Some things are complicated, some things are easy. Sometimes I spend a whole day trying to figure out how to measure the effectiveness of one particular communications program. Sometimes I spend my time answering pretty simple questions like: “What’s a good alternative to AVE?” and “What’s wrong with impressions?” (questions I’ve been answering for years).
This got me thinking: So many people think that communications measurement involves a lot of math, calculations, and research. And yes, some measurement programs do require such complexity. (Thankfully, because that’s what’s kept me employed for the last 30 years.)
But, for the vast majority of communications professionals (not just PR people), once you’ve identified the business goals to which your efforts contribute, the rest of measurement comes pretty easily. More importantly (and luckily), measurement is probably already in your budget.
So, this month, we decided to make things easy. We’ve gathered together all the simple measurement tricks and techniques we know into our two June issues of The Measurement Advisor. Here’s a peek at what we published in early June:
- Impressions are worthless — See the simple metrics we recommend instead of impressions.
- Kick your addiction to AVE — Try these 5 alternatives instead.
- Meet June’s Measurement Mavens — Here’s why they deserve recognition and emulation.
- Who are this month’s Measurement Menaces who muck it all up? — Find out who they are and why we’re not impressed.
And here’s what we published in late June:
- How are your social media efforts going? — Use these 9 metrics to calculate your impact.
- ROI is a highly overused and misused term — Here are better, easier ways to show value.
- “No Brainer” Metrics — Learn about simple metrics for different areas of communications.
- Measurement reports — Follow these easy tips for writing insightful reports.
I hope you enjoy our guide to simple measurement. And if you have a simple trick you’d like to share, or you need a simple solution to a complex problem, please let me know. Or join us for this month’s Measurement Hour, where we’ll discuss simple measurement. ∞
