I’ve talked about measurement’s unsolvable problem before. Attribution is quite impossible with all of the complex and untraceable connections between our offline and online lives.
That being said, there is still plenty you can do to reduce your attribution problem. While you won’t be able to give credit to each and every piece of marketing or activity that led someone to purchase your product or visit your site, you will be able to reduce a great deal of uncertainty. Continue reading
I woke up to my parents’ frantic voices, breaking glass and the sound of an intruder’s footsteps coming from downstairs. It was 3:00 a.m. on a Monday morning and the absolute last way I thought I would begin my week.
Even as I heard my dad yell, “Get out!” and my mom warned, “Don’t you dare go downstairs,” it was still hard to comprehend what was happening in my home. I finally put it together when my mom said the land line didn’t work and we needed to call 911. As a millennial who sleeps with her phone in hand, that I could understand and take action.
My hands shook as I dialed ‘9’ and just one ‘1’ before ‘Emergency Call’ came across my phone’s screen. Within minutes, the police were in my driveway. Continue reading
You won’t believe it.
It’s still out there. The dreaded auto-dm. As long as the scourge exists we shall continue to post our “best” finds in our five-year never-ending mission to explore strange new worlds make this a better SM world… (and in case you need ’em – part I and part II). Continue reading
And that’s a wrap!!
Happy Thanksgiving all – we’ll see you again on Monday November 28th. Until then keep your wallets and waistlines safe!
~N
When you’re beginning a new campaign, it’s important to think through and execute at least two rounds of measurement: preliminary research and results. (There is a good argument for measuring along the way to make adjustments as well, but these two should be your priority.)
Once you have set your campaign goals (remember to make ‘em SMART), dig into pre-campaign research: Continue reading
What will be the next great, innovative PR firm?
I wrote this question in a note in my iPhone late one night last week. For those who don’t know me, I’m a bit of a nerd, and yes, these are the things I think about. Primarily, I posed this question to myself as part of my job at PRSA, which includes advocating the business value of PR. But I also ask it because I’m genuinely interested in finding the answer.
Who among my generation of PR pros — those old enough to remember Bacon’s before it became Cision but young enough that our entire careers have evolved online — will create the next great PR firm? The next Edelman or Burson-Marsteller or SHIFT Communications. The type of PR firm that comes to define a generation within the industry and advances the business of PR well beyond the status quo. Continue reading
I’ll be the first to admit that sometimes we need to get creative in the world of PR—how can I get this person to email me back; how can I get this person to see that my idea is the best; how can I make this company look a little bit less boring. It can be tough, and in some situations creativity is absolutely the key to success. However, PR professionals are often in charge of creating press releases, helping with interviews, and creating campaigns for the eyes and the ears of the public. In other words, PR departments have the entire public analyzing their work. This led me to wonder: Can being too creative be too risky? Continue reading
Public relations professionals are trained to demand perfection, juggle like an octopus, run in heels, always be connected and get it all done without breaking a sweat. There are a million articles out there to help PR pros effectively manage multiple social media channels, engage with bloggers and help craft a press release headline to garner coverage. PR pros manage up to their bosses, down to their interns and across organizations to their clients and reporters.
There is one additional audience that PR pros have in common that is never really talked about and there aren’t a million articles out there to help you do it well. It is that other audience that we have in our lives…children. Continue reading
A few weeks ago, I was pulling into my driveway, after a long week of work, when I received a phone call from a reporter I work with wanting a quote for a story. I spent the next two hours calling and e-mailing clients trying to gather a comment. I never did get a comment, but the reporter did express gratitude for the effort.
This little exercise reminds me of why some PR practioners maintain good relations with the media, and others don’t. Here are some points to remember for young PR executives. Continue reading
Growing up, I watched the movie Clueless about once each week. I loved that movie. And seeing it on TV the other day reminded me of two things: 1) I missed a lot of drug and sex jokes when I was a kid, and 2) Cher’s closet can teach us a lot about measurement.
You know the closet. It has a computer catalog that can sort through individual tops and bottoms to find a perfectly matched outfit. More importantly, it will take any two pieces of clothing you’ve chosen and tell you if they don’t match.
Ideally, you should use a very similar method when brainstorming and deciding on measurement for new campaigns or programs. Think of the marketing and creative teams as Cher, the fashion selector. Analysts or dedicated measurement teams should take on the role of the computer. Continue reading