Public relations is talking to your publics and sharing information that means something. Publics are people inside an organization and outside that need to know about what’s going on when things are good and bad. Public relations is not bout lying and spin, it’s about telling a story and setting a tone. Public relations work is not marketing or advertising, there is no media buying, it’s all about relationships with people who can spread your message –and not always in the way you intended. It’s art and skill combined.

1. The most basic level measures message distribution and media placement.  This level lets practitioners know where the message is being sent, and who is receiving it. Message reach and dissemination details are a starting point to gauging effectiveness.
2.  The second level serves as a measurement of audience awareness, comprehension, and retention of the message. On this level there is more information about what portion of the audience was aware of the message. With this one can gauge what they took from the message and what they clearly remember about it.
3. The third and most advanced level is the measurement of changes in attitudes, opinions, and behavior. With this detail oriented measurement comes the part that practitioners love –how did the audience react, did they buy something, change their opinion, not buy something? This level gets to the core of not only message reach and perception, but audience synthesis and adaptation.

By now it’s clear that negative online sentiment cannot only damage a business’ reputation but also its bottom line. You don’t get many chances to address a vocal, disgruntled customer or correct a fake, perhaps competitor-generated, social media review. And silently ignoring social feedback from customers is never an option.

That said, too many companies have fallen prey to the idea that robotic responses “cover their bases.” They believe they’re on top of their social media presence because their corporate marketing department is monitoring brand references and aggregating metrics. But those actions do not focus on improving the customer experience, which is ultimately what affects a company’s revenue.

Here are seven social media management rules to prevent your employees from becoming response robots and incite them to respond in a way that boosts customer loyalty.

1. Be Timely

The right underlying technology solutions can help a company monitor what’s being said online and immediately alert property managers to a new social post. Instilling a culture of urgency among employees is important when closing the loop on social reviews. Not only is one customer watching — so is everyone else. You don’t need to respond to every post, but it’s also important to respond to both good and bad posts because it shows future customers how involved you are. For example, scathing reviews that are tempered with rational, genuine responses are much less potent in deterring future customers.

2. Don’t Auto Respond

Every response is visible in stream, and the presence of scripted responses will quickly become apparent to followers. If your responses seem automated, they won’t seem genuine and you might as well not respond.

3. Leave it to the Frontline

The employees who are closest to your customers are the best at interacting with them, either online or face-to-face. Getting your frontline of employees on board with your social media strategy invokes a strong sense of urgency to fix underlying problems. Because of social media’s transparent nature the frontline will appreciate the importance of improving the customer experience. Best Western responds to well over a third of their TripAdvisor reviews (above the industry average) to foster customer rapport.

via 7 Rules for Responding to Customers Online.