Whether it is achieving anything.
WHAT TO MEASURE
Coverage in publications your audience reads Whether your messages appeared Enquiries and where they came from Search volume for your name What people say about you Whether you are approached for comment
WHY THAT LAST POINT
It indicates you are established as a source.
WHAT NOT TO MEASURE ALONE
Volume of mentions Audience reach figures Equivalent advertising value
WHY THOSE MISLEAD
They count exposure rather than effect, and they are easily inflated.
WHAT TO ESTABLISH BEFORE ANY ACTIVITY
What you expect it to achieve.
WHY
Activity without an expected outcome cannot be assessed.
WHAT TO ESTABLISH AS A BASELINE
The current position: awareness, enquiries, sentiment.
WHAT TO ASK CUSTOMERS
How they heard of you What they had heard before contacting you
WHY THAT SECOND QUESTION
It measures reputation rather than awareness.
WHAT TO TRACK OVER TIME
Trends rather than individual results.
WHY
Single pieces of coverage rarely change anything.
WHAT TO REVIEW
Which activities produced anything.
WHAT TO STOP
Anything that consistently produces nothing.
WHAT TO RECOGNISE
That reputation effects are slow and difficult to attribute.
WHAT THAT MEANS
Judge over periods, not events.
WHAT TO RECORD
Coverage obtained, and where it appeared.
