Celebrating 25 years of business feels like a rare milestone, and it’s an experience I’ll cherish for many years to come. We made great strides in 2016, and I’d like to reflect on what we’ve learned and where the journey will take us next.
We’re learners at heart. As the industry continues to evolve, our services have grown to match. In preparation of the New Year, we highlighted what we’ve learned over the last year, and where we’d like to continue focusing our efforts.
Measurable Results Matter
We believe it’s essential to measure our work in a deliberate, direct and detailed fashion, and tie company results to our clients’ bottom line. We integrated the Barcelona Principles 2.0, released in late 2015, into reports for our clients. By establishing and evaluating Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) on a regular basis, we can measure our public relations and digital marketing campaigns in three distinct levels:
1. Outputs (tactics we execute)
2. Outcomes (results generated by outputs)
3. Business results (impact on the bottom line)
A year later, our clients enthusiastically support how we measure results and evaluate what works best for their goals. You can learn more about the Barcelona Principles 2.0 here.
Adaptability
It’s our responsibility to perpetually search for new and better ways to secure coverage and leads for our clients. Digital marketing and social media are valuable new tools in our quiver.
New social media platforms pop up on a daily basis, so campaigns need to be constantly evaluated to ensure the best return on investment for our clients. It’s like a math equation – when the right formula is found, the value is significant and gives us a new way to direct the conversation and engage more people.
Digital marketing opens up multiple entry points to ongoing conversations, giving us an enhanced ways to communicate and interact with audiences. In the digital space, everything is measurable, so we report on specific, quantifiable results.
Storymaking
Our approach to sharing client and educator stories has evolved over the last 25 years as we’ve shifted to become storymakers. It starts with listening to our customers’ conversations and then finding topics that help drive content development and engage their audiences. The purpose of storymaking is to collaborate on ideas and messages that people enjoy. It’s authentic, and it generates trust in a way that mere storytelling is unable to deliver.
It Takes a Village
We wouldn’t be where we are today without the help from our clients, strategic partners, media friends and staff. Each and every one of the people we have the pleasure of working with has added to our past and present success, and we have no doubt they’ll continue helping us shape our future. We’re proud to promote new products and innovations, share stories and learn from one another on a daily basis to improve the lives of students and educators everywhere.
Here’s to even more memorable success in 2017!
