One of my goals throughout this program has been to continue growing as a communications leader while using what I learn to strengthen Madison Consulting Firm. I want to be able to serve businesses, community organizations, government agencies and other clients with strategies that are not only creative, but measurable and connected to real organizational outcomes. This course helped move me closer to that goal because it challenged me to look beyond simply creating content and begin asking a more important question: Did the communication actually work?

One of the biggest lessons I learned this month was the difference between a metric and a key performance indicator. Social media gives us access to countless numbers, including impressions, reach, likes, shares, followers, clicks and views. However, not every number should automatically become a KPI. A KPI must be connected to a specific objective. If the goal is awareness, reach or video completion rate may be appropriate. If the objective is generating leads, conversion rate and cost per lead become more important. For a revenue driven campaign, return on investment, return on ad spend and sales conversions may provide a better picture of success. This course reinforced for me that metrics are numbers, but KPIs are meaningful numbers.

I also developed a stronger understanding of ROI and how social media activity can be connected to business performance. Calculating cost per engagement, cost per click and return on investment creates a clearer picture of whether a campaign is producing value. This was especially important because high visibility can sometimes create the appearance of success without producing meaningful results. A campaign can generate millions of impressions and thousands of likes but still fail if its actual objective was to increase purchases, registrations or qualified leads. The International Association for the Measurement and Evaluation of Communication emphasizes evaluating communication beyond outputs and considering outcomes and organizational impact (AMEC, n.d.). That approach reflects how I now think about campaign measurement.

Professionally, I can apply these lessons directly to Madison Consulting Firm. When working with clients, I can establish measurable objectives before recommending platforms or creating content. Instead of only reporting that a Facebook video received thousands of views, I can determine how many people clicked through, completed a form, requested information or ultimately became customers. That allows me to provide clients with more than content creation; it allows me to provide strategic communication supported by evidence. Personally, this course has also changed the way I evaluate my own digital content. I now think more carefully about whether views, engagement and audience growth are actually moving me toward the goal I established.

This course helped me become more analytical without losing the creative side of public relations. Moving forward, I want every campaign I develop to answer three questions: What are we trying to achieve? What should we measure? And what does the data tell us to do next? That mindset will help me become a stronger public relations professional and a more effective consultant.

Reference

Association for the Measurement and Evaluation of Communication. (n.d.). AMEC Integrated Evaluation Framework. https://amecorg.com/amecframework/