• Marketing tools: 

Survey (questionnaires) 

• Promotional codes (tickets, partners’ products) 

• Calculating attendance conversions (how many people you reached versus the actual number of people who shows up or purchases a ticket) 

• Tracking campaign emails 

2. PR tools: 

• Media content analysis – how many times were your key messages used in media coverage 

• Media audit (information below) 

• Online metrics – website traffic, social media numbers and conversions 

Media audit: A media audit is a research tool used to determine where and how your organization has been covered before, as well as where and how your competitors and topics of expertise are being discussed by the media.27 

If your organization has received any media coverage in the past, no matter how minor, a media audit will analyse that coverage. When auditing past features, it’s important to assess what aspects of your organisation resonated most with journalists, producers, bloggers, and editors. The audit will also analyse what pieces have been most shared or buzzed about and will assess how well past coverage communicated your organisation’s intended key messages. Armed with this information, it’s possible to identify the parts of your public relations strategy that should be adjusted to maximise the quantity and quality of your media hits.28 

Look at the coverage you got and compare it to how much it would have cost to pay for an Ad the same size and length. 

3. Expectations 

Analyse what happened at the end of your PR program compared with your objectives and expectations and those of company executives. If your CEO expected a front-page story in The Wall Street Journal and your biggest success was a feature article in an environmental magazine, you need to manage expectations and set mutual goals prior to your next PR program. Point to concrete numbers, such as how many people can recall your company slogan compared to before your campaign started, and an uptick in requests for information you received through your website. Determine whether your planning objectives were too ambitious or not ambitious enough.29 

4. Website, social media, and engine searches 

• Number of backlinks 

Backlinks are among the most important factors in achieving high search engine ranking. They boost SEO and increase web traffic. Gaining better search engine placement is a key measure of successful PR activity. 

Because Google assigns greater value to legitimate backlinks from authoritative sources, PR can be critical in obtaining those backlinks through innovative and engaging content. The number of backlinks is a good metric for understanding if your audience finds your content relevant, useful, and valuable. After all, it’s every brand’s goal to appear on page one of Google! 

• Higher Rankings for Specified Keywords 

Keyword rankings can be used to measure specific terms you are trying to rank for. If you do not rank for your most relevant keywords, your organic website traffic will decrease, which will affect lead generation and ultimately sales and revenue. 

Measuring keyword rankings enables you to ensure you’re targeting the right keywords and to determine if your brand’s page rank is improving over time. As you gain more backlinks, your site becomes more trusted. If the measurement of keyword rankings reveals that this is not happening, then there is something wrong with the existing PR campaign.30 

Link to understanding backlinks