Continuing with my recap of the Chicago PR: Get in the Loop posts (recap of the keynote here) , I attended a session hosted by Amber Naslund on “Measuring and Analyzing Social Media.” I’ve been following Amber for a while on Twitter and read her blog religiously (check both out).

Even though our session was only 45 minutes, I could tell Amber could lead a conversation about measurement for hours. In mostly Amber’s words, here are some of her tips:

• It’s critical to set measurable objectives. Your objectives should relate to reputation, awareness, money, engagement, education and entertainment. Find out what’s measurable for these subjects and get to work.
• Start with benchmarking. It’s easy to set a goal or objective, but it’s important to have an understanding where you are at this second before setting goals.
• The ultimate metric is how much money you make through business efforts. The best digital efforts are the ones who are actually making money through online strategies. Remember to be strategic and not just hop on the tactics bandwagon.
• ROI is only one measurement. Executives are looking to see if their investments are worth it, but there may be more to the picture than just measuring ROI. I came in to this session thinking that it’s all about ROI. Amber told me no. I believe her. What comes after ROI isn’t totally clear and you need to guide the measurement beyond just ROI.
• You should always be learning something new through measurement. You can easily get lost on mounds of data, but if you’re not analyzing what’s being said about your company, you’re missing a huge opportunity to engage your community.
• Sentiment is a good guide, but a bad metric. It’s important to understand sentiment in posts but quantifying other things is more important.

Below is the slide show, courtesy of Radian6′s Slideshare page:

Overall, I really enjoyed the presentation. Amber is wicked smart and she made us think big in terms of how we can apply these measurement standards in social media. However, I left with more questions than answers. I suppose that’s both good and bad. I know I have a lot to learn on the subject, but it is so subjective.

How can you learn more about measurement? Any practical advice out there?

During a recent MSU PRSSA meeting, Kelly Rossman-McKinney, CEO of Rossman PR, came in to talk about how to write a communication plan and important principles to execute the plan. Personally, it was extremely helpful and it served as a reminder that we are in a completely strategic field. Doing something just to do it won’t get you anywhere (for an example, look on Facebook for all the companies who have a Facebook page but don’t do anything with them). The video summary of what she talked about is right here:

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V_gEevOykqw&hl=en&fs=1]

Kelly talked about her eight-step approach when it comes to strategic public relations. Whether you are running a political campaign or fundraising for a nonprofit, these principles apply. Better yet, try and create a communication plan within a student group or current place of employment. Here are her steps and strategies:

The eight-step approach to strategic public relations planning:

1. Background/situation analysis: State who the client is, where the client stands today, why they are seeking public relations services and how the agency understands the mission of the client.
2. Goals and objectives: State the goals and objectives; remember that goals are broad while objectives are specific and measurable.
3. Research: Perform some qualitative and quantitative research to help you executive and complete the campaign.
4. Target audiences: Name the key internal and external target audiences that should be part of the campaign.
5. Messages: Illustrate the key and secondary messages that will best motivate your audience.
6. Proof points: Stats, stories and facts to support your stance.
7. Communication tools: What mediums will best deliver your message? Print newspapers, online media, Facebook, etc.
8. Evaluation: Have you been measuring the success of the campaign?

After you come up with all of these steps and plans for a campaign, it’s important to keep a strategic focus. The next list is a set of questions you should be able to answer clearly and concisely.

Principles of effective communication:

• Credibility: Is your messenger credible – is he or she a trusted and respected source of information – with your audience?
• Context: Is your message in context with reality and the environment in which your audience is located?
• Content: Is your message relevant to your audience? Are they interested?
• Clarity: Is your message simple and straightforward? How far will it travel and how long will it last?
• Continuity and consistency: Repeat your message for audience penetration.
• Channels: What channels/tools of communication are you using? What value are they to your audience?
• Customer benefits: What’s in it for me?
• Caring, compassion and concern: Does your audience know that you care?
• Capability of audience: Is your audience capable of understanding the message? Will they take the time to listen/read/watch it?
• Call to action: What is your audience supposed to do now?

All in all, it was a great meeting and a great presentation. Another online resource I found is from Dave Fleet, who has a great (and free!) e-book on writing a strategic communication plan here.

Any other tips for writing a communication plan? Any resources you’d like to share?

In the past couple of weeks, I’ve heard a trend from multiple recruiters and professionals concerning what they look for in a prospective employee. More than just having internships, demonstrating the right skill sets and showing a professional attitude, it’s important to remember the difference between strategy and tactics. In your own career, you can show employers that you are a strategist, which is more important than just contributing to the tactics.

So, what’s the difference between a career strategist and a career tactician? Here’s what a career tactician does in college and in their early career:

• Makes a list of internships to complete
• Plans their class schedule to fulfill all requirements
• Has a portfolio full showing different things they can do
• Goes on a study abroad to have international experience

Here’s what a career strategist would do in the same situations:

• Keeps internship and career options open, but keeps in mind how it will help future roles
• Takes classes that supplement their career interests, not just to get the credits done
• The portfolio shows they were part of a campaign and contributed to the success of it
• Studies abroad and is able to “unpack” and apply their international experiences

There are plenty more, but what it comes down to is being able to see the big picture of what you’re doing and why. If you are a strategist, you can answer why, when, what’s next, was it successful and what would you have done differently. It’s also important to remember that you can be a leader no matter what company or organization you are involved in.

I think it’s a good idea to take a top down approach to college vs. a bottom up approach. That is, keep in mind what you want to do upon graduation and then find the best things to fill in the gap of that goal and where you are now. If you want to go into PR, a good idea would be to have different internships that emphasize different things.

If you don’t know what you want to do when you graduate, you can still be a strategist. Your goal of what you want to do upon graduation will still require general skill sets that you can enhance with collegiate experiences. Personally, this is where I’m at. I know I want to do PR when I graduate, but where I want to work and with what kind of company… I’m not set in stone. I still know what I need to work on and improve, so I am still able to be strategic.

After you have created your top down plan, it’s a good idea to micromanage each step. When you earn those internships and leadership positions, don’t come in with a checklist of things you need to have. You should approach everything like a sponge – absorb as much information as possible and look at your projects from the big picture prospective. When you’re assigned to write a press release, you shouldn’t just do it. Ask why you’re writing the release and how it is important to the client. The Career Strategist blog has some great posts that talk more about preparing for a strategic career.

Seth Godin wrote a great post on the difference between strategy and tactics. He even says the right strategy can make any tactic work. So, when you’re planning your career, make sure that you know where you want to go and that you’re taking the right steps. Look at the big picture of what you want to accomplish in your early career that will propel you forward.

So, are you a strategist? Any tips or advice on how to become one?

Photo by soccergoalx on Flickr.