Internal CommunicationsThe July edition of #measurePR focused on an area most PR pros don’t often think about: internal communications. And I was delighted that three extremely experienced practitioners – you might even call them legendary (or on their way) made the time to join us: Shel Holtz of Holtz Communication, Dr. Julie O’Neil of the TCU School of Journalism, and Dr. Barbara Gibson of Syracuse University London.

Here’s some of what we talked about:

On best practices for internal communications and the measurement thereof:

#measurePR community member, Sarah Parker chimed in:

As did Martin Waxman:

We continued our conversation by taking a look at the importance of setting a baseline to measure internal communications:

I then asked how our guests felt internal communications and PR should work together:

When it came to common mistakes made in measuring internal communications, the guests each had their own stance:

Janet Fouts also weighed in:

All this talk about internal communications was enough to inspire one of our #measurePR community members to ask for some recommendations for getting a job in the field. Some great suggestions were offered up including:

  • Use keywords to set up social media alerts for relevant positions
  • Brush up on your math skills
  • Volunteer your internal communications services to a local charity or nonprofit
  • Come up with a internal communications plan for potential employers
  • Read the junior PR pro’s guide to becoming a PR geek
  • Join IABC
  • Connect with people that work at the companies you want to work with via social media
  • Build your online reputation through LinkedIn networks and groups, meetups, and about.me
  • Check out the treasure trove of IC research and best practices on the IPR website
  • Experiment with blogging and writing outlets to start broadcasting your thoughts

And of course, if all else fails, you can always follow this advice (ha!):

Throughout the chat, many (mostly free) tools were mentioned. I figured it made sense to put together a list for easy reference:

As you can see, there was no shortage of insightful material, so in the blink of an eye our hour was up. If you missed the chat or want to re-live some of the action check out the #measurePR transcript for July 14.

August #measurePR Twitter chat announcement

Next month’s #measurePR chat will take place on Tuesday, August 11, 12-1pm ET. We’ll take a big picture look at the field of PR measurement with our guests Nichole Kelly of Social Media Explorer, Sally Falkow of The Proactive Report and Tinu Abayomi-Paul, who will share details about a new Google Analytics PR dashboard, and Michelle Drifka Hinson, Chair of Institute for Public Relations’s Measurement Commission.

You won’t want to miss this chat, so please save the date (RSVP to the event, it will help!); once again, it’s Tuesday, August 11, 12-1 pm ET. See you all there!

Photo: Charles Forerunner via Unsplash, CC Zero