Before you develop specific evaluation techniques for your PR campaign, you need to consider the metrics on which you will judge something to be successful. Metrics are the qualitative and quantitative measurements used in developing and evaluating objectives to judge projects, programs, campaigns, and other activities.
Evaluation criteria should have the following characteristics:
1. Be useful to the organization by being clearly linked with the established objectives.
2. Be appropriate to the objective it is measuring.
3. Be realistic and feasible as to cost, time, and other resources.
4. Be ethical and socially responsible. Be credibly supported by accurate data.
5. Be presented in a timely manner.
Evaluation of Outputs
Outputs are any work done in a public relations activity. When evaluating outputs, you want to focus on measuring communication products and their distribution. There are four various ways you can measure outputs.
Message Production
The measurement of message production is a type of output evaluation focusing on the number of messages written or produced. For example, count the number of news releases written, brochures printed, or pages formatted for a website. This type of measurement is useful for individual job performance, but not to measure the effectiveness of a program,
Message Distribution
Message distribution is a type of output evaluation focusing on the frequency and manner of message dissemination. It focuses on media contacts and tracks how many news releases were mailed, faxed, tweeted, posted on the blog, or uploaded to the website. Measuring message distribution tells what the organization did to spread the message, but not the message's impact or effectiveness.
Message Cost Analysis
Message cost is a type of output evaluation focusing on the expense associated with the production of a particular message. It shows an organization how much money it spends to present its message. When you are dealing with electronic media, you want to measure your expenses by cost per thousand, or CPM. CPM is a standard measurement for the expense of reaching media audiences. It is calculated not individually but by thousands.
Advertising Equivalency
Advertising value equivalency is a type of output evaluation purporting to show a dollar value on publicity by calculating relative costs that a particular public relations message would carry if instead, it had been an advertisement. For example, if a news story about the organization is being published in the newspaper, you weren’t to look up the cost for the amount of space the article will take up.
Evaluation of Awareness Objectives
Awareness evaluation is research focusing on the content of a message. It considers how many people were exposed to the message, how easy the message is to understand, and how much of the message is remembered.
Message Exposure
Message exposure is a type of awareness evaluation based on the number of people in key publics who were exposed to a message. For example, You can use metrics for media exposure to track how many hits were registered at a website or the number of people in an audience who heard a peach or saw a performance. You can also measure message exposure by tracking the number of newspaper stories or broadcast reports from a press release as well as the number of people who actually read or listened to them.
Message Content Analysis
It is more important to focus on the content of the message than the number of clippings. Was it positive or negative information? Erroneous data? Unwarranted conclusions? Outdated info?
Readability Measures
Readability is the level of reading difficulty (usually presented as the educational level attained) that can be calculated for any piece of writing, allowing the writer to tailor the writing to the abilities of the intended audience. You want your message to reflect the level of language appropriate for your audience because you want your audience to be able to easily comprehend the message.
Message Recall
Message recall is a type of awareness evaluation based on how frequently and accurately audiences remembered a previous advertising or public relations message. When exposed to a message you can send out a survey or conduct an interview to determine what the audience remembered from the message.
Evaluation of Acceptance Objectives
The most effective area of evaluation is based on levels of acceptance. Acceptance objectives focus on the desired impact on interests and attitudes.
Audience Feedback
Audience feedback is a type of acceptance evaluation based on the voluntary reaction of an audience. For example, you can count and analyze the voluntary reaction of the audience such as the number of hits on a web page, the number of telephone calls and letters, or the number of requests for additional information. You can also track the frequency of liking, sharing, and reposting on social media.
Benchmark (Baseline) Study
A benchmark study is also called a baseline study. This is a specific and measurable standard, against which an organization can compare its own products and services with an eye toward improving these. You can base these studies on the starting levels of interest or positive attitudes, outcomes of similar programs by other organizations, outcomes of the same program during a previous year or cycle, outcomes of industry or professional models, or the hypothetical outcomes of an “ideal” program.
Evaluation of Action Objectives
Audience Participation
Audience Participation is the figure on the number of people who actively respond to a message. Audience participation can also measure the effectiveness of publicity and promotion that precede an event. However, attendance participation can be misused. For example, if you are tracking audience participation at a political speech, everyone heard the message presented but everyone might not take action by voting. In cases like this, you need to be careful in tracking the attendance figures and what value you place on them.
Direct Observation of Results
Direct observation is a type of action evaluation based on proof of audience activity, such as voting outcome, attendance, sales, and so on. For example, if you sought financial contributions of $2.2 million, anything above the target amount means you were more successful than you originally planned. Sometimes action objectives are not quantifiable, and they deal with the general outcome. For example, if a piece of legislation gets passed, that may fully satisfy your action objective. Some objectives may be difficult to evaluate. If you are wanting to increase the use of seatbelts, you could place observers in highway tollbooths and have them record the number of drivers and driver-side passengers wearing seat belts as they pass through the booths.
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