Public relations (PR) can be tricky to quantify. A brand’s perception can shift rapidly, making it challenging to measure the true return on investment (ROI) of PR efforts. As PR continues to converge with marketing, it’s crucial to start tracking PR success in the same way we do marketing — with data-backed insights. In 2024, coverage remains a key objective, but understanding how we achieve that coverage and track additional impact is essential for an effective PR campaign.

Here are five simple yet effective steps to help you measure your PR campaign’s ROI:

1. Media Mentions and Coverage

The Bedrock of PR Success

The ultimate measure of any PR campaign is media coverage. Did your brand get featured by the outlets you aimed for? Tools like Wizikey’s Alert feature can help track your news mentions, providing comprehensive coverage reports that highlight key achievements. Similarly, platforms like Google Alerts allow you to monitor how often your brand appears in media outlets.

2. Quality Over Quantity

Focusing on Sentiment

In 2024, it’s not just about getting coverage — it’s about ensuring that coverage reflects positively on your brand. With advancements in AI, media monitoring has become more sophisticated. Wizikey’s Sentiment Analysis feature, for instance, enables you to track whether your media coverage is positive, negative, or neutral. This qualitative approach helps ensure that your PR campaign builds a strong, favorable brand image.

3. Press Release Performance

Measure the Impact of Your Pitch

Before diving into the media coverage, it’s important to assess how well your pitches are performing. Tracking metrics such as Open Rates and Bounce Rates can provide valuable insights into the likelihood of getting coverage. Wizikey’s Engage Analytics allows you to analyze pitch performance in real time, helping you refine your outreach strategies to improve results.

4. Track Your Competition: Share of Voice (SOV)

Stay Ahead of Competitors

Understanding how your competitors are performing in the PR landscape can provide a competitive advantage. With Wizikey’s SOV feature, you can monitor your brand’s share of voice across multiple categories such as mentions, headline mentions, spokesperson mentions, and more. This helps you benchmark your performance and adapt your strategies based on industry trends.

5. Market and Social Media Reach

Publication Reach and Social Media Impact

To ensure your PR efforts resonate with your target audience, it’s important to track the reach of both your media coverage and social media mentions. Wizikey’s PR (Publication Reach) and AR (Article Reach) metrics estimate the audience reach of a publication or specific article. On the social media front, Wizikey’s Social Media Insights tracks your brand’s mentions over time, providing trend data on consistency and engagement.

With these metrics in mind, you can begin your journey toward a data-driven PR strategy that doesn’t rely solely on gut feelings. As the PR and Comms environment changes over time going into 2025 and beyond, embracing metrics and methodologies will be key to staying ahead in the competitive world of public relations.

To begin your journey into becoming a data-driven PR wizard, start your free trial here.