For many years, PR has traditionally been a service that has been difficult to measure with any degree of precision. We can look at how a campaign was managed and give a relatively accurate declaration on its effectiveness, of course, often based on subsequent sales and ongoing consumer engagement, but giving a 100% scientific and 100% accurate numerical figure has been more difficult. Until now, that is.
Of course, sales figures still give meaningful information about many PR and marketing campaigns. If your company is looking to sell more biscuits as a result, you only have to count the biscuits to ascertain the facts. But there’s so much more to it nowadays. One of the most significant changes is in regard to social media activity. If you and your PR specialists have managed to reach out to greater numbers thanks to Twitter, Instagram and the like, counting those extra followers is going to be easy.
There’s more to social media than followers
It should be borne in mind, however, that there’s more to social media than simply accumulating followers. There could be a million people theoretically listening to your announcements, viewing your images and watching your videos, but as we all know they could be the most passive followers in the world. Social media engagement is far more important, and can be seen as a truer reflection of whether your business is using these platforms in a genuinely meaningful manner.
Another way to quantify success is via media impressions. While social media engagement refers to people interacting with your activities, media impressions represent the number of potential consumers who viewed your content. This wouldn’t give you an accurate sales record, of course, but it does provide useful information about your overall exposure. Needless to say, any person who noticed a picture of some of your biscuits could just be in the mood for a custard cream at that specific moment. Every viewing is an opportunity in itself.
Get the most from your analytics
It’s also important to take into account any increase in website traffic. Information about the number of people who access your site is readily available online, and many of the best website traffic checkers are available in scaled-down versions that are often free of charge. If you need more detailed analysis, you’ll usually have to pay, but generally the value of such information will outweigh the cost.
If your business is looking to increase web traffic, bear in mind that most visitors tend to read only around 20% of the content you have included in your pages. Therefore, it’s always a good idea to do all you can to make sure the site packs plenty of initial impact in order to grab the attention right from the start. There’s something wonderfully pleasing about regular increases in web traffic, but it’s always something you have to work at.
Here at Rose Media Group, we create bespoke B2B campaigns that dovetail perfectly with the aims and needs of our clients. As a highly rated Sussex PR agency, we know how to get your messages out there, and how to make sure the right people are listening. To find out more, call the team today on 01444 241 341. We look forward to hearing from you soon.
