Data-Driven PR Strategies to Meet the Moment

Marketing is increasingly data-driven, using customer data to improve the buyer journey and increase ROI on campaigns. Now, PR is poised to leverage data in similar ways, to understand target audiences better, refine messaging for stronger impact, and prove value. Here’s how your team can start using data to shape and improve your PR strategies.

Develop a deeper understanding of your audience

Demographic data can help you get a more detailed, up to date picture of your customers. It can also help you identify the media sources they rely on most for information that helps them make buying decisions. So, understanding your audience requires gathering data on your customer and on media channels.

Customers

Current data can show you who your audience is now. That’s crucial for developing the right messaging and pitching the right outlets. Especially if you’re working with personas that are a couple of years old, you may be missing out on recent changes to your customer demographics.

For example, most B2B decision makers in the technology space are?now Millennials rather than Gen X and Baby Boomers. However,?Gen Z is also moving into decision making roles?in B2B organizations, and they have a radically different approach to consuming information than previous generations. For example,?Gen Z customers tend to consume much more audio and video?than older customers, typically on their phones, and they want to understand the values of the companies they do business with.

Data can show you what the mix is now for decision makers in your industry, so you can adapt your PR strategies now if you need to and so you can plan long term for a more Gen Z-friendly approach as more members of this generation move into the workforce.

Media outlets and platforms

Where does your audience go for industry news, discussions, and education? Platforms evolve, and external forces can sometimes play a role in shifting audience media consumption habits. Keeping tabs on your customers’ media landscape, through data on audience numbers and time spent on those platforms, can help you adjust your campaign strategies as needed.

For example, while B2B marketing has found a place on TikTok,?a string of recent state government bans?on accessing TikTok through government-issued devices means that TikTok may not be the best channel for PR campaigns targeting Gen Z and younger Millennial decision makers in public higher education, public health, or other government agencies.

Use data to track and share PR ROI

Crafting messages that drive results is the core goal of PR. It’s easier when you can analyze your efforts to see which press releases, pitches, and media appearances drive the best results. Are there certain subject line keywords that reliably get more journalists to open your pitches? Are there specific pitch topics that resonate with editors?

It’s helpful to track your results so you can build on the most effective approaches and drop the ones that don’t seem to be getting results. You can collect the data you need by choosing the right key performance indicators (KPIs). In 2022, the?average PR professional tracked 5.7 metrics, but there are many you can choose. Depending on your campaign goals and overall goals, you may want to adjust your KPIs by campaign for a tailored view of its impact on your audience. Or you may choose to implement across-the-board KPIs for apples-to-apples campaign comparisons.

For example, your PR metrics may include:

Site traffic. Google Analytics can help you identify traffic that results from media appearances, thought leadership articles, press releases, and other PR activities.

Online lead conversions.?How much of that PR-driven traffic converts? Again, Google Analytics can help you trace visitor activity to show how your PR efforts are affecting conversions.

Media coverage.?Tracking articles, podcast appearances, webinars, and radio and TV interviews that result from your efforts is critical to demonstrating value and building a content portfolio for your website, social media, and email marketing campaigns.

Share of voice.?Monitoring share of voice shows how your brand’s presence in a particular channel compares to your competition.

For example, you can find your brand’s social mention share of voice by dividing your total number of social mentions during a period of time by the total number of social mentions for your brand plus your competitors.

Social and media mentions.?Tracking the number of times your brand comes up in digital conversations on social platforms and media discussions is helpful for calculating share of voice. It’s also a good way to keep an eye on brand sentiment – what are those mentions saying?

There are other PR metrics you may want to monitor, too, such as pitches sent, opened, and responded to, as well as audience or journalist reach. This data can help you identify which communications have the most impact and which audiences are most receptive to your efforts.

Understanding the best practices for collecting and analyzing data can help you get the most information for your audience insights, message refinement, and KPI tracking. Setting up these programs, monitoring them, updating them, and reporting the results requires time, as well. If data expertise is outside your team’s scope, or if your team is already running at full capacity, it may be time to talk with an agency that has experience developing data-driven communications strategies. The right team will work with you to define, measure, and attain your goals.

Ready to learn more about how Moss Networks can help you refine your PR program??Contact us.