Analyzing data and using it is often related to something tangible like leads, sales, number of likes and visits, etc. It’s hard to see how communication and public relations (PR) can be data-driven. But in reality, data plays a key role in both the functions of a brand and a company. These are the ways in which data can best be used to generate benefits for the corporate communications and public relations industry.

There’s so much more than coverage tracking

In the PR industry, most PR professionals feel that real data is limited to getting a number of hits and pieces of coverage. While this is indeed an important part to consider, there are many more features of the real data that public relations professionals can use to their advantage. With properly analyzed and verified data in hand, public relations professionals can more accurately predict news cycles and audience interest. This can also help you better identify and select outlets to invest in relationship building. Therefore, the data-driven approach in PR is not just limited to getting the measurable volume of coverage, but is also helpful to better understand the media landscape in order to better connect with media professionals. media.

The more you ask, the more you earn

When data comes to hand, one of the most important things you need to do is gain an in-depth understanding of what goes into it and write relevant questions that can be answered through the data provided. For example, what would be the top publications that prefer stories from the industry a particular client specializes in? Or is there a new angle that can be applied to a particular story? There are many more options. Just spend time and creative thinking to get new and interesting information about the client’s business and the public relations campaign in general.

Be clear about what is needed and what is not

There are numerous data available to us from various sources. But it’s public relations professionals who need to judiciously select the data that would benefit a particular client. Basically, they are the trends that we need to refer to with the selected data to get a better idea of ​​your efforts. By referring to what is needed as data and what is not, it is context, relationships, and the ability to ask questions that would benefit you.