Measuring relationships in the not-for-profit world

In nonprofit world, not measuring is not an option according to Katie Paine in Chapter 13 of Measure What Matters. We know relationships are the foundation for success in any business, but good relationships are especially important for nonprofit organizations, because nonprofits rely on volunteerism, goodwill and word of mouth to raise brand awareness.

Paine lists several steps for measuring the strength of a nonprofit organization's communal relationships. The first is using your mission to define your objectives. Measure What Matters mentions Habitat for Humanity, a nonprofit that works to build houses for underprivileged people. The success of Habitat's mission significantly depends on the help of volunteers. So rather than simply measuring the amount of money they raise or the number of houses they build, Habitat must also measure the strength of their relationships, specifically with volunteers, to determine success. With this in mind, Habitat may establish the following objective for measurement: Increase volunteers by a certain percentage over the coming year.

The next step involves identifying and prioritizing target audiences. In the case of Habitat for Humanity, volunteers would make up one of the most important audiences. Nonprofit organizations must remember that these target audiences can make or break the organization; making sure target audiences receive and understand your key messages is vital to their support and your success. It's important to prioritize these key audiences by measuring their impressions, awareness and understanding of your organization's mission. The next steps in measurement for nonprofits include establishing benchmarks, choosing measurement metrics, picking a measurement tool, and then analyzing the data and using the results to make changes that will improve the strength of the organization's relationships.

Thanksgiving origins

When people think about the origins of the Thanksgiving holiday, they typically think of North American settlement, the pilgrims and the Mayflower. Today in church, I learned a little bit more about the true origins of our national Thanksgiving holiday. Every fourth Thursday in November, we celebrate a day of thanksgiving and prayer (and often, an abundance of delicious food) because some of our nation's greatest leaders and presidents found it fitting for Americans to collectively thank our Savior for the blessings, protection and favor he has so bountifully given our nation.

The following proclamation was issued by President George Washington in 1789:

Whereas it is the duty of all Nations to acknowledge the providence of Almighty God, to obey his will, to be grateful for his benefits, and humbly to implore his protection and favor, and whereas both Houses of Congress have by their joint Committee requested me "to recommend to the People of the United States a day of public thanksgiving and prayer to be observed by acknowledging with grateful hearts the many signal favors of Almighty God especially by affording them an opportunity peaceably to establish a form of government for their safety and happiness."

Now therefore I do recommend and assign Thursday the 26th day of November next to be devoted by the People of these States to the service of that great and glorious Being, who is the beneficent Author of all the good that was, that is, or that will be. That we may then all unite in rendering unto him our sincere and humble thanks, for his kind care and protection of the People of this Country previous to their becoming a Nation, for the signal and manifold mercies, and the favorable interpositions of his providence, which we experienced in the course and conclusion of the late war, for the great degree of tranquility, union, and plenty, which we have since enjoyed, for the peaceable and rational manner, in which we have been enabled to establish constitutions of government for our safety and happiness, and particularly the national One now lately instituted, for the civil and religious liberty with which we are blessed; and the means we have of acquiring and diffusing useful knowledge; and in general for all the great and various favors which he hath been pleased to confer upon us.

The following is an excerpt from President Abraham Lincoln's Thanksgiving proclamation in 1863:

It has seemed to me fit and proper that they should be solemnly, reverently and gratefully acknowledged as with one heart and voice by the whole American people. I do therefore invite my fellow citizens in every part of the United States, and also those who are at sea and those who are sojourning in foreign lands, to set apart and observe the last Thursday of November next, as a day of Thanksgiving and Praise to our beneficent Father who dwelleth in the Heavens. And I recommend to them that while offering up the ascriptions justly due to Him for such singular deliverances and blessings, they do also, with humble penitence for our national perverseness and disobedience, commend to his tender care all those who have become widows, orphans, mourners or sufferers in the lamentable civil strife in which we are unavoidably engaged, and fervently implore the interposition of the Almighty Hand to heal the wounds of the nation and to restore it as soon as may be consistent with the Divine purposes to the full enjoyment of peace, harmony, tranquility and Union.

