In the IT industry, PR is not just “PR for the sake of PR”—it’s a business growth tool. But how can you tell if your efforts are paying off? Traditional metrics like reach and likes don’t provide the full picture. To evaluate the true impact of PR on sales and reputation, you need to take a different approach. We explore this with Valeria Mingova, Founder of Virtual PR manager PRonto and CEO of PR Doctor.

Word Clouds: A Simple, Visual Way to Analyze Content

Want to know which words and phrases appear most frequently in your publications, on your website, or in media coverage? A word cloud highlights the most common terms—like markers on a textual map.

For your own materials: Check whether your key messages appear in the cloud. If important ones are missing, revise the text to better reflect your goals.

For SEO: See how search engines interpret your content, and optimize it for better visibility.

For third-party publications: Understand which topics and technologies are most frequently associated with your brand. This helps identify trends and audience interests.

Tip: Track both your own and your competitors’ word clouds regularly—every 2–3 months. It’s a time-consuming process, but it allows you to adjust your content plan and respond quickly to trend shifts, improving SEO and audience engagement.

[Security – stability – development – AI – blockchain – mobile – automatization – digital – professionalism – robotization – investments – app – learning – client-oriented- technology]

Brand Mentions in Headlines

How do you calculate headline share and what insights can it reveal?

If you want your brand to appear more frequently in news and blogs, it’s not magic—it’s strategy.

How to calculate headline mentions:

1. Collect headlines that mention your brand over a set period (e.g., one month).
2. Divide this number by the total number of publications in your niche.
3. Multiply by 100 to get your share of voice as a percentage.

What it shows:

• Growth or decline in interest toward your brand.
• PR strategy effectiveness.
• Competitive landscape (compare with others in your field).

How to increase headline visibility:

1. Create quotable content—research, infographics, provocative data.
2. Involve partners—collaborative projects are more likely to get press.
3. Be at the center of events—speak at conferences, comment on trends.
4. Work with media—via Pressfeed, Telegram request channels, or direct outreach.

The key isn’t just publicity—it’s adding value.

Newsworthiness: How to Know If Your Story Has Impact

Not all news hooks are created equal. Some go viral, others quietly disappear. How do you tell a great one from an average one?

Look beyond metrics (publications, reach, likes) and focus on expert reactions. If your case is being discussed in professional chats, quoted in industry media, or referenced at conferences, you’ve truly made an impact.

A strong news hook isn’t just written—it’s talked about.

Use the following methods:

• Analyze publication quality: Evaluate metrics such as reach, visibility, citation rate, shared excerpts, PR index, etc. Use monitoring tools like Medialogia, SCAN, and PR-CY.
• Assess the audience: Review who saw your content. Metrics like scroll depth, article completion rate, and bounce rate indicate audience interest and loyalty.

Optimal number of news stories: 3–4 per month, covering visionary topics, market analysis and trends, product launches, partnerships and mergers, financial results, and more. This number may vary depending on your marketing strategy.

Tip: Conduct a relevance check every two months—evaluate the quality and count of your news hooks. This reveals your actual performance. Analyze where you’re getting published most: industry-specific, federal, or regional media? What content? Does it align with your company’s development goals?

Influencer Index in IT: How to Build Meaningful Connections in the Tech Scene

In the IT industry, it’s essential to understand who the opinion leaders and influencers are—people whose authority can significantly boost your brand’s visibility. Each target audience (and marketers usually have several) has its own set of influencers, and you need to identify them.

To build relationships faster:

• Monitor social networks. Use platforms like LinkedIn to identify influencers and follow their activity.
• Join industry associations. Participating in professional groups helps strengthen ties with experts and stay on top of trends.
• Involve external experts. Co-authoring research, webinars, and events builds trust and benefits your brand.

There are individuals in tech whose opinions matter. If they notice your product, it immediately draws your audience’s attention.

How to build these relationships?

1. Identify those who influence your audience
   
   Each market segment has its own authorities—bloggers, conference speakers, or open-source project leaders. Track active participants in LinkedIn discussions, niche forums, and Telegram channels.
2. Enter the professional community gradually
   
   Avoid pitching to experts out of the blue. Start by attending industry events, engaging with their posts, and joining relevant associations. This helps you become part of the professional circle.
3. Offer mutually beneficial collaboration
   
   Instead of asking “Can you talk about us?”, provide value: joint research, webinar participation, expert interviews. This creates win-win scenarios—you gain reach, they get quality content for their audience.

Bottom line: don’t knock on the door yelling “Promote us!”—be someone worth working with.

Competitive Visibility Index: How to Track Everyone and Stay Ahead

Want to understand how your company compares to others? Competitor monitoring helps you:

• Identify your strengths and weaknesses.
• Discover creative approaches used by others.
• Develop a compelling USP and stand out.

How to do it:

1. Gather information
   

• Study your competitors’ positioning.
• Define their audience.
• List all their channels (website, social media) with key metrics (followers, engagement).

1. Analyze their content
   

• Examine their communication style (Tone of Voice).
• Identify frequently covered topics.
• Track posting frequency and effective formats.
• Review visuals (style and design).

Tip: Leverage available technology and AI. For example, use ChatGPT to develop your Tone of Voice or generate SWOT analysis prompts.

Customer Feedback: Your Secret Weapon

Want to know how your clients truly perceive your brand? Just ask them! Surveys and interviews can help you understand what’s working in your PR campaigns—and let you adapt to audience needs. That’s a direct path to customer loyalty and a competitive edge.

Bonus: When people feel their opinions matter, they’re more likely to return—and recommend you to others. You can collect feedback via specialized platforms or even call centers. Add a creative twist to your questions, and the results can turn into a standout piece of research—always trending content.

Integrate these metrics into your analytics, and you’ll get a clear picture of your PR effectiveness. Simple, actionable, and efficient.