PR professionals wear a lot of hats: relationship-builder, storyteller and, increasingly, data analyst. Whether the need to dig deep into the data is a byproduct of advancing technologies, a natural evolution of the industry, higher expectations from the C-suite, or any number of other factors – the result is a steadily growing reliance on data and analytics in PR: A fact confirmed by 42% of PR and comms leaders surveyed for our 2024 Global Comms Report, a notable uptick from less than a third saying the same last year.
PR has always been a strategic discipline, but now expectations are higher, and the need to demonstrate value to the business is essential. Findings from the Global Comms Report suggest that the industry is up to the task: Strategies are becoming more comprehensive and approaches more analytical. Thanks to the availability of – and advancements in – PR monitoring and measurement technology, global PR and comms teams have never been better positioned to understand and prove the impact of their efforts.

But having the ability to measure your PR efforts and knowing what to measure are two very different things, and identifying the right metrics is a common struggle across comms teams. One place to start is by breaking down the data into two categories: qualitative and quantitative. This article looks into the difference between the two, how to measure them, and how the complimentary combination of data sources support today's data-driven PR teams.