آموزش تجزیه و تحلیل وب: ابزاری برای ارتباطات استراتژیک

This essay discusses the usefulness of analytical software for public relations and communication professionals. Using data from four organizations (academic, professional, governmental, and activist), the authors unpack web analytic tools and their potential for improving the strategic communication skills of students.

The time has come to move web analytics from the boardroom to the classroom. This article describes one of our latest communication technology tools and unpacks it for students and professionals. Google Analytics has already made huge inroads into the sales, marketing, and advertising toolboxes of professionals but has received almost no attention as a public relations tool in spite of its utility for improving campaign planning, message design, and strategic communication. Analytic data are gathered by tens of thousands of organizations on a minute-by-minute basis, ranging from non-profit, educational, and governmental organizations, to public and private, large and small organizations and corporations. Many of the readers of this article work for schools or organizations that already gather analytic data, and most of the students who graduate over the next few years will use it as professionals. Web analytic data should be a staple research tool in capstone, management, campaigns, and similar courses, as well as used in student-run agencies to gather data on behalf of clients. Just as social media have become part of most student-run campaigns, analytic data are an everyday part of the business and professional world. As part of class projects, students regularly conduct primary and secondary research for clients, examine their websites, propose campaign strategies and tactics based on that research, and advise clients how to reach and influence key stakeholders and stakeseekers. The gathering of analytic data should become part of the regular research process enacted by students in advanced classes, and students in introductory classes should be exposed to analytic tools and learn the possibilities. This essay examines the usefulness of analytical software for public relations and communication students and professionals. Using data from four websites, the authors unpack web analytics tools and their potential for improving website effectiveness and organization–public relationships.

Some of you may feel that web analytics are too complicated for the public relations classroom. The truth is, analytics are easy to understand. There are many options for obtaining data from school-wide or department-wide sources (even other departments or schools if your own department or school refuses). The code that needs to be placed on pages to begin tracking data is very easy to install and Google provides instructions on its site for how to do it. Many schools (probably most) already gather analytical data (even if it is not Google Analytics) that will work just as well as Google for pedagogical purposes. Two of the authors of this paper learned how to use Google Analytics in under an hour. Even if you have little computer aptitude, you can ask for help from your school's IT expert. Indeed, the Web manager at our school added the tracking code for us, rather than grant access to the school's web pages. Many schools and organizations have content management software that will automatically place the tracking code on all of the pages for you. Finally, there are books on how to use Google Analytics that are very easy to use. With a day of work you can be up to speed on analytical software and ready to tutor your students. To obtain access to data from non-academic organizations, all you have to do is ask. Getting access is no harder than requesting a media kit from an organization. Many organizations already have analytics installed. With a bit of relationship building and a bunch of requests, you can secure access to already well-established data. Based on a three-paragraph e-mail and a follow-up telephone call to about twenty organizations, we received permission from two organizations for a research project on analytics. Other organizations from which we gathered data were obtained in a graduate course by students who already had relationships with the organization. Undoubtedly, in a class of 15 students, there will be a few students who are conducting (or have conducted) internships with organizations that would grant access to their data. By the end of a year, you could easily have access to several organizations’ data and be able to use it for everything from exam questions and in-class activities, to teaching students how to write a report or make a presentation on the data to clients. As public relations professionals, we need to think about web analytics from a strategic communication standpoint. We are not marketers or advertisers, ultimately our interest should be on the strategic communication, relationship building value of the tools. Many professionals argue that the web is dying, but anyone who understands the trajectories of the various media technologies knows that all technologies are X + 1—not either/or but both/and. While the fact that the web is being augmented by an assortment of Internet and telephone applications (apps) is true, the web is still widely accepted as a must-have presence for organizations, and journalists routinely use the web for background information on organizations. With new tools like analytics in the hands of communication professionals, understanding stakeholders and publics becomes easier, and students become stronger professionals.