How to Measure the ROI of a Press Release
The Secret Formula for Success Great content + Great content distribution = Higher ROI
What a News Release Does Awareness! Aids potential discovery by customers and prospects Research Phase! Furthers the consideration process Take Action! Advocate! Drives readers to engage, write, read, share, buy Prompts brand fans to share the news Loyalty! Re-enters the funnel
News Releases Activate Key Audiences These audiences, defined by PR, IR, marketing and management teams, include: Stockholders Employees Reporters Prospects Analysts Customers Brand Fans Industry Experts
Activation! Paid: Advertiorial Support Sharing by brand fans Press Release Internal Newswire Service Earned: Targeted Media + Influencer Outreach Shared: Social Media and Partner Sharing Owned: Website, Blog, Mobile / Email Lists News Media: Target Trades, Financial, Geographic Financial Services & Investment Systems Online Postings GMSM: Mobile Postings GMSM: Social Blogs, Social Channels Online Newsroom, IR Site, Email and Mobile Alerts Third-Party Articles and Coverage Third-Party Articles and Coverage Search and Discovery Search and Discovery Search and Discovery Search and Discovery Third-Party Coverage Endorsements Search and Discovery Third-Party Coverage Endorsements Sharing by media and their readers Sharing by brand fans Sharing by brand fans Sharing by media and their readers Sharing by analysts and investors Sharing by untapped brand fans and prospects Sharing by untapped brand fans and prospects Sharing via brand, social and industry fans Sharing by brand fans Measure, Analyze, Refine Messaging & Audience Press Release
Defining ROI + Overall impact on sales and marketing funnel - PR content creation costs (text, multimedia) - PR content distribution costs (newswire, advertising, influencer sharing, dlvr.it etc) - Team member costs = ROI NOTE! All calculations will be approximate. Today s monitoring tools do not measure the impact of private or offline conversations
Where to Start Establish goals and baselines Finalize approved content or news to share Select distribution options for highest impact Paid Earned Shared Owned Monitor, measure and adjust Start all over again
Setting Goals What is the goal? Who is the audience? What audience reactions impact meeting this goal? What content is needed? What amplification tools are being used? What assets can you include to increase ROI? What sharing options increase impact? How can I track ROI?
How to Amplify Your Content And create measurable activity across all channels
Leveraging the Power of Paid Successful PR campaigns increase visibility with paid programming: Content creation Press release distribution services Influencer activation Advertising/sponsorships/partnerships Amplification services
Writing Your Press Release Drive interest in your news: Be targeted; craft different content, releases and updates for different audiences Increase emotional interest: Add multimedia to deepen connections Ensure message adoption: Use industry language, bullets, bold text Activate social sharing: Add in click to tweet Measure: Analytics URL builders! Be successful: Use data and adjust
Increase ROI with Multimedia AP media partners ignore text only news Reporters spend 30 minutes searching for assets Multimedia releases get 3x higher ROI Multimedia increases time on site and story views Interactive assets result in 4-10 minutes of engagement Multimedia adds feelings to facts 12
The Future of ROI: Interactivity Hyperspotted Embeddable Measureable Gamification Shortens sales funnel 4-10 minutes average engagement
EARNED Media Increases Results Significantly Even the most interesting press releases never reach interested readers and reporters without outreach. News coverage (media, blogger) Influencer coverage Content distribution SEO Word of Mouth 67% of consumers trust editorial content >> 84% of consumers trust earned media including WOM >>
Using Your OWN Channels Brand fans interested in hearing breaking news or reading new content. Share your news across your owned channels such as: Company newsroom Blogs Social channels Newsletter Email mailing list Email signatures Intranets Customer service
SHARING Your Coverage Nothing moves audiences through the marketing funnel than shares of smart, interesting news coverage by friends Social sharing by company, employees, fans Using click to tweet to initiate sharing Encouraging retweets
How to Measure Impact
MEASURING Your Success There are several ways to measure the impact of a press release
MEASURING Your Success Coverage The first and oldest metric of PR is coverage including: Pick-up/Coverage Length of article Assets used Message adoption
MEASURING Your Success Set Baselines Overall discussions Influencer discussions Article count Shares Followers Inbound traffic Actions
Visibility MEASURING Your Success Measure how broadly your news was seen Who shared it Where was it shared Which content worked best Which audiences was activated
MEASURING Your Success Geo-Impact What markets were activated the most? Support action with additional marketing programs Strike while the conversational iron is hot.
MEASURING Your Success Inbound Traffic Add URL builders to track site traffic and usage Track Increases in inbound traffic around launch dates landing page response rates Monitor and adjust Allows you to track site visitors from start to finish
MEASURING Your Success Owned Channel Registrations Increase your marketing pipeline with registration links: Newsletter Social channels Webinars Email mailing lists
MEASURING Your Success Social Shares Track overall discussions and shares Track hashtag usage Monitor message adoption Identify brand fans and influencers
Thank You!