Intro | TOC | I | II | III | IV | V

1) Public relations results are subjective. A single mention of the hospital in a lengthy front-page article in a major daily newspaper may be perceived more favorably and provide more exposure than an 800-word article about a new program at the hospital in a small weekly paper - or vice versa depending on the community, the paper's reputation, its relevance to target audiences, etc.
2) Outputs and outcomes are two different types of public relations results. Outputs are usually short-term results, such as favorable press coverage or exposure of a particular message to a target audience. How did the hospital benefit from the front-page article? Outcomes are longer-lasting affects on target audiences. Who read it? How did they react? Outcomes determine whether the target audiences actually received, understood, retained and reacted to the messages directed at them. Both are important measurements, but outcomes are a stronger determination of effectiveness.
3) Be wary of comparing public relations effectiveness to advertising effectiveness. The two forms of communication are not the same. Advertising messages can be controlled. Public relations messages usually cannot be controlled. This doesn't mean ignore results tracking suggestions, like ad equivalency ratings. Simply keep this in perspective.

• Returned messages - The true test of public relations effectiveness is receiving your own messages back from target audiences. You know you're on track when comment cards, newspaper quotes and market research results resonate your message.
  
  
• Clippings - Clippings help you track news coverage and attention. From there you'll need to consider if it's positive or not. To keep track of media coverage have volunteers search local papers and encourage staff to watch the news and listen to the radio. Inform staff and volunteers to notify the PR contact of any mentions or articles about the hospital. If a reporter contacts you for information, make sure you ask when the article is likely to run and follow up. If you have money to spend, consider employing a clipping service. They use "professional readers" to look for key words about the hospital, services or even competitive organizations. Clipping services usually charge a monthly and a per clip fee.
  
  
• Research - It's a good idea to conduct surveys and/or focus groups before beginning a public relations campaign if possible. Conduct the same survey following a period of time after the campaign (6-9 months). Be sure to include both quantitative and qualitative questions about attitudes, beliefs and opinions about the hospital, its services and staff.
  
  
• Direct public relations - This encourages your audience to respond to a free brochure, a complimentary consultation or a free item. Make sure to capture contact information from people who reply. More traffic to the response mechanism - a telephone number, fax number or e-mail - can be a good sign of effective public relations. Just remember the item must be desirable to readers and the media must see it as a value-added service, otherwise it won't be mentioned in the article or newscast.
  
  
• Program enrollment and/or event turnout - Track the number of people who enroll in new programs or attend events. Compare those weekly or monthly numbers to the timing of an article or radio news program.
  
  
• Intuition and gut feelings - Trust your intuition and gut feelings when evaluating the effectiveness of public relations campaigns and tactics. Don't be too quick to throw in the towel. It takes time to develop solid relationships. However, if something doesn't seem to be working, you may want to re-evaluate your objectives and tactics.
  
  
• Agency methods - Some agencies use circulation statistics, ad equivalency ratings, and coverage analysis systems to prove the effectiveness of a public relations campaign. While the final results from these methods are exciting and impressive (if things are going well), most hospital PR staff simply don't have the time to do this in-house.