With fake news and misinformation campaigns on the rise, consumers are increasingly suspicious of being manipulated. Rather than be talked over and told what to do, they want to make empowered and informed choices—and to do that, businesses are having to evolve their messaging strategies.
At the heart of this change is data-driven PR. Amidst the clutter and noise, campaigns and communications are more likely to stand out when they’re compelling and targeted. A whitepaper or report is an incredibly effective way to do this, while also getting your brand some serious (and measurable) eyeballs.
Apart from giving your audiences tangible value that enhances their decision-making ability, data-driven content is also increasingly synonymous with thought leadership. This is because data-led opinions are grounded in fact, which makes them a) more objective, and hence applicable to a wider audience and b) more informative, helping people identify current or future trends and quite literally, shaping their thoughts and world-view.
Did we mention that it also generates measureable leads? If you need more reasons as to why data-driven content works, write to us at [email protected] and we’d be happy to share our client’s success stories. In the meantime, here are three golden rules for creating data-driven content that generates real results for your business.
Know thy audience
Nothing is worse than a self-serving whitepaper. Data-driven content always walks a fine line between being informative and overwhelming, so make sure your information is useful to your audiences and worth their reading time. Doing this requires a deep knowledge of your audience and the strategic development of a message that actually adds value to them while also benefitting your brand.
Recruitment reports, like the ones we create annually for international recruitment firm RGF, are a great example of this. Such reports are often designed to cater to different audiences (in this case, employers, jobseekers and media) by outlining important trends like salary increments and offering recommendations to employers. Done well, they’re often the gifts that keep on giving, with strong media interest and coverage.
Conduct thy own research
Finding credible sources to base your opinions and observations on is a great place to start, but proprietary data is PR and branding gold. A business that is willing to take the time to create and conduct a survey that, say, examines future industry trends, has already distinguished itself as progressive and forward-thinking.
For example, we worked with iKala, an AI startup, to develop a report on social commerce trends that landed them over 50+ organic media stories. Social commerce was still in early stages when the report came out, which made iKala’s research the first-of-its-kind in the region and helped the little-known business build valuable presence.
It’s worth noting however that unless you already have stores of data, conducting own-research and developing a report around it is hard work. So if you don’t have an agency partner helping you out, you could always look at purchasing surveys or hiring companies like Nielsen to conduct the survey for you.
Build on thy partnerships
Another great way to share the workload that comes with building your own report or gathering your own data is to enlist a partner or sponsor. The right partner can dramatically elevate the credibility of your research while broadening the level of insight it offers. This can be as big or small as your business size and network allows. A content-driven campaign we ran for Pure Group, for example, succeeded based on something as simple as expert commentary from fitness experts and executives on wellness. Big or small, partnerships and sponsorships are a great win-win way to double your reach, strengthen your position in the industry and foster better working relationships with your network while you’re at it.
We love data-driven content – and the results they give our clients. If you’re ready to start creating your own, write to us at [email protected]