OK, you are doing all the right stuff for public relations. You are using HARO like a pro. You engage with the right parts of the media just enough, (not too much!), and you are seeing some results in coverage on the mainstream media and on the just-right blogs.
For this article, by the way, we don’t really differentiate between blogs and other legacy media outlets. If you have new people learning about you from outlets that they trust, then it’s all the same yummy PR pie.
But now you want to know:
“Is it helping?”
This is one of the trickiest questions in the marketing world, even more than social media. It’s possible (though tricky) to trace a new prospect to a tweet, or a new contract to a blog post. But with PR, the line is even more murky. You may begin to ask yourself questions like:
Did a mention in a respected industry blog help tip the scales with a reluctant customer?
Did a link from a TV station bump us up in your search rankings, or was it just another Google algorithm change?
Does the TechCrunch logo on our homepage give our site the gravitas it needs to get someone to respond to a Call To Action?
These questions are inherently difficult to answer. So, give up? You just need to know what your goals for your PR are, and then periodically measure -- using the tools on this post or elsewhere -- to see if you are getting the results you are looking for.
Whether you are looking to improve your landing site performance, looking to increase sales, or whether you’re counting people who are downloading a free offer from your site, there are ways to get statistical results about your efforts. Here are a few:
- Turn On Alerts
- Social Media Mentions
- Measure Your Click-Through-Rate
- Look For Pick-Ups
- Landing Page Results
- Getting Trendy
- Make New Friends
- Going Pro
The Bottom Line
Overall, just remember that PR, like blogging, is a good thing to do and an excellent way to keep a long-term view of your success. Advertising with Adwords may get you the traffic you need for as long as you are paying for the service, but a good story in a good outlet will be around for a long time. It’s worth it to put in some effort with that long-term view in mind. Click Here » to review the full article.
Source: Hubspot / By: Scott Yates
