By Billy Canning
Being an IABC member has many perks. Not only is the networking aspect fantastic, but the professional development opportunities are valuable as well.
Recently, I decided to take an online course titled: Mastering Analytics through the IABC Academy that was facilitated by Dane Wiseman. The course provided an end-to-end approach to current measurement and analytics methodologies. It also covered the latest tools and best practices for reporting to the C-Suite.
Measurement plans are essential in helping to determine the level of success of a project. This course provided great insight into qualitative vs. quantitative analysis, outcomes and outputs and how goal and conversion tracking work together for an overall strategic measurement plan.
Another key area of focus was around defining key performance indicators (KPIs) and using them to measure the success of a plan. All of these methods can be easily incorporated into an overall communications/public relations plan that in the end will provide you with great analytics indicating where things went well and where things need improvement when presenting a year-end summary to the C-Suite – just in time for the new fiscal year.
Overall, it was very informative and Dane succeeding in providing an engaging experience for course participants. This course showed me that the IABC Academy is a valuable resource within the wider IABC community.
Although this was my first professional development course through the Academy – it will not be my last. There are many courses available to IABC members and I look forward to completing more of them.
The world of communications is continuously evolving. New trends, metrics and ways to connect with an audience are coming up all the time. It is essential for professionals in our industry to stay up to speed on new developments. A great way to do that is to participate in the online workshops, webinars and programs available through the IABC Academy.
Billy Canning
Billy Canning is Executive Vice President of the IABC Golden Horseshoe Chapter. By day, he’s the Public Relations Officer for the Canadian Welding Bureau Group, an oversight and certification body for welding in Canada. By night, he enjoys exploring the foodie scene in Hamilton, Ontario and catching a Blue Jays game.