In a busy industry such as financial services, standing out in the industry trade press or wider media can be quite the challenge. With plenty of competition for publication and high editorial standards by the publications and its journalists, it’s so important that you actually have something to say when sending out your latest press release.
Rather than relying on PR “puff”, one powerful tool firms can use is independent research and surveys. With the help of data-driven insights, businesses can offer journalists credible and compelling narratives that cut through the rest of the noise and generate valuable press coverage.
How does research work?
Whether it’s through an independent research provider or conducting your own survey, businesses can poll their customers, their suppliers, other industries or members of the general public to understand their views on certain topics or issues and to determine sentiment.
Sticking to the financial services example, a mortgage lender could question its broker partners to identify particular trends, industry challenges and market sentiment. The same lender could also question customers themselves to find out what is driving their decision making, what their intentions are for the coming year, their property or product preferences and how they feel about the future of the economy.
In addition to questioning clients or people connected to the business in some way, firms can also survey the general public or professionals in their ideal sectors to find out their views. Not only can all this information be really beneficial to the business and its decision-making, it’s really powerful for PR too.
Creating newsworthy content
After all, journalists only want to publish newsworthy stories and content. Using independent research as the backbone of your news releases or content is a great way to do just that – providing headline statistics or heavy-duty research that makes for compelling headlines and editorial. If a journalist has something bespoke or unique that is of genuine interest to their readers, they will be far more likely to publish it.
In the process, you are establishing your business as an expert in the field and one with its finger on the pulse. This is a great way to strengthen media relationships, as well as position yourself as a go-to source of expert information and analysis when news breaks and a journalist is pulling together a story.
Support genuine thought leadership
Hopefully with a goldmine of information now at your fingertips, you can interpret the data and use some of these key findings to perhaps bring issues or trends to the attention of the wider industry or public. This does far more than just attract positive media attention – it helps position your key spokespeople and the business as experts in their field, shaping the conversation. This can be a really powerful tool when you are looking to write genuine thought leadership articles that carry real weight and serve a true purpose.
Beyond thought leadership, there’s also blog content, social media, podcasts and roundtable discussions that this data can influence and generate meaty topics for. To that end, independent research can play a really critical role in shaping your entire marketing output.
Stand out from the competition
The ability to have something truly unique and interesting to say is incredibly valuable in a crowded and competitive market. While similar businesses may be sharing more vanilla news or content, the ability to separate yourself through original research can be a real difference maker.
Plus, it is a proven way to get to know your target customers, suppliers or ideal audience better – understanding their preferences, their pain points and their future plans.
Six tips for a successful survey
- Set the bear traps – I say this rather tongue-in-cheek – a good survey relies on the right questions, along with a good range of potential responses. If you want good quality data, you need to ask the right questions. Also think about how you can use the question again in following surveys to potentially trend the data.
- Give respondents opportunities to share views – While the data is the steak, responses can be the sizzle! What do I mean? If respondents are able to share their views and elaborate on an answer, it provides some fantastic insight which can also bring real colour to your content.
- Find out more about your respondents – Rather than jumping straight into the survey, find out more about the respondents – perhaps their age, geographical location or other key information that can allow you to refine the data further and identify an interesting trends or patterns.
- Get a good number of responses – Research requires a good number of respondents for it carry the required weight. For example, you can’t make assumptions about all mortgage brokers if you only surveyed 10.
- Tie results to current events – Linking your findings to key topics or events – such as an election or a key piece of legislation is a great way to increase interest and ensure your results are relevant
- Think about a whitepaper – A heavy-duty whitepaper is a great to present your research and to allow readers to explore your findings. When produced correctly, this can be a powerful document which can serve as marketing material and gated content on your website.
Time to do some research?
Bringing independent research or a survey into your PR strategy can transform your output from passive puff pieces to really compelling and hard hitting news releases and content. It is a fantastic way to establish your business as a expert in the field and a real thought leader, all while lifting your entire marketing output and unlocking valuable intelligence that can help the wider business.
If you’re looking to integrate a research project or survey into your PR campaign, it’s wise to work with experts who can help you establish the right questions and audiences, execute the survey and then analyse the data to build a compelling plan of future content.
bClear has a wealth of experience running both trade and consuming-facing research projects for clients in a range of sectors. To find out more and start building your own research, why not reach out today!
Written by: Ashley Robertson
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