Let’s face it, increasingly blogs are yielding the power to either build or break a brand.  So for PR professionals – those ultimately responsible for their client’s reputation - it’s more important than ever to listen up, pay attention and be able to influence what’s being said online about your clients’ brands.

According to Don Bartholomew, author of ‘Proving the Value of Public Relations’, first generation attempts at measuring the extent of online coverage of your brand have predominantly relied on traditional media metrics like numbers of impressions. But Don believes that 2008 will see a stronger push toward specialised metrics to understand online engagement and dialogue, rather than just exposure.  He rates online analytics as the top measurement trend for PR in 2008.

So for PRs who want to stay ahead of the competition in terms of measuring how your campaigns contribute are taken up – or not;  to understand the influence your having on the reputation of the brands you steward, and to be able to bring new insights to your clients, how do you get started?  We recommend you kick off by capturing a baseline understanding of how your client’s brand is perceived today as your starting point.

Using social media analytics to conduct a online brand audit, you’ll set yourself with relevant, practical information on where your brands are being talked about, by whom (bloggers, online news, discussion groups) what’s being said, the sentiment behind those brand mentions and and any hot topics associated with the brand.

I think you’d agree, that’s a heck of lot of new insight to get you going – whether you’re pitching for a new account or making sure the service you deliver to an existing client is the best it can be.

Filed under: Consumer Generated Media, Public Relations by Giles Palmer trackback