Measuring communication
Monday, November 9, 2009 |
posted by Sue Heuman |
The age-old debate continues – how to measure PR/communications/social media. I’ve never been sure why this is such a difficult subject, and then in a great Twitter discussion today with Shel Holtz (@shel) it occured to me.
We’ve been looking for the perfect one-size-fits-all yardstick. (ROI has become the recent, but incorrect, favourite.) After all, you can measure weight in pounds, distance in miles, flour by the cup, and cinnamon by the teaspoon (or their metric equivalents). Why is there no standard measurement for communication?
Certainly if there were, we would be able to articulate the value of the communications’ effort eloquently and succinctly in front of our friends in the C-suite.
“Why based on a measurement of 11.2 smackaroons, compared with 9.3 smackaroons when we started, we’re a hit!”
Sigh. Life’s just not like that.
Why, why, why?
Simple. It’s because 11.2 smackaroons is not the answer for every communication issue or opportunity. As varied as the challenges that present themselves, so are the potential measurements.
As usual, the best answers lie in the questions.
What problem/issue/opportunity are you trying to impact? Who are you trying to reach? How is the best way to reach these people? Are you just advising people of something (Fresh bread on sale)? Do you want input (Vote for your favourite fresh bread today!)? Do you want collaborative involvement (Join our Saturday workshop to create new bread flavour)?
Once you have the right questions, the correspondingly right measures will present themselves. Demonstrating the value of your efforts toward achieving the business objectives will win in the C suite every time.
Smackaroons not required.
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