Research in the Internet Age is almost too easy.
You can do it any time of day from the comfort of your own office or home. Heck, you don’t even have to change out of your jammies. Doing your homework on a client or an industry isn’t about being nosy; it’s necessary if you want to be effective.
Here are five tactics that PR pros should use to become outstanding researchers:
1. Create a successful strategy.
Every effective campaign plan needs objectives, audience information, a roadmap for how the plan will be executed and measurement tools. You gather all that important information through research.
“Extensive research can help you target the appropriate audiences, find the right influencers and even determine the most cost-effective budget,” says Chrystl Sanchez of Weber Shandwick.
2. Learn your clients’ industry, and identify their unique needs.
Unless you work for an agency that focuses on a specific industry, you’ll eventually encounter a client whose business is uncharted territory to you.
The client is a great starting point for information, but your research skills will come in handy as you learn more about the industry, as well as about that client’s competitors. You must learn what your client does better than and differently from its competitors, and identify its strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats.
You won’t find those answers in a crystal ball; you’re going to have to hit the Internet and industry-related publications.
Learning all you can about an industry will help you to understand issues and challenges a prospective client may face and determine how you can help, according to Bottom Line Marketing & Public Relations in Wisconsin. Check out the prospect’s website, annual report, social media pages and blog posts.
3. Understand which news outlets are right for your client.
Most PR pros say that they know better than to mass-pitch a blind email list of journalists and bloggers, but any reporter will tell you that this horrid practice still happens daily.
Stop doing it. Instead, research news outlets to identify the right ones to pitch on your client’s behalf. You’re not done once you find the outlet; take the extra step by finding the right reporter.
You don’t call an electrician to clean your swimming pool, so don’t email a tech reporter with a pitch about your client who just launched a fashion line. It endears you to no one, and it shows that you were too lazy to personalize your pitch.
4. Identify story ideas.
This task requires Internet research to identify studies, reports and trends related to your client’s line of work. Reporters often localize stories about national trends and studies, so having this information handy increases the chances of getting your clients in the news.
Identifying story ideas also requires research in the form of boots on the ground. You must be comfortable putting on your reporter’s hat, getting into your client’s trenches and asking the right questions to uncover story potential. What seems routine and mundane to your client may not be seen that way through an outsider’s fresh eyes.
5. Measure your results.
How will you know what worked in your PR strategy if you don’t measure?
Researching your results may be as simple as reviewing the objectives stated in the original plan and determining whether they were accomplished. It could get more involved and require looking at Web traffic and the relative success of social media and journalist outreach efforts.
Google Analytics, Twitter Analytics, Facebook Insights and tons of third-party software platforms are available to simplify the process.
Showing clients that you’ve done your homework lets them know that you mean business.
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