Measuring the fallout of a crisis

It’s just as vital, if less pleasant, to quantify the fallout of a crisis.

That goes way beyond measuring media mentions or social media chatter, however.

“So here’s the trap almost every comms team falls into,” explained Sean Wilson, principal director, corporate affairs and communications for The Aerospace Corporation  during Ragan’s recent Communications Measurement Virtual Conference. “Somebody pulls up a mentions counter and says, ‘Oh, we’re up 400 stories, up from 40 yesterday,’ and everyone panics or relaxes based on that single number. But volume is the least useful metric that you have.”

Instead, Wilson said communicators should focus on the overall trajectory of a story combined with a recommendation on next steps.