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Proving Value to Clients:
Innovative Approaches for PR Programs
Bridging The Gap Between What Clients Think They
Want And What You Know They Need
Now is an exciting time to be in PR, as it is going through signifi-
cant changes brought about in large part by advances in technol-
ogy and the rise of digital and social media. To continue providing
maximum value to clients, PR agencies must stay abreast of
emerging practices and use methods that fully leverage these
changes. Specifically, agencies can help customers hone in on the
right goals, establish the proper metrics, and build a communica-
tion plan that capitalizes on the evolving information market.
Agencies want clients to believe the PR programs they imple-
ment deliver results and contribute meaningfully to business
growth. Your agency is only successful if your clients are satisfied
with the outcomes of the programs you plan and execute in
partnership with them. This paper will discuss ways you can put
these recommendations into practice, and in the process demon-
strate your agency’s value in contributing to business objectives.
Set Your Client Up For Success By Aligning
On The Right Goals
Before starting down the path of any PR program, first discuss
goals. Don’t assume you know what the client wants, and don’t
assume the client knows what they need. Explore what they really
want to accomplish and challenge them about their expectations.
The success of any PR program hinges on the agency and client
agreeing on goals, and that those goals are reasonable and
attainable.
Don’t assume you know
what the client wants, and
don’t assume the client
knows what they need.

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Some key points to consider when discussing client
goals include:
Outlets: Clients typically want to see print media pick up and
view this as the primary objective. But a print pickup is never
guaranteed, and will not necessarily drive tangible business
results. Ask the client why they want to see a story in a particu-
lar outlet, and what they would want that story to say. Consider
other outlets that have better traction with key audiences, and
are therefore better suited to client needs and objectives. The
agency can help identify these outlets and provide value to the
client in suggesting them.
Digital outlets, for instance, are often more effective at driving
outcomes such as building awareness through amplification,
prompting reader action and even generating website traffic
than their print counterparts. Digital content fuels social conver-
sations and can drive qualified leads to a business’website. These
outcomes are more powerful—and more measurable—than
those to be gained from print pickup. While it can be tempting to
go along with traditional thinking, the simple fact is that digi-
tal editions of print publications carry unique benefits that far
outweigh those of print. Goals should therefore include target-
ing digital outlets and preparing digital content to capture and
engage attention garnered online.
Earned media. The digital influencers (i.e. online journalists
and bloggers) you target in campaigns are probably influencers
on social networks too, and are therefore actively curating and
sharing content. There is inherent value in social interaction with
them. When they tweet your message, like it, or share it with
their followers they amplify your message to their audience,
adding powerful credibility to it and expanding the life of your
content. The power and value of a mention from the right person
cannot be stressed enough and should also be included in your
goals.
KEY AREAS TO ALIGN
WITH CLIENTS
• Outlets–Digital and Print
• Earned Media–Influencers
• Audience Acquisition–
Social Media
• Leads and Sales–Pipeline
and Revenue

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Audience acquisition. Most brands have made significant investments in
building social media presences, cultivating blog and newsletter subscribers
and nurturing their email marketing databases. To keep growing, however,
brands need to continually expand the audience for their messages and
bring new followers into their fold, and social media is not the best means to
drive discovery among customers or prospects that are not already familiar
with your brand.
Distribution of content is key to expanding your audience. Distribution of
news and information seeds interest and creates opportunities for people
to discover the brand message. The more people you drive to the brand
message, the more people will be able to find it organically through search
results, social networks and browsing relevant content on the thousands of
news and information websites that exist today. Audience expansion is yet
another measurable outcome of PR that can be a goal of your program.
Leads and sales. These goals are more directly tied to the business and are
some of the most powerful in demonstrating PR’s value in contributing to
business growth. Don’t overlook the opportunity to build lead generation,
landing page conversions and sales into the PR plan. It would be a mistake to
assume that press materials will only be read by journalists. Instead, embed
a call-to-action (“CTA”) for interested viewers that takes them straight to a
relevant web page. The information you capture on that landing page can be
funneled to sales as a lead—and it can be measured. Similarly, if your piece
has an app download as its CTA, clickthroughs become direct sales. Both of
these outcomes are directly tied to the PR message, are measurable business
results, and have revenue impact.

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Use The Right Metrics To Demonstrate Success
After you and your client have agreed on goals, the next order of
business is to align on how to measure the results of your efforts.
What you ultimately want to demonstrate is the top line impact
of PR. This means measuring outcomes, not output. This also
means looking beyond the usual metrics of media pickups, ad
equivalency values and impressions. These once had their place,
but are limited to measuring exposure.
Two such outcomes are earned media and social shares, and their
benefits are far-reaching. They influence search rank and buying
decisions, and they build credibility with qualified and interested
audiences. They influence search rank through implied links, or
relevant earned mentions such as a media pick up, reference on
a blog post, or mention in a discussion group, to name a few.
Implied links refer to a mention of a company, product or website
Earned media and social sharing also posi-
tively impact a brand’s credibility. According
to a study sponsored by InPowerd and con-
ducted by Nielsen, earned media provides
more benefit to brands than user generated
or brand content because earned media is
perceived as being more credible and authen-
tic. Credible third party mentions have a
strong influence on customers across the
buying cycle.
The resulting interaction from earned media drives traffic to your website, which is also a
measurable outcome that can be directly tied to PR thanks to web site referral information.
Adding campaign or program parameters to a URL in your release that links to your site
means that you can attribute it to PR, enabling you to collect information about how your
audience arrived at your property. Not only is this an easy way to measure the traffic your
release generates, but it also identifies the most effective ways to drive visitors to your site
to leverage in future programs.
Today, new PR
benchmarks exist
that more accurately
demonstrate PR’s value.
These new benchmarks
focus on outcomes from
digital channels and are
easily measurable.