Thanksgiving has been observed annually since Lincoln's proclamation in 1863. 

In celebrating the Thanksgiving holiday this Thursday, I hope you take time to remember these proclamations of our Founding Fathers and greatest leaders. These men faced some of our nation's greatest struggles, in settlement, wars and development, but still understood the importance of thanking God for his faithfulness and hand of protection through it all. Today in America, more than ever, we have so much to be thankful for and to pray for; the Thanksgiving holiday is a time to do just that. Unfortunately, like the majority of Christian holidays in America, I think Thanksgiving has become a very secular cultural tradition, but the day was always intended to be a day of thanks to God. 

Measuring what matters during a crisis

"All business in a democratic society begins by public permission and exists with public approval." - Arthur W. Page

In Chapter 11 of Measure What Matters, Katie Paine mentions this quote and describes the importance of measuring public approval of your organization in crisis situations. The public's approval and trust in your organization is comprised of three key elements: 

1. Competence - Do publics believe your organization will effectively compete to survive in the marketplace?
2. Integrity - Do publics view your organization as fair and just?
3. Dependability - Do publics believe your organization will consistently do what it says it will do?

A high degree of trust among publics will help cultivate a business's relationships with customers, stakeholders and others who are invested in the organization's success. In turn, those relationships can have a measurable effect in helping the organization defend its reputation against crises.

Katie Paine says, "Thanks to the economic collapse of 2008, people trust corporations less than at almost any other time in our history" (p. 171). This means that building up relationships before a crisis is essential to a business's financial health and survival, because strong relationships can reduce the expenses that typically follow crises situations, such as lost revenue, regulations, litigation and pressure campaigns. 

Measure What Matters gives seven steps to measure the strength of an organization's relationships and the level of trust among publics, during and after crises:

1. Define a specific desired outcome from the crisis
2. Define your audiences and what you want your relationships to be with each one
3. Define your benchmark
4. Define your measurement criteria
5. Select a measurement tool
6. Analyze results and make actionable recommendations
7. Make changes and measure again

Reading this chapter, I was surprised to see Katie Paine's "seven steps to measure crises and trust" are very similar to the previous measurement plans she touched on for customer relations, sponsorships, events, community relations and employee relations. I know crisis situations often require quick reactions and decisions, but I hadn't thought about the extensive measurement processes that are still important. However, as Katie Paine noted, if an organization is able to work through these seven steps before a crisis occurs, it makes the measurement process much easier when they are under fire.

US Airways - say it like you mean it!

An investigation is underway after US Airways recently kicked a legally blind man and his guide dog off one of their flights. A flight attendant asked Albert Rizzi to stow his guide dog, Doxy, under the seat, but Rizzi was unable to comply due to his dog's size and the space available to him. After a delay on the tarmac, Doxy became disturbed and frantic and the pair was ultimately asked to exit the plane.

Passengers refused to sit by and accept US Airway's bad-mannered actions. Instead, they rallied behind Rizzi and Doxy; some even tweeted what was happening in real-time.

Passengers were so upset that the flight crew made the decision to return to the gate and cancel the flight. Since the incident, US Airways has received a great deal of social media backlash criticizing their treatment of Albert Rizzi and his guide dog.

In response to the public disapproval, US Airways issued the following statement:

"US Airways transports more than 80 million customers each year and ensures that all customers, including those with disabilities, are treated with dignity and respect. We're particularly sensitive to those customers who travel with service animals since we partner with Assistance Dogs International (ADI), an organization that trains and places assistance dogs around the world. US Airways employees volunteer to travel with and work with assistance dogs in training to help them prepare for travel with disabled partners. Over the past 10 years, US Airways employees have participated in transports everywhere from California to Croatia. 

In this instance, Mr. Rizzi became disruptive and refused to comply with crew member instructions when the flight attendant asked him to secure his service dog at his feet. As a result of his disruptive behavior, the crew returned to the gate and removed Mr. Rizzi and his service dog from the flight. The flight eventually cancelled and we transported Mr. Rizzi, his service dog, and the rest of our passengers on the flight to ISP by bus. 

