Measuring Success: Quantifying the Impact of Creative Thinking in Public Relations

Quantifying the impact of creative thinking in public relations is notoriously tricky. Creativity is a cornerstone of effective public relations strategies, weaving trending topics, brand MYTHOS, and media essentials into compelling narratives. It’s the engine driving your PR agency’s relationship, allowing professionals to develop connections and craft stories that surprise and captivate. But measuring creativity? Some would say impossible. But we’re not just creative storytellers, we love facts and figures. We can measure anything. Even the most inventive campaigns have metrics.

In this post, we dive into measuring the success of messaging work and creative storytelling in PR. Read on to learn more, and reach out to us to get started on telling your story.

Measuring the Success of Creative Messaging through Resonance

Working with Blue Practice means diving into “messaging sessions” in month one. Conversations with innovators and thought leaders on your team help us understand your business, challenges, and desired media perception. Armed with this info, we create taglines, messaging hierarchies, and positioning statements. But how can the success of a few statements be measured?

With resonance.

Once media coverage kicks in, we track how the media’s perception changes and whether our messages resonate. We did this work with veritree, working closely with their team to develop a unified language that defined their mission, and the media responded consistently. With the help of our unified positioning language and the high resonance of our messaging work, veritree was able to build trust with the media and build more awareness and credibility for their work.

Measuring the Success of Creative Storytelling

Success in creative storytelling can be measured even before the pitching process begins. Early measurements act as a litmus test, ensuring narratives are not just compelling but strategically aligned.

Starting the measurement process before pitching enables a proactive approach to refining and iterating on messaging during the pitching process.  Here are a few ways to measure success before pitching even begins:

Ways to Measure Success Even Before You Start Pitching

  • Team excitement sets the stage for a positive tone for the campaign. If you’re excited, the media is more likely to be as well.
  • Verifiable data points weaved seamlessly into the pitch is already a win. Data adds credibility and is practically a non-negotiable in today’s media landscape.
  • Novel angles on relevant topics offer a fresh perspective that can serve as a reason for a writer to publish a follow up to a recent story.
  • Context in the broader landscape provides depth and relevance.
  • Giving writers a reason to cover your story now ensures its timely impact.

When There Hasn’t Been Media Coverage Yet

Measuring success isn’t confined to headlines; it starts earlier. Preliminary indicators (listed below) can provide valuable insights into the potential success of your narrative, becoming crucial metrics that offer a proactive way to gauge the resonance of your story before it goes live. A few ways to measure success before stories are published:

  1. Response and Interest from Journalists
    In the pre-publication phase, gauging the response and interest from journalists is a good indicator of the narrative’s potential success. Positive responses indicate an alignment between the story and the media’s interests and signify its newsworthiness. If positive responses aren’t rolling in after some follow-up, it may be time to tweak the pitch, add additional context or data, or consider a different time peg. All of this information is key in building media coverage.
  2. Follow-Up Questions from Media
    An equally telling metric in the early stages is the nature of follow-up questions received from the media. Thoughtful inquiries indicate a deeper interest in your story and demonstrate a journalist’s intent to delve into the details. These questions are not just inquiries; they are hints that can lead to a deeper understanding of what aspects of your narrative resonate most. By paying attention to these questions, you can refine your storytelling strategy and address potential gaps, ensuring your narrative is not only captivating but also aligns well with the media’s interests.
  3. Stories Published Around the Same Topics
    Observe whether stories around similar topics are gaining traction in the media. This can indicate that there is a curious audience for content related to your news, validating its relevance and potential impact. Analyzing the media landscape for similar themes provides valuable context and positions your story within a broader conversation. It not only showcases a demand for the content you’re crafting but also indicates that the narrative aligns with current trends and interests, setting the stage for successful media outreach.

Measuring Once Coverage Rolls In

Once the media hits have started rolling in, it’s crucial to pinpoint and analyze key performance indicators (KPIs) that illustrate the impact of the campaign. These metrics help paint a picture of the success of the campaign – from messaging resonance to the number of stories published about the company.

KPIs and Why They Matter:

  • Number of Stories Published:
    Beyond mere quantity, the number of stories published provides a gauge of the campaign’s reach and distribution. It signifies how widely the narrative has been embraced by the media, offering insights into its potential visibility and influence.
  • Type of Outlets that Covered the News:
    Distinguishing between industry-specific and mainstream outlets, as well as niche versus A-tier publications, informs strategic adjustments for future pitching efforts and helps us ensure alignment with the topics of coverage in target outlets.
  • Audience Resonance (Did We Reach the Intended Outlets?):
    Assessing whether the campaign reached our desired outlets offers valuable insights into the accuracy of messaging positioning statements and indicates whether they resonated as intended with the target audiences.
  • Impressions/Reach:
    While not a definitive measure of actual readership, impressions and reach provide an overview of the potential influence a publication holds. Understanding the levels of reach is crucial within the context of the campaign, guiding strategic decisions based on the perceived impact of different outlets.
  • Messaging Resonance (Were Our Positioning Statements Utilized?):
    Evaluating whether the stories positioned the company as intended is vital in gauging the success of the messaging strategy. This KPI offers a broader-scale perspective post-publication, allowing us to ascertain whether our positioning statements were effectively integrated into the media narrative.

In the world of public relations, success is a journey, with lots of opportunities for measuring success along the way. From crafting resonant messaging to measuring impact, the creative process is both art and science. Are you looking for help telling your story? Reach out to chat with us!

Is it possible to build credibility, visibility, and influence without sponsored content? Is earned media dead?

