Anyone who knows anything about earned media in public relations is aware that advertising value equivalent (AVE) might not be the way to go. So how else can PR pros prove their business contributions to clients? They should utilise the
right metrics to determine their earned media.
Earned media is one of the best ways for a PR professional to
prove to brands that the work they do is
invaluable. It is one thing to know what these metrics mean but it is another to understand the narrative value that it carries.
Being able to understand the value behind earned media allows your brand to have more than one channel to connect to consumers. You can engage with a product or service but earned media allows you to build stronger relationships with the community and reach them on a deeper level.
Measuring earned media also allows a brand to predict what the future
might hold which will encourage new opportunities and allow a brand to see whether there is a chance for any PR crisis.
So, let’s dive right in:
1. Mentions that matter
If you want your brand to stay abreast of mentions that matter, it is essential to make use of a media monitoring tool. This allows you to pick up on important mentions of your brand within social and editorial media.
By knowing where and when your brand is mentioned, you will be able to respond appropriately in times of a crisis as you will know exactly when something negative has been said.
PR professionals that make use of media monitoring tools are able to prove to their clients whether they’ve received positive mentions in the media, essentially proving their worth. These mentions include press conferences, events or even press releases that the agency has worked on.
https://www.newsclip.co.za/news/how-brand-monitoring-can-help-you-beat-competitors- This is a great way to indicate the importance and effectiveness of making use of your PR agency, as you can show your clients the value you have added to their brand through the tools such as a
media monitoring service.
2. Accurate share of voice
PR pros need to know the share of voice (SOV) that their client has in this sector to be able to compare their strategies with competitors. This allows them to make their own concepts and plans even stronger as they’ll be able to pinpoint their weaknesses and strengths.
For example, if your client’s brand is a thought leader within your industry and is mentioned in a lot of conversations in the media, then you will understand where to keep the focus and continue improving on the brand’s conversations.
If you see that they are not part of the majority conversation or if people are talking negatively about the brand, then you are able to prove that with the metrics and work on a plan to better it for the future.
3. Key messages in all content
If your client’s brand is mentioned in the media, it is important to note whether the brand’s key message is
actually in that content. You need to sit with your client and identify what their main message is as well as how they want to portray the brand to their consumers. This then needs to be seen and proven in the earned media.
By measuring your key message’s metrics, both parties will be able to see if the promotional work and press releases were understood the way in which it was
intended.
If these messages are missed in the media coverage, these metrics will be able to inform the PR pro, which will allow for them to pay closer attention to the way they go about ‘selling’ your brand to the media.
Brand monitoring is a good way to know who is saying what about your opponents, helping you stay ahead of the rest. Learn more about
How brand monitoring can help you beat competitors here.
*Image courtesy
Unsplash