Business Wire’s online analytics report, NewsTrak, can help you quantify the success of your press releases. But with so much data available, how do you determine which metrics matter most?
In this post, I’ll highlight the metrics PR professionals should use to measure the impact of press releases distributed on Business Wire. Armed with this knowledge, you can make informed decisions that optimize engagement and achieve your goals.
These key metrics will help you accurately measure your press release’s impact:
- Press release views and traffic sources
- Earned and social media
- Article syndication and potential reach
- Link clicks
Here’s why you should include these metrics in your next press release recap.
How many people viewed your press release, and where did they come from?
While it’s important to know how many people saw your press release, it’s even more helpful to know how they found it.
NewsTrak provides the total number of views and traffic sources, broken down into two types of traffic: “direct” and “referral.” Direct traffic refers to people who accessed your press release from Business Wire’s sites and feeds, while referral traffic comes from other sites like Google or social media platforms. According to a Business Wire representative, direct traffic from Business Wire’s sites and feeds make up 85% of views for most press releases.
Recently, though, our client’s release received 53% of its views from Business Wire’s sites and 46% from referral traffic. At first, you might think the lower direct traffic number is a bad sign. But that’s not the case. It shows that a large portion of views came from referrals. Looking further into the analytics, we discovered that almost 80% of the release’s referrals came from Twitter, which suggests that this client’s audience is active on this platform.
Understanding which sources drove the most views to your press release gives you an idea of what to repeat for the next release. In this case, we can suggest our client target Twitter by including more shareable content like images or videos in their releases.
Such insights can help you better understand how your press release performs across all traffic sources and help you adjust your strategy accordingly.
Did you receive any earned media coverage? Or social mentions?
Business Wire’s analytics section “Earned and Social Media Analytics” can give you a comprehensive view of earned media and social mentions.
The most sought-after metric is earned media, which refers to media coverage obtained without payment from the client. Knowing how many and which publications referenced your news in an article and when that article went live are all necessary metrics. (We also suggest including a quick recap of what the journalists wrote).
You’ll also see social mentions. Monitoring social mentions provides insights into the level of engagement with the release. We focus on the number of social media mentions, who wrote each post, their follower count and if they created any additional content. As a next step, we may recommend that a client engage further with the poster by commenting or resharing their post.
What was your potential reach?
While earned media is the preferred outcome for most clients, other types of media coverage can still have a significant impact. That’s why we recommend measuring syndicated articles.
Syndicated articles refer to press releases re-published on news outlets, websites and other media channels. You can find this metric under the “Online & Mobile Postings” section. This section also provides the number of unique visitors per month to each publication, which shows you the potential reach of your press releases to a broader audience.
Side note: While the “Earned and Social Media Analytics” section does have syndicated articles as a metric, in my experience, the “Online & Mobile Postings” provides a complete view of re-published content.
Which hyperlinks had the highest click-through rates?
Adding hyperlinks to your press release can direct viewers to your website or resources. In fact, we recommend that clients include a hyperlink to their homepage to drive traffic back to their site. And when applicable, include hyperlinks as calls to action—for example, to download a report.
Knowing how many people clicked on each link can help you understand engagement. If you’re measuring a call-to-action, it’s valuable to see if the content converted effectively.
You can see hyperlink performance under “Link clicks.” Business Wire’s analytics will show each hyperlink and the number of clicks to determine how each link performed. From there, you can make adjustments to your next press release. We recommend modifying your word choices or perhaps including a hyperlink in the lede to encourage more click-throughs.
For your next press release recap, take a look at these four metrics to better understand how your audience received your news. By starting now, you can establish a benchmark for these metrics and make informed, data-driven decisions for future press releases.