Thought Leaders Interview: Katie D. Paine
This week, Katie Delahaye Paine talks within the interview series “Thought Leaders” about her longstanding experiences with the topic of PR measurement and evaluation. The CEO of Paine Publishing, an agency for PR and Social Media Measurement, has been a pioneer in the field of measurement for more than two decades. The "Queen of Measurement" has advised some of the world`s most admired companies and has been a leading promoter of standards in the PR and Social Media Measurement.
Communicationcontrolling.de: Mrs. Paine, when did you start to deal with questions of PR measurement and evaluation, and why are you especially interested in this topic?
Katie D. Paine: I was at IBM/Lotus and realized that I was the 9th Director of Communications in 5 years and if I couldn’t demonstrate my effectiveness there would soon be a 10th. So I looked at our objectives and invented what is still the basic process for most standard content analysis. That was in 1986. It was so well received that I started The Delahaye Group in 1987 and have been the “Queen of Measurement” ever since. I love working with people who want to be accountable and who want to analyze their results. And, I just love data.
This interview is part of the series „Thought Leaders in PR measurement” – we’ve talked to 12 people who shaped the international debate on communication measurement in various periods.
cc.de: Why do you think communication measurement is essential for organizations today?
Paine: Essentially communicators today have too many options and without data no one can figure out what to do, so they just keep adding to the “To Do” list. Until they start evaluating the strategies and tactics you don’t know what is working or not working. No one has all the budget and staff and resources that they need, so how do you decide where to put the effort? You measure your progress and figure out what is working and not working and move resources away from the things that aren’t making you successful and put them towards the thing that are.
cc.de: What have been the most important insights and turning points in your professional work on the topic?
Paine: Without a doubt the advent of social media is the biggest development to happen to measurement. It has added so much rich data and has raised so many questions. Essentially it has forced PR and Marketing to work together and also measure more. Now that we can actually integrate all the conversations going on, and see where messages are getting through and what messages are working and not working we have so much more insight.The other major development is the arrival of standards for both public relations and social media measurement. I’ve been at the forefront of the effort to kill off false metrics like AVE, and thanks to social media and the collaboration around industry standards we might actually be making progress.
cc.de: International research constantly shows large gaps between the importance and implementation of measurement practices. Many complain about this, but nothing seems to change. Do you think there are any ways out of this dilemma?
Paine: Yes, the people doing the complaining will soon retire and the next generation of communications professionals that have been trained in research and aren’t afraid to measure failure, AND who have some business background, will come in and begin to really measure business results.
cc.de: Do you think it is possible to develop international standards for linking communication to organizational goals and for evaluating communication activities? What will be advantages and disadvantages, who might profit from such initiatives?
Paine: Yes, they are being developed as we speak go to www.smmstandards.org for the latest in social media measurement standards. The Institute for Public Relations has also made great progress towards standards for traditional media measurement as well. The reality is that we are working towards standard definitions and practices. There will never be a single number or approach because of the diversity of goals and objectives that each organization has. The advantage of following the standards are that organizations will be able to compare results between different vendors and different channels so they don’t have to throw out all the data they already have.
cc.de: From your point of view, what is the most important future challenge for PR measurement and evaluation?
Paine: The most important challenge will be to get organization to adhere to and adopt the standards. We have a very broad collection of organizations working on them, but they need to get every one of their members to implement the standards that are being set.
cc.de: Thank you for that conversation!
About Katie D. Paine
Katie Delahaye Paine is CEO at Paine Publishing, a company for PR and Social Media Measurement. Prior to launching Paine Publishing, she has founded two measurement companies, KDPaine & Partners Inc., and The Delahaye Group. Katie D. Paine is author and co-author of two books on communication measurement. She started the first blog and the first newsletter dedicated entirely to communications measurement. Paine was an initial founder of the Institute for Public Relations special commission on measurement and evaluation. She serves also on the Social Media Measurement Standards Conclave team.
Readings
- Paine, Katie D. (2011): Measure What Matters: Online Tools For Understanding Customers, Social Media, Engagement, and Key Relationships. New York: Wiley.
- Kanter, Beth/Paine, Katie D. (2012): Measuring the Networked Nonprofit: Using Data to Change the World. New York: Jossey-Bass.
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