Press releases have been a primary tool in PR professionals’ arsenal for years. But most still don’t know how much their press releases are worth.

With the right strategy, you can measure your press releases’ success more effectively and prove how valuable they are to your business.

PRWeb’s latest tip sheet, “3 Steps to Measuring Press Releases’ Effectiveness” outlines the steps you need to take to prove the true value of your press release. Here are three key factors that need to be a part of your measurement strategy:

  1. Goals

What do you want to accomplish with your press release? Without knowing what your main objective is, you won’t be able to clearly define your success.

Choose a goal that is specific and measureable, such as increasing traffic to your website or getting more people to register for an event. Use past data to determine the specific number you want to reach.

Make sure to gain input from a variety of members of your team and of your overall organization. That way, you’ll ensure that your press release strategy meets everyone’s needs.

  1. Metrics

Focusing on the right metrics is key to measuring success. For example, instead of looking at impressions, track reads. Impressions tell you how many people are exposed to your release, while reads tell you how many people actually viewed your release.

You’ll also want to track engagement of your press releases. Look at social shares to see who is talking about your news, and track click-throughs to determine how many people click on your links. Understanding the actions your audience take after reading your press release will give you a good indication at how effective it is and how it impacts your business.

  1. Analysis

Once you’ve aggregated data from tracking your key metrics, you can then use that data to find out how valuable your press releases are. Make sure you’re tracking data continuously – measurement is not a one-and-done process.

Use what you’ve learned from your data to help you create more effective press releases in the future. For example, if you notice one call to action is getting more clicks than another, try modeling future calls to action off of that one.

When you know what’s working and what’s not, you can clearly define your success and prove the value of your press releases to your organization’s leaders.

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About

Maria Materise is a content marketing specialist for Cision. Formerly a copywriter, she enjoys creating content that excites and inspires audiences. She is an avid reader, movie trivia geek, Harry Potter fanatic and makeup junkie..