We apologize to the customers of the flight for the inconvenience. We are continuing to investigate the incident." 

Is it just me or was this statement completely insensitive to the issue? Instead of sincerely apologizing for their actions, US Airways bragged on their partnership work with the Assistance Dogs International program and slated Mr. Rizzi.

I hate to break it to you, US Airways, but at this point the public couldn't care less about your charity work. Your mistreatment of a disabled man and his guide dog offended many people and tarnished your company's image. Placing the blame on Mr. Rizzi in your apology has not changed public perception of the issue, but has more than likely worsened people's opinions of your organization.

This incident was poorly handled. If US Airways wants to make things right and restore some sincerity with publics, they should issue a genuine apology to Mr. Rizzi and the rest of the flight's passengers, with no boastful remarks or excuses. US Airways - say you're sorry, and say it like you mean it!

Measuring employee relations

In previous chapters of Measure What Matters, Katie Paine has focused on measuring relationships between businesses and their customers, stakeholders and the communities in which they interact. In Chapter 10, Katie Paine addresses measuring employee morale. Positive employee sentiment is crucial to business success because employees are the backbone and the face of any organization. Happy employees tend to be more productive and committed to their organizations. If employees are happy with their place of work, they are more likely to advocate for the business and recommend the organization as a great place to work. 

As an employee (for more than one organization) I've experienced both constructive internal communications and a lack of internal communications. I know firsthand how frustrating it is to feel out of the workplace loop. There have been times when I received critical information from sources outside of our organization; this lead to confusion and irritation toward my superiors. On the other hand, I have worked for an organization with effective internal communications, weekly checkups and one specific and exclusive channel for coworker communication. The presence (or lack) of effective internal communication practices within my workplaces do in fact influence how I feel about working for the organizations.

Paine notes multiple ways to measure the strength of employee relations, such as monitoring local media, social media, internal blogs and online communities, conducting focus groups, studying intranet log files and distributing surveys. If the organizations I work for have conducted any of these measurement tactics, I have not been aware. If given the opportunity, I would surely participate in an employee focus group or survey in order to share my thoughts and hopefully improve the internal communications within my workplaces. 

For businesses measuring employee relationships, Paine says it's important to remember that employees will expect internal communication practices to change. It's important to post your data and findings where all employees can have access to comment and provide interpretation feedback as soon as possible. This type of two-way communication will ensure future participation in employee research, while improving employee sentiment at the same time.

I heard Jesus drank wine, so is it wrong for the Robertsons to sell it?

The Robertsons from Duck Dynasty announced a new business endeavor last week: Duck Commander Wines. Consequently, the Christian organization Family Ministries has canceled a Duck Dynasty fundraising event which would have raised money to update facilities for the children served by Family Ministries.

Some see the Duck Commander wine partnership as a PR crisis. Others see the wine endeavor as a great business opportunity. I can understand both points of view.

Family Ministries canceled the event because they felt endorsing a family/business involved in the alcohol industry would have sent mixed messages to their youth audience. The young people served by Family Ministries typically go through a drug and alcohol awareness program, so it makes sense that the Christian organization would want to be clear in their position on alcohol consumption. The cancellation obviously drew attention to the Robertsons' new business venture. Because the famous family is well-known for their devotion to the Christian faith, their alignment with the alcohol industry and the cancellation of their Christian-oriented event has offended some of their fans and stirred a minor PR mishap.

On the other hand, I wonder if Family Ministries drew more attention to the issue than necessary. Yes, the Duck Dynasty family is about to enter the alcohol industry, but I highly doubt Willie Robertson, Duck Commander CEO, would have spoken on his recent business move or his support for the alcohol industry at the event, knowing Family Ministries' values.

I think the number of fans the Robertsons have alienated and offended with this new business venture are outweighed by the success that Duck Commander Wines will bring the company. The wine endeavor will expand the multi-million dollar Duck Commander brand that is already known and loved for its hunting gear, books, apparel and other novelties. As already-successful business people, I'm positive the Robertson family strongly considered their options, key messages and target audiences before making the decision to dive into the alcohol industry.

