How to quantify and evaluate the effectiveness of crisis public relations strategies

The "three-level effect evaluation model" is an important innovation in the field of media crisis management. It is based on the existing academic discussions on the concept attributes, communication laws and response principles of media crisis, and aims to provide a systematic, comprehensive and operational evaluation framework for media crisis public relations practice. This model focuses on three key levels: communicator sending, media communication, and audience reception. It aims to quantify and evaluate the effect of crisis public relations strategies, help companies or organizations make more informed decisions in crises, and improve the effectiveness of crisis management.

Communicator Sending Level

At the communicator level, the evaluation focuses on the construction and dissemination strategy of information. The main indicators of this level of evaluation include:

• Information Quality: Assess the accuracy, completeness and timeliness of the information, and whether the information effectively communicates the nature of the crisis and the company's position.
• broadcast strategy: Analyze the communication channels, timing, frequency and accuracy of target audience positioning adopted by the company to ensure that the information can reach the expected audience.
• Crisis Communications Team: Assess the team's professional capabilities, response speed and coordination to ensure the unity and consistency of information.

Media communication level

The assessment of the media communication level focuses on how the media handles and disseminates crisis information released by the enterprise, and the impact of media coverage of crisis events on public perception. Key assessment indicators include:

• Media coverage：Count the number and types of media reports on crisis events, analyze the ratio of positive to negative reports, and the depth and breadth of the reports.
• Media Bias: Analyze the tendency of media reports, determine whether there is biased reporting, and the impact of this tendency on public attitudes.
• Media influence：Evaluate the impact of media reports, including media coverage, audience feedback, and forwarding and comments on social media.

Audience reception level

The focus of the audience reception level assessment is on the target audience’s reception, understanding, attitude change and behavioral response to crisis information. The assessment indicators at this level mainly include:

• Information Reach: Evaluate whether the information successfully reaches the target audience, as well as the audience's frequency of contact and contact channels.
• Audience Perception: Analyze the audience’s level of awareness of crisis events, including the degree of understanding of the nature of the crisis, corporate responsibilities and response measures.
• Public attitude：Measure changes in public attitudes toward crisis events, as well as their trust and satisfaction with companies through questionnaire surveys, social media analysis, and other means.
• Behavioral response: Observe the changes in public behavior after a crisis event, such as consumption behavior, protest behavior, or support behavior, and the impact of these behaviors on businesses.

Implementation and Optimization

The implementation of the "three-level effect evaluation model" requires cross-departmental collaboration, including the participation of public relations, marketing, customer service, data analysis and other departments. Through regular data collection and analysis, companies can timely understand the effectiveness of crisis public relations strategies, identify deficiencies, optimize communication strategies, and adjust information content to more effectively manage crises and restore corporate reputation.

In addition, companies should also embed the "three-level effect evaluation model" into the long-term planning of crisis management, establish a continuous monitoring and evaluation mechanism to adapt to the ever-changing media environment and public expectations, ensure that they can respond more calmly in future crises, and protect and enhance corporate brand value. Through the application of this model, companies can not only improve the effectiveness of crisis public relations, but also enhance the ability to prevent and recover from crises, providing strong support for companies to maintain their competitive advantages in a complex and changing market environment.