How to Prove PR ROI: Metrics That Actually Matter to the C-Suite

There are lots of PR methods that can drive your brand forward, but how do you know exactly which ones are making a difference? Rather than guessing or assuming, there are ways to prove PR ROI so you can more easily determine which strategies to keep leaning into and which ones to stop using.

Determine Where Website Traffic and Engagement is Coming From

It’s exciting to see traffic and engagement grow, but without knowing what’s causing the increase, it’s difficult to know which PR strategies are effective. While tracking increased website visitors, look at which sources those visitors are coming from.

Using tools like Google Analytics and SEMrush can help you get a better look at your website traffic. These types of tools can offer insight about who is visiting your site, what they’re viewing, and how they found your site. This can tell you if your SEO keywords or paid ads are more effective at bringing people to your site.

Track Media Mentions

Keep track of how many times your brand is mentioned in the media, whether that’s articles, press releases, or social media posts. Doing this quantifies brand visibility and reach, showing you how many media sources are talking about your business.

While you can conduct manual research like searching on social media to find your brand’s mentions, it’s easier to use media monitoring tools like Google Alerts. These tools scan the internet for new content that mentions your brand name and then send you notifications with links to the media mentions.

Pay Attention to Likes, Shares, and Comments

If lots of people interact with your content, that’s a sign of success. On social media posts, track the number of likes, comments, and shares. The posts with the most engagement are the strategies you should continue using while the posts with the least engagement might not be worth more effort.

Social media platforms have built-in social media analytics that let you see how many likes, comments, shares, clicks, and saves each post gets. You can use these tools to see which posts are the most successful. To track multiple social media platforms at once, you can use tools like Hootsuite and Sprout Social.

Look at Conversion Rates

PR is about more than just increasing brand visibility. It’s also about helping target audiences take actions. An effective PR campaign can translate to people signing up for mailing lists or buying products.

Web analytics platforms like Google Analytics can show you conversion rates. You can see which events result in the most conversions to help you decide which ones had the best ROI.

Let a PR Expert Handle Your Metrics

Tracking and proving PR ROI is a lot of work. Using the right methods and tools can help you more easily distinguish the campaigns that work best. A PR expert can take it to a whole new level to ensure you’re choosing the right strategies to get a good ROI consistently.

Contact Avenue Z today to see how we can help your brand achieve new marketing goals.