David Michaelson, Ph.D., president, Echo Research

Correlating media coverage to actual business outcomes is one of the great challenges in PR measurement. However, what must be addressed prior to conducting a correlation analysis is assuring that the key messages most likely to have an impact on business outcomes are included in the media that is reaching key stakeholders. It is only after this preliminary analysis is conducted and the results implemented that coverage can be accurately correlated to business outcomes. The most effective way to correlate media coverage to business outcomes is to conduct an initial analysis that considers three factors: First, determining if specific key messages that can positively affect business outcomes are present in the coverage. Second, identifying if false, misleading, or inaccurate information is conveyed in a story. Third, noting which key messages that should have been included in a given article were omitted or did not appear. Traditional analysis relies on message tonality. This approach measures overall accuracy of the reporting on factors most likely to impact outcomes. By measuring accuracy rather than tonality, it's possible to use the analysis as a media relations planning tool, instead of a media relations scorecard. In turn, it is then possible to accurately correlate media coverage with business outcomes since the presence of those messages known to positively influence business outcomes can be tracked against actual business performance. Identifying errors and omissions in reporting, while focusing media relations efforts to correct errors and omissions in reporting, can result in a significant dip in the proportion of inaccurate articles and increase the ability to correlate coverage with business outcomes. From the July 01, 2009 Issue of PRWeek