Map to Business Strategy: Geoff Livingston on #measurePR
February 13th, 2013 | Shonali Burke | 13 Comments
Last week, my friend Geoff Livingston joined us for the bi-weekly #measurePR Twitter chat. And, as usual, he kept the conversation going with some very interesting views on the future of PR (you know I’m helping him and Patrick Ashamalla put on xPotomac, right?), what good and bad measurement looks like, and what PR pros must learn to do from the measurement point of view.
Image: moonty via Flickr, CC 2.0
Whew! Yes, that was a lot to cover in an hour, but you know what Twitter is like – going here, going there, flowing here, flowing there. So we did just that, went here and there, and had a lot of fun in the process.
Some excerpts:
On Q1 (how PR measurement has/hasn’t changed in recent times):
@shonali More than anything PR has been forced to show tangible demand, leads and ROI. #measurePR
— Geoff Livingston (@geoffliving) February 5, 2013
I do think that kind of accountability can be good, but people need to understand branding/reputation has its place, too. #measurePR
— Geoff Livingston (@geoffliving) February 5, 2013
On Q2 (why he believes social is moving more in the direction of advertising than PR):
A2 Pt. 1:In short, social has become a game of the aggregate. Influence & search are determined by #s of RTs, impressions, etc. #measurePR
— Geoff Livingston (@geoffliving) February 5, 2013
And on Q5 (what PR pros *must* start doing when it comes to measurement):
A5: Map back to business strategy. What does these metrics say about the health of the business and/or its goals? #measurePR
— Geoff Livingston (@geoffliving) February 5, 2013
We talked about a lot more, so if you’re interested, go ahead and have a look at the #measurePR transcript for Feb. 6. And I hope we’ll seer you at the chat next week, Tuesday, Feb. 19, from 12-1 pm ET, when Richard Bagnall of of Gorkana will be coming back to the chat (after far too long!).
Richard is one of the nicest and smartest people I know, plus even his tweets have a British accent, so I hope to see you there.
And oh… if you’re in DC, and thinking about coming to xPotomac, don’t take too much longer to think about it. There aren’t that many tickets left, so grab yours soon (use the discount code Speaker to get 50% off).
Shonali Burke
President & Grand Poobah at Shonali Burke Consulting, Inc.
Head honcho of Waxing UnLyrical, Shonali Burke is President & CEO of Shonali Burke Consulting, Inc. Based in the Washington, D.C., area, she loves helping for- and non-profit clients, both small and large, turn corporate codswallop into community cool™. She also loves ABBA, bacon, cooking, dogs, and Elvis. Wouldn't you like to be in her kitchen?
@shonali
CEO & Grand Poobah, Shonali Burke Consulting, Inc. Teach @SAISHopkins. Founder #measurepr. Blog http://t.co/jjw1eiGmjy. PR/SM geek. Dogs. Foodie. Shoes. Elvis.
@jayrow2 You need your AP book to tell you where to put the apostrophe between I, T, and S? - 8 hours ago
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11 comments
“@Steveology: Map to Business Strategy: Geoff Livingston on #measurePR http://t.co/tlIGb0TB via @shonali”
@profkrg @hughforth @justinthesouth @thejackb @leaderswest @seanmcginnis Thanks much for sharing the recap of #measurePR with @geoffliving
@kathikruse @KDillabough @bdorman264 @howiegoldfarb Thank you for sharing the recap of #measurepr with @geoffliving
@shonali sigh I hate being grouped with @bdorman264 in a tweet it makes my Klout go higher..which is bad!
1 Like
This is interesting stuff. Being a measurement hound most marketers and PR folks pick the wrong stats to show success. I agree with @geoffliving that tangible results are the key and often the stats aren't available that one needs.
Who cares about total reach? I want to know did you reach the right people.
Who cares about things like retweets and shares if the people who do this or the receiving viewers have no value to your business?
It really comes down to very subjective measurement unique to every client's needs. The key is to work up goals and then execute a plan to reach them. But upfront the client must agree to the goals. I am deal with this right now where my proposed strategy based on goals I was given was never shown to a client. arts were included in a proposal and then a few months later while i am doing what I promised the client was looking for different results that if I knew what they wanted I would of had a different strategy.
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@HowieG Exactly. That's why I always say "begin at the end." Figure out what you're trying to achieve, and then plan your strategy and tactics accordingly. 90% of the time people do it the other way around... and that's why they don't measure correctly either.
Latest blog post: Shedding Light on Black PR
@Shonali @HowieG Absolutely! In working with my coaching clients, it's always a "begin with the end in mind" starting point. I once had a client who, early on in our working relationship, after identifying the end goals, said after only a few weeks: "I don't know what I want but I know you're not doing it". Suffice to say, I terminated the working relationship, refunded the retainer and moved on, shaking my head in disbelief, but dancing away from what would have been an impossible working relationship.
[...] Map to Business Strategy: Geoff Livingston on #measurePR Geoff Livingston was the guest on the bi-weekly #measurePR Twitter chat on Feb. 6. Among other notes for PRs from this pro: map to business strategy. [...]