In an era where sponsored content seems to be everywhere, and influencers demand payment even for podcast appearances, it’s easy to assume that earned media is dead and has little-to-no place in your company’s marketing and public relations strategies. 

But when deployed strategically, earned media strategies can garner organic attention, trust, and credibility, which all help build a solid brand reputation that lasts. 

With the rise of influencers whose online persona is their business, shrinking newsrooms, and more “content” arms of reputable publications working directly with brands, it often feels like every incoming opportunity is one that requires you to pay cash up front. But earned media – specifically media interviews as part of a story and earned speaking opportunities – is still one of the best strategies a brand can use to build something enduring.

Why Earned Media Can Still Work

Earned media is about creating a reputation that withstands the test of time. It’s about becoming a trusted resource for the media, so they turn to you when your expertise is needed. It’s a slow-burning, long-term strategy that builds upon itself over time.

The Benefits of Earned Media Strategies

Let’s delve into why earned media remains a powerful tool for B2B businesses, especially those in the cleantech and sustainability sector, like us here at Blue Practice:

  1. Credibility and Trust: Earned media, such as positive reviews, mentions in reputable publications, and stories that position your brand as the leader in a trend, can enhance your brand’s credibility and trustworthiness. Third-party validation from trusted sources is often more persuasive than self-promotion.
  2. Increased Brand Visibility: Earned media can significantly increase your brand’s visibility among your target audience. When your brand is featured in industry publications, social media shares, or news outlets, it can reach a broader audience than your owned media efforts alone.
  3. Thought Leadership: Earned media opportunities allow your brand to establish itself as a thought leader in your industry. By providing expert insights, participating in interviews, or contributing guest articles, you can showcase your industry expertise.
  4. Reach Target Audiences: Earned media can help you reach specific target audiences that may be more receptive to your message. Media outlets and influencers often have well-defined niche audiences that align with your B2B brand’s objectives.
  5. SEO Benefits: Earned media coverage can improve your search engine optimization (SEO). High-quality backlinks from reputable sources can boost your website’s search rankings, making it easier for potential customers to find you online.
  6. Lead Generation: Positive earned media can drive leads and inquiries from interested prospects. When your brand is featured in the media, it can prompt potential customers to seek more information about your products or services.
  7. Competitive Advantage: Earning media coverage can give you a competitive advantage by differentiating your brand from competitors. It can also help you stay top-of-mind in a crowded B2B market.
  8. Long-Term Impact: Earned media has the potential to have a lasting impact. Unlike paid advertising that stops when the budget runs out, earned media mentions and content can continue to drive results over time.
  9. Amplification of Owned Media: Earned media can complement your owned media efforts, such as your blog or social media channels. When you share earned media coverage on your owned platforms, it can amplify the reach and impact of the content.
  10. Crisis Management: In times of crisis or reputation management challenges, earned media can be a valuable tool for addressing concerns, clarifying facts, and mitigating damage.
  11. Relationship Building: Engaging with journalists, industry influencers, and stakeholders to earn media coverage can also help you build valuable relationships that can lead to future opportunities and partnerships.

Earned media strategies have a lot to offer B2B brands, especially those focused on cleantech and sustainability, like Blue Practice. It’s a path to credibility, visibility, cost-effective marketing, and enduring influence. So, the next time you’re considering your PR and marketing strategy, don’t underestimate the power of earned media. It’s not dead; it’s thriving, and it’s ready to work for you.

Ready to unlock the potential of earned media for your B2B business? Reach out to Blue Practice today and discover what a cohesive, comprehensive earned media strategy can do for your company. Your journey towards building a lasting platform for your positive solution starts here.

The Power of Threads for B2B Cleantech Companies

threads by meta logo, string in the vague shape of an "at" sign, next to the word Threads

Threads, Meta’s innovative social media platform, has taken the digital world by storm, attracting 30 million users within seven hours of its launch. Dubbed as a potential “Twitter killer,” Threads offers real-time conversations and community-building features similar to Twitter. Cleantech companies operating in the B2B space are presented with both opportunities and challenges in leveraging this platform to enhance their communication and marketing strategies.

The opportunity

The biggest opportunity came with Threads’ integration with Instagram. The connection between the two gave Threads an international platform at launch, with presence in over 100 countries. This global reach made it attractive to any company looking to expand and connect with a diverse audience interested in compelling content about sustainability and clean energy solutions.

The Challenge

However, one potential challenge for B2B cleantech companies is the deviation from Twitter’s chronological feed, which may impact user retention for those accustomed to real-time updates. If a company heavily relies on Twitter for time-sensitive industry discussions and news updates, shifting to Threads with a non-chronological feed may disrupt their communication preferences and lead to a less favorable user experience. Additionally, Threads experienced a significant drop in engagement shortly after its launch. Although Meta plans to improve retention with additional features, the platform’s long-term viability remains uncertain. B2B cleantech companies looking for stable and consistent engagement with their audience may find Threads less appealing as a reliable communication channel.

Threads undoubtedly offers unique opportunities for companies to engage with a diverse global audience and build meaningful connections. However, the content that gains the most traction on Threads tends to be shorter and simpler than true thought leadership often requires.  Additionally, any company on the platform must carefully weigh the benefits against potential challenges, such as platform uncertainties and deviations from familiar communication formats. While Threads holds promise, it is crucial for cleantech companies to balance a platform’s offerings with their overall comms strategies, goals, and needs. For now, we find Threads best for connecting on an individual basis, listening to trending conversations among a diverse global audience, and until the platform matures, we encourage a diversified approach to B2B social media comms – specifically leveraging proven, established platforms like LinkedIn.