The Fifth Industrial Revolution (the combination of humans and machines in the workplace), along with artificial intelligence, the internet of things and big-data learning have all greatly influenced businesses today. Technology is leading to some sectors experiencing massive overhauls of their traditional processes. PR is no exception. 

The industry used to be centred almost entirely around a mix of creativity, people skills and the ability to communicate effectively through compelling content. It’s now placing far more emphasis on data analytics as a key method for accelerating smarter decision making and efficiency.

In a report by USC Annenberg, 65% of PR professionals said that the ability to quantify big data analytics will be a vital industry skill in the future. The success of any data-driven campaign depends on the volume of data gathered but even more so on how it is utilized. Computers can help with this, but it will be humans who will be largely turning data into understandable, actionable insights. 

The foremost function of any PR professional or agency is to innovate, constantly proffering new,  insightful ideas to boost a company’s success. In today’s fast-paced world, data is the key to innovation. It’s what guarantees that ideas and processes are not just recycled but continue to evolve. If this is not properly done, efficacy is reduced and the continuity of the business might be threatened. 

Hence, PR professionals and agencies must continually look for latent gems in their data, such as the expansion potential of news platforms or new conversation keywords, that can be turned into growth influencers.

How can PR professionals and agencies make campaigns more data-driven? Let’s explore 3 ways. 

Know your data

Data is a powerful tool for projecting and planning future events. It enables PR experts to investigate the cause of past trends and forecast when they might occur again. You can also utilize the results from data analysis to avoid future crises with a proactive action plan,  and improve image, brand, or services by tracking and analyzing brand mentions. Data helps with strategic planning, measuring, and putting ideas into effect, eliminating many assumptions from your decision making.

It might only take a tiny piece of data for a PR to create buzz. But this can only happen if they know what they are looking for, how to find it and how to use it.  You can use data to predict news cycles and interest, find out what kinds of stories do best in different places, look at which outlets are covering you the most, and see where you need to invest in some relationship building.

Stay ahead

No matter how good a PR agency might be, it must constantly seek ways to improve its social listening capabilities. They are key to gathering customer intelligence and stealing a march on competitors.  A survey by Hootsuite shows that 66% of marketers agree that social listening has increased in value for their organisation over the past year, with many trying to keep up with an ever-changing world during the pandemic.

The process of reading, watching, and listening to news, then identifying and analyzing content that contains specific keywords or topics relevant to you is a key component of any comprehensive PR strategy. In order to both understand and shape brand perception, you need to be a part of those conversations where they’re happening. High-flying PR professionals today are constantly determining how best to engage with the flurry of data and information available. 

It is imperative to leverage data from the analysis of negative sentiments to catch any bad publicity that might turn into a PR crisis or a positive social media post that might improve the virality of a campaign. Real-time data, such as share of voice, also gives a peek into what your competition is doing, what the public reaction is, and how things can be done better. 

Improve measurement

Data can be used to demonstrate your progress and accomplishment as a public- relations professional. Your value is enhanced by the quality of data you draw from to influence the public. You should be able to use data to positively affect the public perception of a person, organization, or brand. Tools like Brandwatch or Meltwater can help improve data collection and measurement, simplifying them for PR experts to make informed decisions. 

In the PR industry, it can sometimes be difficult to attach numbers to success as the measuring system is largely qualitative rather than quantitative. Data helps ease this, by measuring such metrics as:

• Active coverage: coverage secured by the PR team 
• Share of voice: percentage of coverage compared to competitors
• Potential reach: sum of viewership for publications and websites your coverage is featured in
• Sentiment: tone of articles published
• Social media hashtags and tweets

No doubt, creativity, people skills and communication are still vital facets of PR. But technology and data analytics have changed the way content, strategies and ideas are blended with analytics and research to help guarantee success. 

As people realize that incorporating data into public relations helps in crafting better solutions and strategies for brands, data will increasingly take centre stage. 

Curzon PR is a London-based PR firm working with clients globally. If you have any questions, please feel free to contact our Business Development Team [email protected]