Recent big progress on measurement standards, why this progress is so important, and a dozen resources to read all about it.
It's been a good couple of weeks for everyone that has been screaming for standards in public relations measurement and social media measurement:
1. The IPR Measurement Commission approved interim standards for traditional media measurement (see the paper "Proposed Interim Standards for Metrics in Traditional Media Analysis"). Authored by Marianne Eisenmann and others (including the publisher of The Measurement Standard, Katie Paine), this paper includes recommendations for how to calculate some of the most commonly debated data points in traditional media analysis. It's just the first in a series of steps towards broad industry adoption of standard methodology, but it is a giant step forward from where we’ve been. Be sure to read the very interesting comments both pro and con on the IPR page.
2. Then, at AMEC's 4th European Summit on Measurement in Dublin, Tim Marklein and Katie Paine gave a presentation, "The March to Standards: #SMMStandards Progress and Roadmap" that summarizes the work done by the Coalition and the Conclave on developing social media measurement standards. See this article for a summary of that presentation.
3. The Dublin Summit also adopted a common sense glossary of social media measurement terms to sort out the confusing array of terminology being banded about within our industry.
4. Also at the Dublin Summit, Mike Daniels presented a proposed update to the Valid metrics Framework, (the original version was presented last year at AMEC's Lisbon conference) extending it to social media.
Why this is such a really big deal
At last, after years of planning and effort and promising baby steps, new industry-wide standards are being agreed upon for measuring the effectiveness of public relations and social media.
Two years ago at the Barcelona Summit (also known as AMEC's 2nd European Summit on Measurement) a broad collection of associations, clients, academics, and research providers produced the Barcelona Declaration of Research Principles. The Principles are very general and mostly basic fundamentals, but they got the ball rolling and made a solid foundation to work from. Moreover, this was the first time the often-contentious measurement industry got together and made significant progress toward developing public relations measurement and social media measurement standards. (See this article for more information.)
Since Barcelona, some two dozen companies and organizations have been working to make progress on standards, and it has been a long and winding road. (See this article for more information, and this article for a flow chart of the organizations involved.)
Additional resources on standards
A blog on recent progress:
Recent blog posts:
- These two posts from the Chair of the IPR Measurement Commission are the best summary and explanation of the need for standards, the process of setting them, and the current state of the art:
- David Geddes: "What Are Standards for Public Relations Research and Why Do We Need Them?"
- David Geddes: "Defining a Process for Public Relations Research Standards"
- David Rockland: "Setting Standards: Measurement Qualifications For PR Pros" (Good list of skills for the measurement expert.)
- Hugh Anderson: "AMEC 2012 Dublin: Guinness, Geeks and Communications Measurement" (Nice summary of challenges and progress since the Lisbon Summit.)
- Forrest Anderson, "Standards Coming to PR Measurement"
- Katie Paine: "Standards agreed upon for traditonal media measurement!"
- PRNewser: Coalition for PR Research Standards Has A Few Standards to Share
- The Holmes Report: Measurement Summit Call For Greater Understanding Of C-Suite Priorities
Papers on the IPR website:
- "Standardization in Public Relations Measurement & Evaluation" by Don Stacks and David Michaelson
- "Ethical Standards and Guidelines for Public Relations Research and Measurement" by Shannon Bowen, John Gilfeather, and Brad Rawlins
- Don Stack's Dictionary of Public Relations Measurement and Research