For companies across the board, business is the key to every strategy they develop and execute on, and PR is a tool to drive those strategies. However, the reality is that communications and public relations can sometimes be an inaccessible concept for executives to understand.
This is because it is difficult to measure. In the same way that soft power can not be as concretely measured as hard power, public relations plays a significant role that can be undeniably impactful. Knowledge is power; the more you know, the easier it is to discern effective PR from fluff, especially when it comes to media relations.
Let’s examine some of the signs and markers of effective versus ineffective public relations.
Clarity is King: Jargon is a Red Flag
Any business trying to reach a specific audience understands that speaking in lay terms is necessary at times. This is an even more important skill for a communications/PR professional. If any executive encounters someone who is withholding information in a way that implies an inability to provide clear, direct responses, that should be the biggest red flag for any team.
A PR team should always be able to explain:
- Why you are doing something
- The target audience of any campaign
- The intended impact
Communications/Public Relations experts who do this on a daily basis should be able to communicate clearly with clients about their work. If you (client) are left with more questions than answers, that’s not accidental and should be a clear indication to a business that something is not quite right.
Activities Should Be Furthering Business Objectives
Ideally, all business units should work in tandem on joint objectives and activities that advance those goals. This isn’t always the case. There are a variety of reasons behind this, including gigantic teams that are individually siloed across departments to in-work politics that halt work-product sharing.
In any case, as an external vendor, a PR agency needs to move above it all, digging into the meat of a business. Effective professionals should be able to identify these priorities early on and align them with any creative strategy they develop. The fact is that most businesses aren’t trying to execute on fluffy campaigns that may be nice, but tactically aren’t rooted in business-generating activity. If the line for any given activity isn’t clear to you, and how it reaches a target customer profile, with influencing messages, then it’s probably not doing that. Public Relations/Communications, like any other organizational function, has a wide range of impact and clear audiences.
They can either be internal or external. From employees, investors, customers, and prospective partners, there always needs to be a reason why an action is being taken with the intended result being clear and monitored for efficacy.
How To Determine an Effective PR Campaign
The reality is that reporting on PR is a bit more complicated because some of it is based on earned opportunities. Unlike paid media, when a business is focused on earned PR, they are not receiving direct analytics. When you pay for a sponsored post or pay to amplify social media, you have a direct dashboard of engagement and interaction with content. Pay-per-click is self-explanatory. However, PR isn’t that dry cut, but it often is further-reaching and longer lasting. Sponsored posts are seen as ads, are justifiably less credible, and once you stop paying, they will stop being pushed.
Earned media is seen as more credible because a trusted third party has affirmed that your story/content has value.
So, how should you evaluate campaigns?
- Does it have a business tie-in
- Does it target a specific target audience
- Does it touch on messaging that aligns with the company
- Is it educating on the company’s expertise and solutions
While executives can often be taken in by a brand name, discerning effectiveness is what determines whether you have a truly effective PR team or someone who is just placating an ego. Take, for example, having an authored article published in Forbes can be seen as great. However, if you are trying to reach a farmer, Forbes is unlikely to know what a farmer is going to be reading. If furthering education on solutions is the goal or reaching a target audience, then that is a failure.
Ultimately, there is a lot of responsibility that lands on both sides of a relationship when it comes to a business partnering with a PR agency. If it’s approached with mutual honesty, transparency, and collaboration, it has a higher opportunity of success.
On the business side, it’s important to understand that while there are agencies in the market who sully the name of PR, there are just as many out there who do an incredible job to further their partners’ businesses. Understanding those key markers of great agencies and campaign strategies will assure expectations are met and activities are additive.