In my opinion, this venture by the Duck Dynasty gang is more of a good business move than a PR crisis. I don't think Duck Commander Wines will tarnish the Duck Dynasty brand, which has always been solidly based on family and Christian values; after all, I heard Jesus drank wine?



Food for thought: Go, eat your food with gladness, and drink your wine with a joyful heart, for it is now that God favors what you do. Ecclesiastes 9:7

Joy comes in the morning!

What a whirlwind this week has been.

Monday morning I posted a blog about living in the moment. Monday night my family was slapped in the face with the reality of this concept. A moment is really all it takes for your world to change completely.

On Monday, November 11 at 8:22 p.m., my uncle Zach VanAtta unexpectedly went to be with Jesus. He was 41 years old and left behind a lot of family and friends who loved him very much, especially my aunt Amy and my cousins Emma and Mason.

I've spent the entire week with family - crying, reminiscing, laughing and hugging (lots of hugging!) - and I really cherish the recent moments I've had with them. These unfortunate circumstances have reminded me how important it is to live in the moment, because life can turn upside-down in the blink of an eye. Such a sudden and tragic loss has also reminded me to tell my family how much I love them, and to tell them often.

I'm sad that Zach is gone. He was a great guy; his big heart, witty sense of humor and reliable work ethic touched many lives for the better. He will be deeply missed by everyone who had the chance to meet him and spend time with him. But as a good friend, leader and fellow believer told me earlier this week, my family will spend a lot more time in eternity with Zach than we will spend missing him here on earth. This is something I already knew deep down in my heart, but it was so comforting to hear from someone else, especially when I was solely focused on the heartbreak of the situation.

These words have been in my heart all week: We will spend more time in eternity with Zach than we will spend missing him here on earth. Thank you Jesus!

To be absent from the body is to be present with the Lord (2 Corinthians 5:8). I find great comfort in knowing that Zach is in Paradise with Jesus, and I know the rest of my family does too. It may not make missing him any easier, but because of Jesus, we don't have to say goodbye forever. In the blink of an eye, we will see Zach again in a place where there is no heartbreak or sadness.

I know God has great things in store for my family (Jeremiah 29:11) and he will continue to bless us and provide for us in every way imaginable. Losing Zach sucks (I'm not going to sugarcoat it), but we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him (Romans 8:28).

To my aunt Amy and cousins Emma and Mason: you guys are so abundantly blessed because of what Jesus has done for us and you are so loved by everyone around you. I pray you never forget how loved and blessed you are!

You will be missed uncle Zach, but we will see you again someday!


Food for thought: Weeping may endure for a night, but joy cometh in the morning. Psalm 30:5

Overcoming the "I'll be happy when..." attitude

I've been really busy lately. I know I'm not the only one, because I've been noticing a lot of other people talk about how stressed they are with school, work and various deadlines. Recently I've heard a lot of people say things like, "I just need to make it through this week and I'll be happy," or "I'll feel so much better once I finish this." I'm often guilty of feeling this way too, but I'm starting to see a problem with this "I'll be happy when..." attitude. Once you get in this cycle it never really ends. You'll make it through your busy week and then a new project with tight deadlines will be thrown at you, and the vicious cycle starts all over again.

As a college student, it's easy for me to get wrapped up in thoughts of the future. I look forward to finishing big projects, to holiday breaks from classes, and too often, to life after graduation. The problem with these thoughts is that I'm completely robbing myself of today's joy, today's lessons and today's blessings. When I think about it, I've wished big chunks of my life away by saying, "I'll be so much happier when this is over." 

Some days I feel like my life really hasn't started yet - like it will when I graduate, when I get a grown-up job or when I get married and start a family. Isn't it sad that I spend so many of my days wishing I could fast forward? I know this is not how God intended me to live, so why is it so hard for me to focus on being completely satisfied with where I'm at and what I'm doing today? Life is happening right now; am I missing it?

I'm confident that big things are ahead of me, even if I don't know exactly what they are yet (Jeremiah 29:11). But to overcome the thievery of an I'll-be-happy-when attitude, I think it's also important to be confident of the big things that are in store for me today.

