In recent years, there has been an increased emphasis placed on measurement and accountability in the PR industry. As we strive to prove the value of our work, we must realize that measurement is a complex undertaking. There are open traps laid out that can make programs and campaigns appear to be more successful than they really are and, conversely, we often leave PR successes unreported.

Take the Bad with the Good

The most important thing to consider when diving in is to understand that not all of the results will be pretty. It’s hard to stomach sometimes, but in order to get a true and complete picture, you must be willing to accept the less-than-desirable pieces of the puzzle. In the end, understanding every kind of commentary surrounding a brand or program will do you more good than only focusing on the praise you receive. If you don’t know what drives negative chatter, you can’t address the underlying cause.

Don’t Tweet? Your Audience Does!

Even if your company isn’t actively using social media like Twitter, you can bet that many of your company’s stakeholders are still tweeting, blogging, and uploading multimedia about the business. As you monitor and observe the social media channels and online community members that you intend to someday influence, you will likely discover conversations in places and groups you never knew existed online.

Measurement Takes Time

Even if a quick search yields few results at first, remember that analysis takes far more time than data collection. If you will be on a deadline, do a trial run before setting an exact date for the delivery of a measurement or conversation report. Thoughtful analysis will always take longer than expected and it’s important to give yourself enough time to thoroughly understand what the data is telling you.

Also, be prepared for speed bumps and learning curves. If you have never done a measurement project before, you will make mistakes. Give yourself extra time to learn from them and seek advice from people who have done it before.

Start Thinking Even Before You Launch Your Browser

Before you begin, write down the rules or standards that you will be using to analyze your findings. Make sure you know what you must track in order to obtain the measurements you need. For example, if you want to measure overall sentiment, you must assign a sentiment to each individual article or post – automated sentiment only goes so far and can sometimes be wildly inaccurate.

Once you have a list of all the measurements you want to capture, write out how you will categorize each post. If you are tracking sentiment, ask what will constitute a positive, neutral or negative post. (Believe it or not, this isn’t an absolute, and different businesses will judge sentiment in different ways.) Write out rules to help you better understand your own criteria and encourage consistency. It’s also good to get another set of eyes on these criteria as well.

Be Honest with Yourself

It’s important to be honest with yourself when you measure. Ask yourself: Do you want to measure the true effectiveness of your PR programs, campaigns and events? Or do you just want to find data that simply supports the company’s notions and suppositions of what people say online? They’re not always one and the same. Showing promising numbers can sometimes score points, which is a tempting prospect, but you must focus on all metrics, not just those that highlight successes. Even when the results are negative, monitoring can help you better understand your publics and their needs, which will only strengthen your relationships with them when it is time to engage.