You’ve got (owned and digital content) questions, we’ve got answers (or at least witty banter)

Measurement and public relations haven’t always been the best bedfellows. Advertising value equivalency was long heralded as the go-to metric for media relations, only to be debunked later by PR scholars. Even when the impact of a positive news story could be measured, in terms of reputation building, for example, it always was difficult not to be outshone by marketing, who could more clearly make the connection between their efforts and sales – the ultimate objective for many executives and managers.

We knew our work mattered and was making a difference, but it wasn’t necessarily easy to demonstrate that to others who didn’t understand the differences between PR, marketing and advertising.

Thankfully the changing times also have brought changing tools – namely, owned content.

To start, owned content (e.g. blogs, social platforms) gives PR practitioners greater control. No more rabbit-feet hording in the hopes that the WSJ reporter will cover your business (well, at least not as much). You now have your own platforms to share your story. And with those digital platforms comes loads of data that can be used to report all kinds of progress.

Like everything else in PR, there is no simple formula for doing this. The type of content, ROI, platforms all depend on your audience, expertise, goals, among many other things.

At this point, you likely have some questions. Good, because we want to answer them.

This Thursday, December 1, at 2:15 p.m. ET, we are hosting our first Facebook Live event, “Owning Content and Measuring ROI,” where our co-founder Jon Newman and digital marketing expert Emily Shane will be answering questions submitted by our viewers on this topic. Simply log onto our Facebook page then and start watching the livestream. You can submit questions beforehand here.

Come for the PR insight, stay for Jon and Emily’s Regis and Kelly banter. We look forward to “seeing” you Thursday.