Today I'm going to focus on present blessings rather than future anxieties. I'm going to make a conscious effort to find reasons to be happy today, now, in the moment. I hope you do too!

Food for thought: Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own. Matthew 6:34

Measuring success in a social media world

"The difference between PR and social media is that PR is about positioning, and social media is about becoming, being, and improving." - Chris Brogan

Katie Paine begins Chapter 5 of Measure What Matters with this quote. For those of you who regularly read my blog, I'm sure by now you understand how technological advances and social media have completely changed the world in which we do business. Social media forces companies to truly live and breathe the images their PR departments work so hard to create and communicate to publics.

From Katie Paine's measurement perspective, this social media revolution requires a three-part shift in our thought processes:

1. Redefine "now" 
2. Redefine PR, advertising, marketing and corporate communications
3. Change how we quantify success

Timeliness and PR have been redefined with the growth of social media, and in turn, measuring impressions and overall success has become nearly impossible. Paine argues that perfect measurement of success doesn't really matter. Too often, PR departments measure success by the number of media impressions or "eyeballs reached" when it needs to be more about measuring engagement and relationships.

For example, let's imagine I see a post on Facebook about new deals at my favorite local coffee shop and I "like" it. What does this tell the coffee shop? How many "likes" does the post need to get before the coffee shop can consider the post successful? Facebook likes, as measurable as they may be, do not signify success. What matters to the coffee shop's social media and PR department is the number of times I share or comment on the post, or the number of times I click through the post to claim a coffee coupon. This type of action and engagement on the Facebook post can be quantified as success for the coffee shop, because I am fostering the consumer-business relationship and promoting the brand.

Social media specialists can no longer assume that hits or page views equal success. Instead, we need to focus on measuring social media engagement to determine success.

Guns & Ammo for gun-control?

Guns & Ammo readers were stunned to find an editorial titled "Let's Talk Limits" printed on the back page of the magazine's December issue this past week. Dick Metcalf, the editor behind the controversial editorial has been fired. Guns & Ammo has issued a public apology and hired a new editor to take Metcalf's place, but many readers are understandably still upset. Some of them have taken to the Guns & Ammo Facebook page to voice their disgruntlement.

While Metcalf may have provided valid and informed arguments in favor of gun regulations, Guns & Ammo readers were still displeased, unsurprisingly. The magazine and its content has always supported the Second Amendment, in turn attracting pro-Second Amendment readers who strongly believe any gun regulations encroach on their rights to bear arms. What were Guns & Ammo editors thinking when they published the editorial publicizing gun regulations?

Editor Jim Bequette claims he believed the editorial would generate healthy debate. Instead, the piece generated a great deal of unhealthy backlash for the Guns & Ammo organization. From a PR perspective, it appears Metcalf, Bequette and the rest of the editorial staff lost sight of the No. 1 communications rule: know your target audience. 

Taking the politics out of the situation, this is like Country Living magazine writing about the best cities to live in or Fitness magazine writing about new delicious deals at McDonald's. They wouldn't (or at least they shouldn't). Why? Because these topics completely defy what the publications stand for. Country Living readers don't live in cities. Fitness readers don't eat McDonald's. Guns & Ammo readers don't support gun regulations. Guns & Ammo let their readers down this week because they lost sight of their audience's interests and values.

Measuring what matters

Each of the social media books we've read so far have focused on similar key messages: the growth of social media, social media engagement and real-time social media use. I'm excited to dig into a book with a different focus. Katie Paine's Measure What Matters is all about measuring in order to prosper and continuously improve your business.

I've worked for my family's excavating company for a little over two years now. When I first started working for the business I did a lot of job tracking - recording stone quantities, fuel quantities, equipment usage and labor expenses. This job was frustrating to me because I spent many hours a week plugging these numbers into a computer but no one really used the data for anything; it just sat there. In Chapter 1 of Measure What Matters, Katie Paine says "It used to be that 'he or she with the most data wins.' But today nothing is cheaper and easier to come by than data–especially useless data. It's having the right data that counts" (p. 4).  Since I've taken over new duties for the family company, we've added a new position and a new software system that allows the company to track all of these quantities, analyze the data and estimate job costs. As the family company continues to grow and improve, measurement becomes more and more important.

