Data-Driven PR

Maximizing the Marketing Value of Your Proprietary Data

You've dipped your toes into the water of data-driven PR and had a few early successes. Now it's time to take your game up a notch and maximize the marketing value of your proprietary data.

Data-driven PR can be a valuable marketing tool.

By organizing your company's data in a way that is attractive to journalists and reporters, you can increase your businesses media visibility and establish yourself as an industry authority.

Early successes with data driven PR are encouraging because they often indicate that your company is located in a market or industry that is conducive to data-driven PR strategies. But don't stop there! Instead of sitting on your laurels make a concerted effort to maximize the marketing value of your proprietary data. Here's how to make the most of your proprietary data:

• Establish a consistent data release schedule. One of the goals of data-driven PR is to create information mechanisms that entice journalists time and time again. Combined with a reputation for delivering solid numbers, a consistent release schedule gives journalists a reason to rely on your statistics on a regular basis.
• Be creative. Economic indicators with clever names are always a hit with journalists and reporters. Sometimes a cleverly titled indicator is the hook a reporter needs to draw attention to a newsworthy article. Just be aware of the fact that creative name won't compensate for poorly organized data or numbers that don't reflect market realities.
• Expand your online presence. Like everyone else, reporters and journalists rely on search engines for numbers, statistics, and story ideas. When you increase the online visibility of your data through social media sites, SEO, and email marketing techniques, you dramatically increase the odds of quality media exposure.
• Call in the experts. Another way to raise the visibility of your data-driven PR efforts is to partner with an academic or other expert. Strategic partnerships like these give journalists an effective one-two punch of raw data combined with expert analysis.
• Inform industry analysts. If your company's data truly reflects market conditions or industry trends, it's automatically valuable to industry analysts. Analysts (many of whom also write columns or blogs) are media darlings. Once an analyst discovers that you have a valuable data tool it's just a matter of time before journalists hear about it.
• Conduct a data-driven PR campaign. When you decide to get serious about data-driven PR one of the first things on your agenda should be to conduct a PR campaign to introduce your data and/or economic indicator to the media. If you aren't capable of conducting an effective PR campaign on your own, think about hiring a PR firm that has experience with data-driven PR strategies.

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