{"id":3087,"date":"2021-04-21T13:00:00","date_gmt":"2021-04-21T13:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/carma.com\/?post_type=tms&p=3087"},"modified":"2024-01-08T06:46:08","modified_gmt":"2024-01-08T06:46:08","slug":"commentary-the-smartest-thing-about-pr-smart-objectives-is-not-what-you-think","status":"publish","type":"tms","link":"https:\/\/carma.com\/fr\/tms\/commentary-the-smartest-thing-about-pr-smart-objectives-is-not-what-you-think\/","title":{"rendered":"The Smartest Thing About PR SMART Objectives Is Not What You Think"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

You already know about the importance of SMART objectives for your PR programs: Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Relevant, and Timely (we\u2019ll discuss each of them below). But what you might not know about your objectives is the most important thing\u2014the indispensable thing, really: Everyone who matters must agree on them. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Agreement on objectives from all the stakeholders on your PR program and its measurement is vital. Otherwise, it doesn\u2019t matter how smart your SMART objectives are, your program is likely to meet resistance down the road. Doing measurement is hard enough without someone dragging their heels because they \u201cweren\u2019t consulted.\u201d Or sniping from the corner office because they \u201cdidn\u2019t think this was the right way to go anyway.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What’s the objective of objectives?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n


Let\u2019s back up for a minute and consider the purpose of objectives. Public relations work can be really, really exciting. We change people\u2019s attitudes and behaviours in strategic ways that advance our organisations\u2019 missions. Those of us in PR often feel that our work is so exciting, and so obviously important that we neglect to carefully consider its purpose. This is where objectives come in.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Your PR program objectives are a way to be precise about what success will look like. But they are also a critical means to confirm that your work fits in with the mission of your organisation, and with the work of others in your organisation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

That\u2019s why it is so important that everyone involved gets on board with your program\u2019s objectives up front. Undertaking a PR program and measuring it properly usually requires the cooperation of several people. When everyone agrees on the objectives, then you\u2019ve insured that they are part of your team. Even if their role is relatively minor, agreement means they\u2019ll feel invested. And supportive later on, if and when challenges occur.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Word to the wise: For a complex PR program, getting agreement on objectives can be time consuming and involve multiple different stakeholders. You may need to locate benchmarking data or source preliminary research. Don\u2019t take this step lightly; be prepared to put in the required time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

There is a lot more to objectives than just being SMART about them.<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Here at CARMA it\u2019s our job to help you achieve your PR goals through meaningful and relevant measurement and evaluation. Richard Bagnall, CARMA\u2019s co-managing partner and the chairman of AMEC says: \u201cMedia intelligence is a powerful tool for strategic PR. The way to make best use of it is to run results-led campaigns that map back to your organisational objectives and baselines. If you don\u2019t know where you are, and where you want to go, how can you ever know whether you\u2019re on the right track?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

PR measurement wasn\u2019t on the mind of George T. Doran way back in 1981, when he set out to develop a general way to focus business managers on achieving results<\/span><\/a>. Over the years since, all sorts of business divisions have adopted his SMART mantra.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

SMART is smart, but there\u2019s nothing about it that\u2019s sacred to PR. The words within the acronym have changed over time, and they vary depending on what general area you apply it to. In fact, for PR people, SMART can be a vastly over-simplified summary of the goals and strategy of your programs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Here\u2019s Richard again: \u201cPR professionals have to shape their activity against organisational objectives and desired outcomes. Just because a dashboard is counting something, doesn\u2019t mean that it actually counts. Meaningful evaluation comes when PRs link their tactical activity to the outtakes (what people think as a result of the activity) and the outcomes (what your key audiences have now done).\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The S,M,A,R, and T of SMART<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Now let\u2019s go through just what our objective acronym means:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

