In today's landscape, a brand needs to use everything it can to get ahead of its competitors. Data analysis has become one of the driving factors for success across industries, and PR is no different. Measuring and analysing data in PR is not an easy task, but it's not an impossible one either. Effective data analysis is not based on ‘assumptions’ and ‘gut feelings’ but on real information, facts, and numbers. Data-driven PR can help you incorporate statistics and data into your PR campaigns and press releases, driving them to have a better impact. Here’s how you could essentially use data to improve your PR strategy.
Made for each other
Data allows you to understand which stories and what type of approach matches the demography and psychography within the market. You’ll also gain insights into which media channel you could use to reach your target audience best. Digitisation has also enabled brands to connect with audiences globally, so gone are the days when PR campaigns were focused locally. With enough data, a brand can curate a PR campaign or follow a specific strategy that is tailored specifically for the brand’s target audience.
Up-to-date
With efficient data and analysis, you can understand your current position in the market concerning news cycles and trends and predict future events. With the help of this, you can determine what types of stories are popular and what will be popular. How are trends affecting your target audience in a given community? Through this, you can centralise your focus on trending topics and gain a better reach.
A successful collaboration of the two above will not only ensure that you reach the right target audience but will also guarantee that you reach the greatest number of eyes.
See where you stand
One of the most important aspects of data-driven PR is that it can also help you measure the impact of your campaign. This can be achieved with the help of various tools that measure views, engagements, clicks, and more. Using appropriate metrics, brands can derive a better understanding of their approach and can adjust their campaigns accordingly.
Quality > Quantity
Through data analysis, you can also understand the quality of the outlets running your story and the audience of those outlets. Outlets that focus on a specific industry but have lower views can be better than outlets that focus on multiple industries simultaneously. The real value lies in the quality of the views, not the quantity.
The time is ripe for you to adopt a data-driven PR strategy to optimise your performance. With the help of data, it will no longer be a guessing game but will become more factual and focused. When done well, data-driven PR may be an incredibly powerful tool for your organisation. Understanding your data will enable you to create worthwhile relationships with your media partners and will assist you in determining what your audience wants, as well as the kind of information that journalists and reporters are seeking. So what are you waiting for?