Over the past decade, I’ve had the chance to consult with organizations of all sizes regarding their need to measure, and learn from, their public relations campaigns. Fortunately, they’ve all heard PR industry teachings about the importance of accountability, which has made my job easier! But, most are confused as to how to move beyond simply measuring outputs(such as clip counts or impressions) to more meaningfully tying together outputs to business or organizational outcomes (such as leads, sales, donations, and/or survey scores).

Some of this new quest for higher-level measurement results from the now-famous Barcelona Principles, which were established by the International Association for the Measurement and Evaluation of Communication (AMEC), PRSA, the Institute for Public Relations and two other industry associations at the 2010 AMEC European Summit in Barcelona, Spain. Utilizing much of the language and ideas found in PRSA’s The Business Case for Public Relations™, the seven Principles primarily mandate the importance of setting measurable goals and objectives, and moving toward linking outputs to outcomes.

All that is great, but PR pros have been left wondering how to execute these mandates. They have plenty of guidance on objective-setting, but not as much on how best to measure outputs — and then, how best to link them to outcomes.

Fortunately, the founders of the Barcelona Principles didn’t stop there. A special taskforce was deployed to develop what has become the AMEC Valid Metrics Guidelines, a set of practical frameworks that guide PR pros through developing a holistic, meaningful measurement process. I have found the Guidelines to be of enormous help to my clients, so I hope the following brief overview will be helpful to you.

Last month, Lisa Bialecki, senior director of Integrated Communications for Rust-Oleum, and I hosted a PRSA webinar, now available on-demand, called, “Going Beyond the Press Kit to Engage Influencers.” During the webinar, we highlighted the efforts Rust-Oleum has made to develop and deploy a sustainable blogger network as well as eight common ways brands can fail in the blogger space.

The discussion during the webinar was rich. It’s clear that today’s public relations professionals are already incorporating blogger relations into their marketing mix. But many are curious about how to identify the right bloggers, how to disclose your relationship and how to measure the success of your efforts. Here is a recap of some of the most frequently asked questions.

My journey to APR was a long process (at least in my mind) that was interrupted by my youngest child (what an awesome surprise) and that culminated in March 2013. While my path was different than most, although not unique, it consisted of a “self-study” plan.

My “self study” syllabus included:

• Chapter readings — “Effective Public Relations,” 10th edition.
• Using social media tools (blogging, tweeting, pin boards, etc.).
• An online study course (for group study).
• Audiobooks (of myself) reciting the APR Study Guide to listen to.
• Commissioning a graphic artist to create two “one-pager” infographics to help prepare (Readiness Review, CBE).

What to Expect at the Readiness Review

• Be comfortable, yet be powerful.
• Think 50 percent job interview, 50 percent big presentation.
• Just because APRs are leading it, they don’t know everything about public relations. You can teach them something new and/or give them a new strategy/tool/tactic to employ.
• Remember, you have a shared vocabulary (the KSAs), but we all bring something unique to the table.
• Shine!

What to Expect From the Computer-Based Examination for Accreditation in Public Relations

• Three hours and 45 minutes can seem like a long time and a short time (weird).
• Your mind will wander because you’ve been reading voluminous amounts of text.
• You may begin to wish the Examination was “over already” so you just get your score.
• You will begin to wonder, “Why didn’t I study that more?”
• After you submit your Examination, the screen will go blank; and those are the longest 30 seconds of your life. (I felt my heart beating in my chest waiting for the results.)
• Finally, if you’ve lived the APR Examination, you will pass. If you went at it half-heartedly or you aren’t humble, you will fail — it’s as simple as that.

When I saw that I’d passed, the first thing I did was send a tweet … seriously — then I called my husband. Crazy, I know. But I’d made this process so public that I felt that I should share my results publicly as soon as possible.

Tying your company into what’s already on the media agenda is a great way to boost the newsworthiness of your pitch angles.

McDonald’s struck an excellent balance this week when reacting to the benevolent neighbor who rescued the three abducted Cleveland women. Charles Ramsey mentioned McDonald’s in both his now-famous initial TV interview and his 911 call, which also went viral. He was the top trending topic on Twitter for almost a full day. Many in the Twitterverse hailed him as a hero and called on McDonald’s to figuratively shower him with Big Macs.

But the company showed appropriate restraint in its eventual tweet. First, they expressed support and sensitivity to the victims. Then, a subtle hint that they would “be in touch” with Ramsey. McDonald’s reps didn’t return calls asking for further comment — another wise move to avoid being perceived as exploiting the sensitive situation.

The webinar Accreditation Power Play: The How-To of Accreditation is now available on-demand. This public relations accreditation training sesssion is free to PRSA members.

Some people earn their APR to impress their boss — or the boss they want to have. I did it to impress my students — to encourage them to be the public relations professionals I want them to be.

I have taught public relations full time since 2007. An APR after my name, I believed, would allow me to speak more authoritatively to students about their need to keep exercising their minds long after they walk across the stage at graduation.

But first I had to go back to school myself.