The same can be said for social media use within a business. We know how important it is for companies to have a social media presence - to listen to what stakeholders are saying about them and engage in conversation when appropriate. But how valuable is social media to your business if you're not measuring the results and evaluating what your market is saying about you? How do businesses grow and improve their social media presence if they are not measuring the data?

Measurement is about more than counting. Measurement takes data, evaluates the data's meaning and uses the evaluation to improve business practices. According to Measure What Matters, setting up a measurement program for your business can save time and money, help allocate budget and staff, give you a better understanding of your competition, assist in strategic planning and reveal the strengths and weaknesses of your business.

The Qatar 2022 Women's Soccer Challenge

One thing I love about the PR program at Northern is the opportunity we have to gain real-world PR experience through our student-run PR firm, True North PR. Each semester our firm takes on multiple clients, projects and competitions and students are able to research, plan and implement PR campaigns on a variety of topics. This semester, I've been working on a project called the Qatar 2022 Women's Soccer Challenge. This project has been interesting but also pretty challenging so far, because I am not very familiar with the sport of soccer or Qatari culture.

In 2022, Qatar will become the first country in the Middle East to host the FIFA World Cup. The Qatar 2022 Supreme Committee hopes to use the tournament as a catalyst to accomplish other national goals, such as developing businesses, promoting Qatar for global investment and improving international perceptions of the small Middle East nation. A large-scale event like the World Cup can create drastic changes for host nations in terms of economics and culture and the Qatar 2022 Supreme Committee intends to take full advantage of this opportunity for change.

True North PR is participating in a case study challenge that will help the Qatar 2022 Supreme Committee accomplish their goal of increasing the global success the Qatar women's national team. Our team is creating an integrated marketing communications (IMC) plan that will inform and influence Qatari girls ages six to 17 and increase their interest in playing soccer. So far, our team has focused heavily on researching the success of American soccer teams and programs and brainstorming ways to apply these successful practices to Qatar.

Through our team's research, I've learned a lot about Qatari culture and the sport of soccer - two things I knew very little about prior to this project. Although we've faced some challenges in researching and creating our plan, I am confident our team will put together quality work, because in Northern's PR department we have the brain-power, resources and faculty to help us do so. Being involved in such a hands-on PR department has been really beneficial for me. True North PR firm projects have given me the opportunity to dive right in and gain real-world PR experience.

Oreo does it again

When I saw an article on PR Daily about Oreo winning big again on social media, I had to read more. We've used Oreo as an example in social media class numerous times because they are one of those brands that just get it. Their social media team is creative and engaging and they understand how to successfully utilize several platforms.

To celebrate their 100th birthday in 2012, Oreo launched a 100-day Facebook campaign called The Daily Twist where they shared a daily photo of Oreos that represented a historical or current event. Here are some of my favorites:

Oreo also made history during Super Bowl XLVII earlier this year when they posted this tweet just a few minutes into the power outage:

Oreo has done it again, this time using Vine, a newer social media platform that allows users to share six-second videos that run on a loop. The six-second limit requires users to be brief, but also creative and original, which Oreo has proven to be time and time again. 

'Tis the season for scary movies. Just in time for Halloween, Oreo used their cookies to recreate scary scenes from "The Shining," "The Exorcist" and "Frankenstein."

<iframe class="vine-embed" src="https://vine.co/v/hDEiwJBm7I1/embed/simple" width="600" height="600" frameborder="0"></iframe><script async src="//platform.vine.co/static/scripts/embed.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

Oreo continues to showcase their delicious cookies in ways that engage and interest social media users around the world. With their recent content on Vine, it's clear Oreo is one of those brands who will  continue to search for new platforms and new ways to connect with fans. Not only is Oreo known for creating America's favorite cookie, but they are recognized for creating one of America's favorite brands to follow on social media.