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in an article, blog post or social post without expressly including
a hyperlink to the resource. Search engines now consider these
references as input for determining search rank of a web page,
and online mentions like this (even without links) can have a
positive impact on organic search rank.
PR’s New Accountability For Demand Generation
And Sales
One of the most significant emerging trends in PR is the require-
ment to deliver hard, measurable business results. Every sound PR
program should relate communications and campaigns to sales.
Ultimately, metrics are meaningless to the client if you haven’t
moved the needle on sales.
Pipeline and revenue impact can be tied to PR programs. PR plays
an important role in helping qualify leads, move them through
the pipeline, to ultimately generate revenue. These outcomes
are trackable and quantifiable with embedded links and website
referral data in the content PR produces.
You can also measure PR impact on leads in your pipeline that are
stagnant. If your campaigns stimulate confidence in the brand
and prompt dormant leads into the next stage in the pipeline,
that too is a quantifiable outcome of PR activities.
Build A PR Program That Supports Your Goals
One of the most significant impacts to PR of the digital revolu-
tion is frequency of communications. Brands must increase the
volume of messages they release to achieve the enduring mind-
share they seek. Gone are the days of the traditional episodic
campaign. Agencies would be wise to help their clients achieve
a more continuous presence that capitalizes on today’s constant
stream of online news and conversations. This requires listening
to what’s going on in social networks and responding rapidly
with a steady flow of messages that nurture ongoing visibility
and strong brand reputation. Increasing frequency of commu-
nications presents an opportunity for agencies to build their
business with existing clients. Clients may resist, but fortunately
METRICS YOU CAN TIE TO
PR INCLUDE:
• Number of net new leads
• Number of those leads
become qualified
• Number of those qualified
leads become pipeline
• How much of that pipe-
line becomes revenue

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the metrics exist that clearly demonstrate the positive business
outcomes to be derived from PR activities.
This shift in frequency addresses changes in the buying cycle.
Today buyers do their own research long before contacting
potential vendors. They are looking for brands with a good repu-
tation, positive reviews and strong search and social visibility. If
any of these elements are lacking, the brand will be eliminated
from consideration before a salesperson has even had an oppor-
tunity to speak with a potential customer.
Agencies must also help clients change the focus of their mes-
saging. What the client wants the marketplace to hear might
not be what the marketplace is looking for, or needs, to make
purchasing decisions. Agencies are in a position to help the client
become more attuned to their audience and create messaging
they will respond to. Information drives purchasing decisions. As
the storytellers of the organization, PR is in the best position to
play a pivotal role in providing the information that influences
Agencies are in a position
to help the client become
more attuned to their
audience and create
messaging they will
respond to.
Specific tactics PR can leverage include:
• Write a provocative headline to draw
the reader in and is short and interesting
enough to tweet.
• Lead paragraph starts with an interesting
statement, not brand boilerplate. Don’t put
anything that could slow the reader down
between the headline and the action you
want them to take.
• Use bold font and stimulating section
heads to draw the readers’eyes in and
build more attention.
• Restrain your use of links to direct readers
to one specific call to action. Do not dis-
tract them from your primary purpose.
• Use the higher value real estate at the top
of the message exclusively to gain and
keep reader interest.
• Use bullet points or a numbered list to
highlight related tips, facts, etc., and to
break up endless blocks of text.
• Embed a link to a video or other interesting asset 2/3 of the way down, after your original
call to action. This will refresh the reader’s interest if you are losing them, and provide more
relevant information.

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customer decisions. All messaging coming from PR should serve
the audience, answer their questions, and give them the infor-
mation they are looking for. Agencies must stay on top of audi-
ence needs and continuously evolve their messaging strategy
to ensure they are putting out the stories their audiences will
eagerly consumer, post, tweet and share.
If the goal is to improve business outcomes, PR content must
facilitate reader action. Know what action you want the reader
to take and encourage it through the design and format of the
content. Agencies can help clients create more effective content
by changing how it’s packaged and distributed. PR professionals
should borrow from digital marketers who have perfected the art
of communicating in this medium.
Results both clients and agencies can count on
Following these recommendations to set the right goals and
metrics and design a PR program that supports them will enable
you to broaden your scope with your clients. The mechanisms
available to agencies for building awareness, influencing opin-
ions and impacting revenue have changed tremendously. Clients
are likely not aware of these changes, but as the PR agency you
need to be knowledgeable in this area.
Clients look to you for guidance and your expertise. When they
come to you asking for a traditional PR campaign, educate them
on why they should consider augmenting it with a social cam-
paign as well. This is an opportunity to broaden your clients’
thinking and introduce them to new, more effective methods
of telling their brand’s story.
By becoming more data driven, agencies enable themselves to
quantify their worth and solidify their value. It’s time to go beyond
tracking print media pickups and measure PR effectiveness with
advanced social metrics such as clicks, shares, tweets and social
mentions and, ultimately, revenue. Only by attributing sales to
these outcomes can PR professionals elevate the importance and
necessity of PR in contributing to ongoing business growth.
ABOUT THE EXPERT:
ARANTHA ROYCE
Arantha Royce is the
manager of PR Newswire’s
Albuquerque inside sales
team. She has a Public
Relations degree and
worked as a PR Newswire
account manager special-
izing in PR firms before
moving into her manage-
ment role.
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