An `effectiveness yardstick' to measure public relations success.

The article presents information about "Public Relations Effectiveness Yardstick." It is a two-step process: first, setting public relations objectives and then determining at what levels one wishes to measure public relations effectiveness. When one stops and think about it, no one can really measure anything unless they first figure out exactly what it is they are measuring that something against. So, to begin, ask oneself, what are the goals or objectives of the public relations (PR) program? What is the PR program or activity seeking to accomplish? In public relations, what one is are trying to accomplish usually falls into one of these four categories, he, or his organization, is trying to get certain messages, themes, or ideas out. He would like these messages or ideas distributed to certain key or target audience groups. He envision distributing these messages to his target audiences via certain pre-selected or specific communications channels - perhaps through the media, by word-of-mouth or by using a direct mail approach and, ultimately, for what he says, for how he say it and to whom, there are certain short-term or long-term ends or objectives he is interested in accomplishing. Based on how and what he says and does, he would like those who reach to respond in a certain way.