How to Develop Impact-Based Communications KPIs
In our previous article, we provided some steps to quantify the impact of your communications strategy. If you have not read it, click here to catch up on the insights shared. In this article, we will be discussing some ways to develop impact-based key performance indicators.
Often times, many communications professionals ignore the business or organizational context and follow a laid-down metric of analyzing media mentions and social media engagement for every communications campaign.
On the contrary, the unique context and strategic business goals of every organization ought to determine what the key performance indicators are and how impact is measured.
- Identify specific areas that could benefit from a communications or engagement intervention: A communications professional often wears the hat of an advisor. Hence, after thoroughly interrogating the business, organization or institution, identify gaps where communications expertise can close.
- Engage the business and leaders to discuss and use insights to determine tangible and action-based indicators.
- Develop the campaign based on an identified audience and the trackable indicators. If you need to learn how to identify your target audience, this article is your guide.
Examples Of What To Measure Based On Different Campaign Types
Development Sector
- Amplification campaign
- Reach
- Conversation, etc.
- Advocacy campaign
- Commitments made by the target audience as a result of the campaign
- Communications-enabled changes
- Actions taken by impact group during the campaign and intervention period
In specific contexts that affects human rights example human trafficking and gender-based violence, impacts can be measured based on the following KPIs
- Percentage in illegal border crossing in targeted location following campaign period
- Percentage increase in reporting, victims seeking shelter, cases prosecuted in the courts within period of review and in targeted population
To truly measure impact of your bespoke communications strategy, it is important to set up tracking tools and monitor analytics to track performance through out the course of the campaign. This could be digital tools that monitor conversation, media mentions, brand positioning and ultimately, the result of the campaign. It could also be traditional mechanisms like data collation through questionnaires, in-person conversations on the field and via focus groups.
Sola Abulu & Associates (SA&A) is a strategy and communications consulting and training firm focused on enabling businesses, brands and organizations to achieve their desired objectives through strategic communications, organizational effectiveness and reputation management.
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