Proving the Value of Public Relations

Did you ever have an idea and think that perhaps it is a ‘big idea’?  You decide to sleep on it to see how it sounds in the cold light of morning.  You wake up and realize, well this isn’t really a big idea.  In fact, maybe it’s just a nice idea.  Heaven forbid, some may even think it is a dumb idea!  Your excitement of the prior evening has been replaced by a flood of doubt.  That was my experience in thinking about a concept I’ll call Public Relations Residual Value (PRrv).

The concept is simple enough.  Public relations materials - releases, B-roll, product reviews, articles, blog postings, etc. - have a value beyond the transactional value that occurs at the time of their appearance.  By being archived on websites that are searchable, these materials have a shelf life or longer-term value that transcends the shorter-term transactional value.  The value is related to the degree to which the collection of PR materials form a database that may be accessed by search engines like Google, and the contribution the materials make toward search positioning on the specific search sites.

Various studies have shown the majority of traditional journalists begin their story with a Google search.  We also have ample anecdotal evidence that customers and consumers use search extensively to gather information and do comparative analysis of products and services.  Clearly, having positive PR materials among the top results for a given search has value, although it may be problematic to assign a specific value to this.

Public Relations Residual Value (PRrv) is certainly not a primary component of the value generated by public relations.  But, if one is attempting to examine the total value generated by PR - tangible and intangible, short-term and longer-term - then it may be worth considering.

Big, nice or dumb idea is for you to decide.  As always, your comments are very welcome and appreciated. 

Thanks for reading, Don B