PR Moment recently published an article asking, “is PR data deficient?” I submitted some comments that weren’t used, but I thought I would build out on that question and examine the art of writing reports for PR purposes.
I’ve been in tech PR and comms for 26 years, and one of the absolutely essential skills I developed early on was how to interpret data to understand what that meant for forming compelling narratives.
PR Moment asked if PR is data deficient. In my experience, the larger agencies will often have someone dedicated to data, with the associated skills around Excel, GA4, etc., but, certainly, everybody in PR – regardless of seniority – needs to understand the basics of what data tells us and how to craft stories around that.
Research as a coverage generator and sales tool
There are several benefits to conducting research:
- To establish or cement your position as industry experts
- To gain valuable customer or market insights and guide strategy
- To use as a sales tool in the field
- To generate coverage
- To use as social media content
In my experience, the key driver for conducting research is typically to generate media coverage. It’s a short-term tactic but can be repeated annually to build momentum as a market bellwether.
The research process
During a typical research process, a client or their PR agency will decide upon a topic they would like to explore, and their budget will determine the size of the field and the scope of the questions.
At a basic level, options like Survey Monkey offer PRs templated questions with swift responses. Partnering with a specialist research company is more expensive, but they can assist with questions to help get results that will drive stories. They may also analyse the results and generate a basic report, should that be included in your fee.
If conducting consumer research, you’ll need several hundred, if not thousands, of responses to make the field ‘valid’ and get a viable range of statistics. Multi-territory or regional focusses are great, as they open the possibility for geographical comparisons. You can probably use a smaller field for specialist positions (e.g. 250 UK dentists).
After the results, the PR consultant’s job is to extract the key themes and messages and recommend how to best present those findings. This will typically include a report, social media assets, and a launch press release. Often, results might be given as an exclusive to a publication.
How to conduct valuable customer research
Here’s a step-by-step best practice guide to conducting research, assuming close communication and approval from the client at every stage:
1) Be clear on objectives: What is the overall narrative that you’d ideally like to present? What are your key messages and how will your questions support them? Who and where is your target audience? What kind of outcomes are you expecting, and are you ready to pivot if data doesn’t support them? It’s also worth thinking about timing. Could you pin your research to a key calendar event so research is ready to come out when the media agenda is most receptive?
2) Choose your research partner: Will you use a self-service option or partner with a research company? If the latter, brief them clearly on what you aim to achieve so that they can consult you on how to make the most of the survey.
3) Analyse results: What stories emerge once the results are in? Have more than one person look at the data to see if different people spot different trends. Double-check the figures to make sure they’re consistent. If there’s no standout story, what then? Always have a plan B; there’s probably something you can use.
4) Draft the report: Work with a specialist copywriter and a graphic designer to create the report. Make sure the main points stick out. The report should contain:
- Index
- Executive Summary
- Foreword from a client-side spokesperson specialist (also think about involving a third-party specialist, who may add gravitas for a fee)
- Key data stories – use boxouts to focus on topics and pull out key stats with graph
- Conclusion
- Call-to-action
- Credits and methodology
5) Have a content plan: How will you present your findings? You’ll have thought about this up front, but now the report is drafted, think about what social assets you can create from the findings and whether you can drip-feed these out to keep that interest coming. Also, remember to revisit the stats whenever relevant to the news agenda.
I would say this, wouldn’t I, but always partner with an expert content consultant, copywriter, and designer to make sure that your report has the full impact it deserves. If you don’t have a specialist content consultant or copywriter, please drop me an email.
To address PR Moment’s original question, is PR data deficient? Here’s what I submitted. I’d be interested to know what you think.
“I don’t think that PR is data deficient. A great deal of our work relies on surveys and reports as both sales tools and coverage generators. However, the responsibility of leading the data side of PR does tend to fall on someone with a data or content remit. While we definitely need those particular specialisms in every agency, every PR consultant should understand data – for example, survey results usually arrive in Excel – and know how to interpret it. This means understanding the communications purpose of a study, how to choose the scope of audience, how to phrase the questions, how to work with survey companies, and how to spot the trends and stories in the results. And it doesn’t end there; PR pros need to learn how to present that data in an audience-friendly way and work with graphic designers to bring the stories to life.
“In short, no, I don’t believe PR is data deficient, but data skills are valuable and are essential for PRs of all levels.”