First off, there is Specific. \u201cSpecific\u201d typically means \u201cachieve what, by when.\u201d Like, for example, \u201cIncrease web page product demo requests by 10% over the next six months.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ask yourself and others: \u201cIs the objec\u00active clear, pre\u00accise, and unambiguous? Does it advance the business goals of our organisation?\u201d Think ahead to when the project is complete and imagine asking yourself, \u201cDid I achieve the objective?\u201d If you think confusion will be possible, tighten things up.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Measurable means that it is both quantifiable and that you will be able to quantify it. It\u2019s useless to set an objective of changing the state of mind of several million people if you will be unable to field an adequate survey, or otherwise evaluate their state of mind.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

You want to have specific metrics in mind (see Specific above). You can\u2019t always get exactly the data you want (like, for instance, \u201cHow many widgets did our excellent press release sell?\u201d), so you may have to get your team to agree to a suitable proxy (\u201cHow much did our orders increase in the three months after our excellent press release went out?\u201c).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ask yourself and others: \u201cDoes the objective say what success will look like in terms of quantity or quality?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Attainable means an objective that is possible to achieve. No, not that you or somebody just thinks it might be possible. Attainable means that everyone agrees that it is reasonably possible. You don\u2019t want someone to be able to say later, \u201cI never thought that was possible anyway.\u201d (Some people use the A in SMART to stand for \u201cagreement.\u201d We\u2019ve already covered that above.)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ask yourself and others: \u201cIs the objec\u00active real\u00acis\u00acti\u00accal\u00acly achiev\u00acable given the time-frame and resources available?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Relevant means aligned with organisational goals. As Richard said above, this means outcomes and outtakes, rather than just outputs. Your job here is to draw as straight and firm a line as possible between your PR work and the mission of your business or organisation. It\u2019s best not to just assume that this is obvious, even when it seems to be. You will often want to track trends and your competitors. And remember, relevant means no vanity metrics.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ask yourself and others: \u201cWill the objective(s) support the achievement of the overall goals of the organisation?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Time-bound may have been covered under Specific, above. But just in case it wasn\u2019t, here is where you state by when. Usually six months or a year, depending on the program, when your data is available, and when you will need your results to plan or budget. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ask yourself and others: \u201cDoes the target date allow coordination with other projects that we need the insights for?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Now that you are familiar with SMART objectives you can plan your next PR program with success and proper measurement in mind. Don\u2019t forget that the main objective of your program is to help your organisation achieve its business goals. Get to work.<\/h4>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

You already know about the importance of SMART objectives for your PR programs: Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Relevant, and Timely (we\u2019ll discuss each of them below). But what you might not know about your objectives is the most important thing\u2014the indispensable thing, really: Everyone who matters must agree on them. Agreement on objectives from all the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":60,"featured_media":3142,"template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"content-type":"","inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"tags":[330],"the_measurement_standard":[340],"creator":[],"class_list":["post-3087","tms","type-tms","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","tag-pr-measurement-evaluation","the_measurement_standard-pr-measurement-evaluation"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nThe Smartest Thing About PR SMART Objectives Is Not What You Think - CARMA<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"You already know about the importance of SMART objectives for your PR programs: Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Relevant, and Timely\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/carma.com\/fr\/tms\/commentary-the-smartest-thing-about-pr-smart-objectives-is-not-what-you-think\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"fr_FR\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"The Smartest Thing About PR SMART Objectives Is Not What You Think\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"You already know about the importance of SMART objectives for your PR programs: Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Relevant, and Timely\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/carma.com\/fr\/tms\/commentary-the-smartest-thing-about-pr-smart-objectives-is-not-what-you-think\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"CARMA\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/CARMAGlobal\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2024-01-08T06:46:08+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/carma.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/SMART-1568x882-1.png\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1568\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"882\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/png\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@CARMA\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Dur\u00e9e de lecture estim\u00e9e\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"5 minutes\" \/>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO Premium plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"The Smartest Thing About PR SMART Objectives Is Not What You Think - 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