As I mentioned yesterday in my dirty little secret about social media post (by the way, which was neither dirty nor a secret…just a catchy headline), I spoke to the Greater Fort Worth Chapter of the Public Relations Society of America (PRSA) about implementing and measuring social media. 

I wanted to share my slides with everyone and hopefully share the love that social media can indeed be measured by those who so choose to do so.

Now to be perfectly clear, I am not the magician behind measuring social media. That, my friends, would be Katie Delahaye Paine. If you are in business and shooting from the hip (which your executives might not appreciate or you may be wondering how to quantify all that time on Twitter) when it comes to your social media engagement (or with your publics in general), I strongly suggest that you get Katie’s book Measuring Public Relationships because it makes the scary task rolling up your sleeves to  benchmark, analyze and measure seem like an easy thing to do…and at the end of the journey, there is proof for your management team (or yourself) that you are indeed heading in the right direction and making a difference with your efforts (and perhaps either saving money or increasing sales!). 

Katie’s book covers:

• An Introduction to Measurement
• Measuring Tools
• Measuring Relationships with the Media
• Measuring Relationships with Analysts & Influencers
• Comparing Media Relations to Other Marketing Disciplines
• Measuring Trust and Mistrust
• Measuring the Impact of Events and Sponsorships
• Measuring Internal Communications
• Measuring Blogs and Online Relationships
• Measuring Relationships in a Crisis
• Measuring Relationships developed through Speaking Engagements
• Measuring Relationships with Members of your Organization
• Measuring Relationships with Sales People, Channel Partners, and Franchises
• Measuring Relationships with the Investment Community
• Putting it all Together

Now, I know what you might be thinking. “I am not in PR.” Well, guess what? If you are engaged in social media, you are in PR now. As you can see from the list of chapters above, public relations aren’t just about the media…. It’s about all your publics, no matter who they are or where they may be. 

In my presentation, I focused on measuring blogs, but you can use Katie’s guidance to measure all aspects of social media. [NOTE: All content used from Katie's book was done so with permission from KD Paine & Partners.] 

Here are some other great books to help you get started in using social media to work with your publics: 

• PR 2.0: New Media, New Tools, New Audiences by Deirdre Breakenridge
• Putting the Public Back in Public Relations: How Social Media Is Reinventing the Aging Business of PR by Brian Solis and Deirdre Breakenridge

I’d also suggest checking out your local PRSA chapters. The PRSA is just another great way to learn about all types of public relations.

A side note for non-profits: If you are considering engaging in social media…contact Katie Paine. She has a wonderful non-profit benchmark report & starter measurement kit available that shares important stats like: what’s “normal” in non-profit social media; what percentage positive/negative comments are standard; what people are doing on Facebook, YouTube, Twitter etc.; and who the influencers are in the non-profit space.

I would be interested in your feeback on my presentation…is it helpful for your social media planning and measurement?