To quote her blog, Melissa Attree is a 'marketing and communications professional who is passionate about helping people build brands'. She runs her own company, GetOn eMarketing, and developed the first South African Social Media Press Release for the Standad Bank Pro20 Cricket Series together with Brandsh. Suffice to say, the lady is qualified. Given that our theme for this week's Quirk newsletter is Measuring Online Success, we thought ourselves lucky to have her answer some questions on how she goes about measuring ROI for her clients. Without further ado, here are her answers: 

1. How and why did you first get involved with the world of WebPR and “Web2.0”?

I’ve always had a fascination with the web and how technology facilitates the spread and exchange of information. In late 2005 I was developing a specific campaign for a particularly opened minded, forward thinking client so I included elements of online publicity, pitching to bloggers, forum interaction and online blog advertising to publicise the campaign and tap into (and create) a niche online community. It worked really well so I decided to investigate the Web2.0 space more closely and so began my education process.

2. Do you see an evolving relationship between WebPR, traditional PR and Online Reputation Management? Are they all the same process or do you see them as fulfilling different functions?

For me they’re different processes that are inherently linked. It depends on what the product, brand or service requires and in what order. Most communication campaigns have always included elements of traditional PR, but online PR doesn’t just replicate offline efforts, there’s a different target, different message, different format and different audience. They complement each other. 

... ORM (perhaps here it would be called Online Reputation Investigation) can serve a research and planning function. ... On an ongoing basis ORM allows you to effectively measure and respond to the resultant coverage, ‘media clippings’ or conversation around your brand.

3. Is an online PR campaign more measurable in terms of ROI than an offline one?

Traditionally it’s usually been a case of this press clipping had X readers, so X size space = X Rand value. Ok, so you get a fairly good idea and if you’ve done your job you can give your client a whopping ROI Rand value figure at the end of a campaign. I’m not sure it’s that clear cut and I feel that unfortunately this kind of Rand for Rand way of thinking has been applied to online PR efforts.

Online PR offers us the ability to gauge and tap into conversations – be it in the comments section of an article, in a forum or in a social network, people have their say and share opinions…and we can ‘listen’. That’s like being at the book club meeting or the local pub when people are discussing current events stories.

So, more measurable, less measurable, it’s difficult to say, through ORM it’s definitely easier and quicker to track mentions and conversation but the jury is still out on how you attempt to give that value. ...
The main point for me is - are people talking? If so, what are they saying and can you encourage them to talk more? That’s traceable word of mouth - surely as a brand custodian that’s more valuable (in terms of brand influence, not in terms of your report to the CEO) than the Rand value of half a web page or 250 words or 2 newspaper columns?

4. How do you go about setting goals for your campaigns (how involved is the client generally in this process)?

The client is key in the planning process, we usually chat about what the options may be and how online communication works.
There’s a fair amount of research and investigation that determines the planning and ultimate goals - what existing links/info are online and is their existing online presence well optimised and listed for organic search engine traffic?

Most importantly (as in traditional PR/marketing) is what content do you have? What story angles can we develop? This then determines the channels we can use and how we can encourage the content to move and travel.

5. Do your clients expect everything to be measured; should they?

I think there should be some forms of measurement. I’m not a statistics freak and I do feel that stats can be a curse and a blessing. If you’re stats-obsessed I think you run the risk of spreading content in the wrong way through unsuitable channels for traffic spikes. Like offline PR the medium should suit the message and vice versa, so don’t compromise your content for better traffic stats.

If you set that aside then it can become a little vague but I think ultimately any good online PR is characterised by a few things: Is there resultant customer conversation? Is this conversation good or bad – act accordingly. Are key online opinion/industry leaders writing about your campaign?

6. Are there elements in an online campaign that are simply not measurable but that you consider essential? 

The stats, the links, the ORM, the SEO – all essentials. Over and above that though your efforts need to be honest, transparent and most times out of the ordinary in order to attract the right type of attention and publicity. Amongst other things, an effective online campaign should attract attention and should identify key brand fans – this adds longevity and the ability to harness that collective potential in the future.

7. What advice do you have for companies concerned about being able to measure their investment in this space?

It’s still not clear-cut but as with other marketing efforts, document your desired outcomes and match the resultant online conversation/coverage/stats to that. Depending on the scale of your needs invest in an ORM system like BrandsEye or a customised RSS tracking system to cover mentions and links. It’s what you do with this info that’s important – don’t stick it in the files like dusty old newspaper clippings but identify key threads and listen to and respond to the conversation.
Plan well, listen and then respond and increase your activity in the online space.

8. And finally, is there anything else you feel should be added to this discussion?

Content is king, if your content is boring…it’s boring – add value or make it exciting/appealing. Good content adds value to your product offering.

At times I am concerned with the level of planning and strategic thinking that is being applied to the online space. Online PR, Social Media Marketing – these are skills, it’s not a case of ‘build it and they will come'. Research and develop a dedicated Web2.0 marketing plan with specific communication touch points and desired outcomes.