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ROI - PR’s Holy Grail

Written by: Patti D. Hill

Article Overview: This is no standard method for ascertaining the value of public relations, an issue when clients want to know what they’re getting for their money. How does one directly relate public relations activities to a positive financial impact for the client?

ROI - PR’s Holy Grail

PR metrics –they are the elusive measures that we continually seek in order to justify our worth. As PR practitioners, we work diligently to make certain our clients are appearing in the media appropriately, frequently, and in a targeted fashion. Metrics allow us to show attitude changes relevant to the client’s brand and reputation among relevant audiences. What the PR client wants are audiences that have been so influenced that they change their behavior in a way that directly affects the company’s finances.

In short – they’re looking for payola. Increased sales; increased share price (which reflects increased capital value; increased membership in organizations; increased sponsorship dollars; funding – the desired outcome is as diverse as the clients themselves. The financial impact of PR is real, albeit tough to pigeon hole.

The timeframe for influencing audiences and taking them from spectator to buyer is long. It may be difficult to demonstrate desired changes for a year or two, as branding and subsequent behavior changes are a long-term initiative. There are other factors that enter into the equation, such as how the client delivers on their brand promise.

In order to demonstrate behavior changes, we must first identify the behavioral outcome the client wants, and then conduct comparisons on the chosen behavioral outcomes. Manifestations can include before and after sales records, adoption rates, stock prices, or other buy outcomes.

Realistically, we don’t expect (or encourage clients to expect) a noticeable behavioral change for one to two years. Unfortunately, PR is not a tap that we can turn on and create the desired changes in target audiences. Additionally, we cannot claim that all behavioral changes turn as a result of PR, as campaigns are typically integrated with marketing and advertising. Likewise, lack of ROI cannot entirely be the fault of PR. Only an example where PR is the one changing factor and all else is constant could prove the impact of the public relations campaign, and that methodology is beyond the temporal and economic reach of nearly all PR firms.

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Article Tags: financial impact, public relations activities, public relations ROI



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Re: Traffic! How do you get it? - Hi GT, Traffic is the Holy Grail as we all know but sometimes it can get a bit cloudy. I agree that the basics are all good, article writing, SEO, blog comments, directory submission etc etc but it takes a bit of time and sadly that's when a lot of newbie’s give up because they are too impatient. My first website was 'networldgateway.com' and when I look at it now it looks pretty poor but I chose my No 1 keyword phrase as 'best home business ideas' and if you google that you will see my site on page 1 or maybe 2 now after some time on page 1 which is great but I don't get sign ups from it because I presume it's not an appealing site but the keyword phrase works fine because it incorporates 4 different keyword phrases such as best home business, home business and home business ideas. I was very unhappy with that site so I joined the APG who built me a much better site which is ‘Workfromhomegems.com’ and I am using the same phrase for that but it will take a while to catch up to my old site but I know one thing, if I don't start getting sign ups from the new site when I get to the higher Google pages then I will be seriously hacked off, LOL, best wishes, Mal.
Re: Traffic! How do you get it? - [quote="Mal Tindle":znnzv07e]Hi GT, Traffic is the Holy Grail as we all know but sometimes it can get a bit cloudy. I agree that the basics are all good, article writing, SEO, blog comments, directory submission etc etc but it takes a bit of time and sadly that's when a lot of newbie’s give up because they are too impatient. My first website was 'networldgateway.com' and when I look at it now it looks pretty poor but I chose my No 1 keyword phrase as 'best home business ideas' and if you google that you will see my site on page 1 or maybe 2 now after some time on page 1 which is great but I don't get sign ups from it because I presume it's not an appealing site but the keyword phrase works fine because it incorporates 4 different keyword phrases such as best home business, home business and home business ideas. I was very unhappy with that site so I joined the APG who built me a much better site which is ‘Workfromhomegems.com’ and I am using the same phrase for that but it will take a while to catch up to my old site but I know one thing, if I don't start getting sign ups from the new site when I get to the higher Google pages then I will be seriously hacked off, LOL, best wishes, Mal.[/quote:znnzv07e] Hey Mal, I can understand your frustration. I'm sure you're not the only one that faces this problem. I've had to face this reality as well and really think about how I'm marketing as well as the content on my site. There are many factors that contribute to the traffic/sales ratio, and it can be daunting at times to figure out what would be best to change. One thing to consider are the offers or programs you're promoting. This can sometimes be the biggest factor, but not always. Next would be the quality of traffic. Seems like the quality is there given the keywords your site was ranking for, so I'm guessing it would be something else. After looking at your first site, I think maybe it could use a different layout. That's just my thought. The most important thing to realize is that it takes a lot of testing, testing and testing. Once you get the traffic, test different elements to see what's going to convert better. I've changed my home page many times to aid in getting higher conversions. I'm seeing results, but I'm sure I could always do better. It's a never-ending process. Don't lose hope my friend.


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