By Emily Hume, Account Manager at The Flywheelers
When it comes to PR stories, reliable data can be the difference between genuinely insightful and newsworthy content and thinly veiled sales collateral. Data backs up a point, builds credibility in a company or spokesperson and substantiates claims. In some cases, data is the news. You can find powerful data from a variety of sources and build it into content to supercharge stories. Here’s how we use it in our storytelling for clients…
Proprietary data
Proprietary data, which is information that the company already holds that is unique to them, is an excellent foundation for building a story. This includes the likes of sales data and data sourced from within a company’s product or platform, which helps to demonstrate their expertise and value, as well as share unique insights with journalists.
Hooking internal data onto cultural moments is something we do frequently with WeArisma. WeArisma is an earned analytics platform that gives us access to a plethora of data around social media content from influencers, celebrities and press sources. So far this year, we have used WeArisma’s internal data to tell stories about luxury fashion at the Golden Globes, the Emmys and other red carpet events, winter sun destinations, Super Bowl ads, Cannes Film Festival and the ‘tenniscore’ fashion trend.
Third-party report data
The most accessible way to use data is through publicly available information. Statistics from the likes of the Office for National Statistics, charities and businesses can offer a convincing illustration of public interest issues that need to be solved and can form a foundation for thought leadership, reactive commentary or even as proof points in campaign collateral.
A great example is how we use this third-party data to hook onto timely stories for our client, Curam, which is working to tackle inefficiencies in the UK’s social care sector. Statistics from sources such as the King’s Fund and Skills for Care help to demonstrate the scale of the problem. This has allowed us to pitch thought leadership in key health industry titles, such as this piece in the Journal of mHealth, which uses the NHS’s data to show how damaging the failing care system is to its financial health.
Data from public authorities
If there is information held by a public authority that isn’t openly available, anyone has the right to ask for it under the Freedom of Information (FOI) Act. FOI requests are a popular technique employed by PRs and journalists to support and break stories. A great example is this story from Qlik which used an FOI request to reveal that that 84% of NHS trusts used data analytics to support patient care during the Covid pandemic.
While FOI requests are a brilliant way to access data at no expense, be ready to be patient because they are time-consuming and challenging to create. Requests must be clear and specific, and public bodies have 28 days to respond to FOIs. If you want a quick route to data, this isn’t for you. But that’s not to say it’s not worth the time investment – they do pay off if you’re able to put in a few months’ work.
Research house data
Third-party data commissioned with research houses is one of the quicker and more insightful avenues for businesses, as not only does it create stories and support messaging, but it also holds powerful insights into a customer base. This all starts with putting your mind into the audience, drafting survey questions, and then analysing the data to produce a narrative that ties the raw data in with the company’s products and services messaging.
While commissioning such research is an investment, a survey of ten or twenty questions produces enough information to create multiple press releases launched over several months exploring the topic from various angles. The exclusivity of this technique is hugely effective in securing media interest. The data can also then be used for longtail media activity such as interview proof points and thought leadership content. Importantly, we always advise for it to be integrated into marketing and sales collateral and activity – ensuring that our clients get more bang for their buck.
For example, we devised and launched two integrated campaigns with third-party research for AeroCloud, exploring the future outlook of aviation from a C-suite and passenger perspective. We created hero campaign reports, that were gated on AeroCloud’s website for lead generation. We launched the reports with three press releases, generating over 30 pieces of coverage in total to date, and also used the data insights for paid social lead campaigns, C-suite interviews and thought leadership features.
Final thoughts
Data is one of the most powerful tools in the PR toolbox. It helps to discover and shout about trends and issues and highlight to audiences why they should care about them, plus act as strong proof points for a company and help to build their credibility as an authoritative voice on that subject.
We always work with our clients to use data for creative storytelling, creating exciting media opportunities and giving their communications strategy an edge that cuts through the noise.
To find out more about how The Flywheelers can leverage data to craft compelling media stories for your brand, get in touch at [email protected] or +44 20 4526 8690.
