Nielsen Media Research announced this week that they’re going create and use technology to measure ratings for TV shows “regardless of the platform on which it is viewed.” That means they’re setting out to track not only couch potatoes, but also folks who watch shows online, on their phones, on iPods and “outside the home” (whatever that means), thus plugging the only major hole in advertising metrics.

Ah, advertising metrics. How many people saw your ad and when. Share of Voice. Lovely stuff, that. Makes the suits on the board feel all warm and fuzzy about the millions they’re allocating to the ad budget.

But what about PR? Despite noble efforts, we still don’t have clear metrics to measure our efforts. Why not? Simple. If your PR program is working, everyone knows it. Witness: How do you know a trend is a trend? Do you talk with thousands of 18-24 year-olds? I doubt it. The answer is simple: You hear about trends via third-parties, most often media. Sure, you see ads for products and services all the time. But permission to purchase said product or services comes when you read about its use and/or adoption. If your communications program is educational, you see your messages accurately reflected and witness shifts in audience behavior.

The best PR programs are those that find messages that work with the media and key audiences, and deliver them through the channels that reach their audiences most effectively. That means knowing which media influences the people you need to reach (Trade? Consumer? Print? Broadcast?) and which tactics will deliver real value (Events? Unbranded educational Web sites? Blog postings?). Gone are the days of PR for the sake of it. The dude holding the purse strings won’t stand for it. So now we have to balance the fact that nobody will buy or use our product or service unless they’ve heard of it with the need to provide a monthly or quarterly spreadsheet that illustrates the value of our efforts.

So then, you want to know: how do you take your PR program’s temperature to discern whether it’s working for (or against) you? It’s not as hard as you think.

First review the basics: Do you have lucid (that means two pages, max) messages in place, and does every component of your program reflect those messages? Are your audiences clearly defined? Are your objectives or strategy unambiguous?

Next: Do you have a calendar of communication activities that is no more than 90 days long? It’s OK to have a longer-term plan, but tactics for the next 90 days should at all times be defined on a calendar that outlines all five W’s.

Finally, consider your spokespeople. Regardless of industry if they’re all within the company, you’re missing an opportunity. Find some third-parties…KOL’s [key opinion leaders]…influencers. These are the people who will enhance your credibility by speaking directly to your target audiences. Oh, and they’re fantastic sources for media.

When that’s all done, take a quiet moment to consider language. Whether your company is dedicated to inventing new technology, developing new drugs, or saving the oceans of the world, chances are that you have an internal lexicon that might—or might not—be understood outside your walls. Make sure your communications tactics—every single one of them!—make sense to your audiences. If you have sales reps in the field, talk to them. Make sure they’re also being trained to talk “on message.” After all, aren’t they interacting with your audience daily—more so than you?

Here’s a radical idea for PR folks: Hold your own focus group. Traditionally considered the domain of advertising, there’s no reason PR folks can’t use focus groups to get feedback on messages and how they’re delivered. You’ll be thrilled at what you will learn, especially if you include media in some of the aforementioned groups.

So there you have it. Your check-up is complete. These steps are meant to cause you to make changes. If you don’t amend anything then you might have to do it again!

Good luck. Write us with your results!

Erin Mitchell is Group Director at RLM. She’s a big fan of focus groups, and not just because she loves M&M’s either.