad coverage on a negative scale and on-message coverage on a positive one, and under this methodology, if you hit zero, you're probably doing pretty well.

Personal relationships with reporters and editors trumps all. Find the # 1 industry trade show that they’re all going to be at, try to set up 10 -15 minute appointments, go there and introduce yourself.

Creating media personas is a crucial step in your media relations plans. These fictional personas represent the characteristics of your media contacts. One way to do this is by analyzing their content, social media activity, and audience demographics. Doing this will help you tailor your pitches, press releases, and other media outreach activities. Remember, creating media personas for your media relations plan is like tailoring a suit to fit perfectly, ensuring that your media outreach activities meet the specific needs of your target media audiences.

I have found that developing media relationships can be exciting and rewarding. Data/demographic reach etc. is valuable, but actual connections with some of the key players is essential and has many mutual benefits.

This is 100% correct, but I think it's right by accident. Building dossiers on individual reporters is some high-stakes media relations shit. Uber did that under Travis Kalanick when leadership infamously tried to blackmail reporters by using their activity on the app to prove affairs and other nefarious activity. It isn't unheard-of for comms folks to do what amounts to opposition research on media, and to use that intelligence opportunistically. But I don't think that -aim- is what the article is referring to. "[C]reat[ing] media personas that represent the typical characteristics..." etc. is phenomenally expensive, and it doesn't scale. So the advice here isn't wrong; it's just reserved for the highest of high-stakes situations.

Be sure to fine-tune and hyper-focus your messaging. Don't pour a pile of ideas onto reporters; they are already swamped. Instead, figure out the most important thing you want to share, ensure it's newsworthy, and then get that information to the media. Also, be sure you have someone available for follow-up. Put a contact name and phone number/email on the news release, and then make sure they follow through immediately if inquiries come in.

Effective messages are easy to understand and remember, they are consistent across all social platforms, they genuinely reflect your brand values and are engaging to the reader. Remember, developing messages for your media relations plan is like crafting a recipe for a delicious dish. You must carefully select the right ingredients to create a message that is clear, compelling, and authentic.

As you work to develop brand messages and storylines, remember key trends and work on your brand's points of view (only if there's a logical fit -- stretching doesn't play here). This lets you meet journalists where they are and will help you possibly become part of a story in progress.

"The medium is the message" - Marshall McLuhan In my experience, choosing your channel should come first, before tailoring your message, because people are primed to receive certain messages on certain channels. For example, if you are a staffing company looking for more corporate clients, a thoughtful LinkedIn poll and post about challenges in recruiting is likely to get the attention of decision makers who can purchase your service. A meme on Instagram about mass layoffs is likely to get the attention of an employee who might sign up to be in your applicant pool. You have to know where people are ready to receive your communication.

The larger marketing strategy should certainly incorporate multiple channels. Thinking of media relations specifically, it's critical to identify the target media outlets that will make the most impact on your business. For instance, everyone wants to be in the New York Times. But if you're a business-to-business company selling a very niche offering, it can be more impactful to your business to secure a media placement in a trade media publication.

When choosing your channels, think about how often you should communicate with your target media audiences. For example, you might choose to send out press releases on a regular basis to keep your media contacts informed of your latest news and updates. Or, you might use social media to engage with your target media audiences and share your content in a more informal and conversational way. Remember, choosing how often to communicate with your target media audiences is like maintaining a healthy diet. Just as the right balance of nutrients is important for optimal health, choosing the right balance of communication channels and frequency ensures an effective media relations plan.

One thing I've found helpful in my Comms role for the past 9years is that, choosing the channels becomes my utmost priority right after setting the objectives. Knowing the channels contribute to defining the audiences and the content or the messages required.

One of the best ways to engage your audience is to meet them where they choose to spend their time. This could be Reddit, Twitter, LinkedIn, Hacker News, or even a localized channel like Nextdoor.

To effectively implement your plan, create a media relations calendar that outlines the details and deadlines of your plan. This calendar should include the specific media activities and tactics you will be using, the target media audiences for each activity, the responsible parties, and the deadlines for each task. Remember, creating a media relations calendar to implement your plan is like using a roadmap on a long journey. Just as a roadmap provides clear directions and timelines, a media relations calendar outlines the details and deadlines for each task and activity, helping you stay organized and focused on reaching your destination successfully.

Measuring media relations impact transcends counting clips. It's about the narrative's quality and sentiment shift. Like crafting fine wine, one profound story can outshine many mentions. Think of it as a captivating play, where your performance outshines rivals during critical acts. It's not just applause; it's the audience rising to act, influenced and loyal. For example, in sustainability, impactful media stories led to sustained website engagement, showcasing lasting influence.

Return to your key target audience and engage with them to see whether the action you wanted them to take after they saw your media pieces is actually taking place. The ultimate success is when that audience starts to tell your story to others. It’s the ripple effect from a media piece that tells you that it’s working e.g. an increase in calls, sales or website visits (to name a few indicators) and not just the media coverage in itself. Crucially, it’s about the impact it has on people who are not already fans that’s a good litmus test. Business owners often get excited about the reaction of friends and family to media pieces. But these people are already inside the tent and will tend to react favourably whatever your brand does.

When evaluating your results, be sure to analyze the data from your media relations activities to identify what worked well and what needs improvement based on the benchmarks you set at the outset of the campaign. Remember, analyzing the data from your media relations activities is like solving a mystery, like in the comedy, Only Murders in the Building. Just as a detective carefully scrutinizes each clue, analyzing your media relations data involves evaluating your metrics to determine your successes and areas for improvement. By being a careful analyst of your media relations data, you can continually improve your media relations efforts and achieve greater success in reaching and engaging your target media audiences.

A lot of heavy lifting for the establishment of metrics for media coverage and reporting was done by PRSA and CPRS several years ago when they created the Barcelona Principles. It's considered by many to be the gold standard.