How To Create And Execute A Knock-Your-Socks-Off Data-Driven Thought Leadership Campaign

CEO of Arketi Group, building thought leadership for a team specializing in PR/digital marketing for B2B tech companies.

I’ve never met a hungry journalist who didn’t love pie … charts.

Reporters crave data-backed stories, and as communications professionals, we can deliver by conducting thoughtful, data-driven research that reinforces our thought leadership campaigns.

It takes more than a surface-level survey, however. Conducting quick-and-dirty research that ferrets out a single nuance or statistic will not cut it. Marketing and PR pros must be intentional with their survey research to capture insights that a reporter simply cannot find anywhere else.

Communicators are often tempted to shout out an exciting new data point, but creating a holistic, integrated campaign to share your thought leadership is what delivers impactful results. Remember, the goal is to get the phones ringing with customers and buyers, not to secure a feel-good media placement.

To make the most of our research and campaigns, we developed a four-step process to identify unique, one-of-a-kind trends that generate meaningful media engagement—plus a multitude of assets, tools and resources to amplify our work.

1. See What’s Out There Through A Literature Review

“Everything is created twice,” and when it comes to survey research, there is a good chance similar or related research exists. That is why we always conduct a thorough literature review prior to drafting our research premise or survey questions.

Academic research always begins with a deep review of past studies, so why should communicators operate any differently? Ask yourself: “What can our survey add to the existing body of knowledge?”

The literature review will also define whether updating older research is worth the push. While longitudinal—data tracked over time—studies are interesting, they are not always the most compelling. Introducing fresh, new insights around an industry or trend is rarely a wrong move.

2. Look Where Others Have Earned Coverage

Next, investigate where others’ data-driven campaigns have earned media placements to understand how well-received the information was. Did their survey results land coverage with a trade publication, media influencer or local outlet, or did they simply write a press release and distribute it through a wire service? All too often, the latter occurs, and results are wasted.

Do this before drafting the survey questions or premise. You don’t want to create a great survey and throw it into the wild without a solid earned media strategy. Considerable resources go into data-driven campaigns, so don’t waste those efforts.

3. Create And Test The Survey

How you craft a survey is key to netting powerful results. If the goal is to unearth novel, exciting research findings, standardized questions won’t cut it. For example, if your survey reveals a well-known fact such as, “People use fewer checks today than they did 10 years ago,” then it’s just white noise and not likely to generate meaningful results.

Data that breaks new ground is much more likely to generate media interest. If you discover consumers make better financial decisions with AI, for instance, not only are you tackling a timely topic, but you are also elevating the public conversation to address new angles and trends.

There’s an art to constructing survey questions. I suggest you go beyond the tried-and-true answers like yes, no, slightly agree, somewhat disagree and so on. Instead, consider using responses people would literally say such as, “Yuck, I would never use that product,” or, “That’s what I’ve been looking for!”

Confidently sharing that 45% of consumers say, “Yuck, I would never use that product” when asked about a gizmo is far more exciting than a headline that reads “45% of consumers have an unfavorable view.” Academic rigor is important, but injecting some creativity can level up a survey from good to great.

4. Use The Rule of Seven

Frame your story using a tried-and-true method: the press release. But don’t stop there. Use the press release as a starting point to present the most valuable information, build a case and make the data exciting for readers. Then, press on.

Create a FastFacts overview. This is a two-page, USA Today-style, charts-and-graphs document that presents the story of the data visually and with brief text. In today’s message-rich world, this is more appealing than a 65-page research report. Infographics are also effective but may lose some substance.

From there, put Arketi Group’s Rule of Seven to work: Take the content and repurpose it a minimum of seven times. Create animated charts and graphs to share on social media. Incorporate the findings into PowerPoint presentations for sales to share with customers. Host a webinar or virtual event announcing the research. Produce videos of executives analyzing the results and putting them into context for viewers. The possibilities are nearly endless.

This approach also gives our friends in the media more to work with. They may not use the assets verbatim, but often, they will use images and visuals to accompany their reporting. Such assets can also inspire media to translate the data in new ways for their own publication or outlet.

Have Data Cited For Years To Come

Survey research can uncover a treasure trove of valuable insights and information. The trick is translating that data into an effective, interesting narrative and launching a well-executed campaign to share it with stakeholders.

Plus, the beauty of a survey campaign is that you own the data. When others cite that information, they reference you and your thought leaders (or at least, they should). Another enduring benefit is that, if your data lives in perpetuity online, the likelihood of your research being used increases exponentially. As customers, prospects and media search for interesting data points about a topic, they will find your research—whether it is six, 12 or 18 months later. It’s the gift that keeps on giving!

Forbes Communications Council is an invitation-only community for executives in successful public relations, media strategy, creative and advertising agencies. Do I qualify?