Featuring:
- Mark Nardone, CMO, PAN Communications
- Harvey Rañola, global head of media intelligence, NetBase Quid
PR’s relationship with data has broadly grown to the point where professionals of the trade no longer talk about using it to prove their value. Rather, their savvy with, embrace of and ability to glean insights from data IS a key part of that value.
Identifying risks is one well-known area in which comms uniquely helps the entire organization. More than ever, though, analytics are helping PR pros be proactive in recognizing opportunities that can help brands better inform messaging, content and demand-generation strategies. This ultimately turns PR into a revenue generator.
During this recent PRWeek webcast, How to leverage data to drive PR, content marketing and demand gen outcomes, presented by NetBase Quid, Mark Nardone, CMO at PAN Communications, and Harvey Rañola, global head of media intelligence at NetBase Quid, discuss how PR pros can use data to add more value to the broader organization.
Rañola kicks off the discussion by noting that one of the biggest challenges PR pros face today is “being able to identify the white space in the industry and knowing when to interject.”
To unearth that white space, it’s important to look at the historical data, but also to “map that to what's happening with current market conditions,” Nardone advises. That data can help PR teams align with corporate goals and objectives for customers and employees alike.
By looking at internal and external data, he continues, a brand can “start to see where the conversations are trending, what it looks like in the current competitive set and what aspirational brands are driving a different set of conversations.”
Getting the message with data
“When decisions are being made from gut feel as opposed to what they're seeing in their data,” Rañola observes, “it becomes an uphill battle as opposed to a directive trickling down and enabling PR pros to do their jobs a lot easier.” And this situation arises often in areas in which comms has the most purview.
With messaging, the reputation of the brand is critical.
“It can bring you up or down within a matter of minutes, even seconds, based on social and everything else that might be happening across channels,” notes Nardone. Which is why it’s important to understand the customer journey, behaviors, pain points, motivations and engagements.
“All those factors move into experience,” he explains, even the employee experience. “What becomes common to both sides is the story, the message, the shared values.”
A compelling story moves customers and employees alike. "One of the roles that PR can play internally is to be a shepherd, to herd folks in the right direction or at least use data to move folks in that right direction and also build trust,” says Rañola.
To do this, PAN Communications began to look at “what's happening with the story and how it's impacting the buyer journey,” reports Nardone, from lead gen to cost of acquisition. “We're sharing in key performance indicators that typically lived inside of the operations of the marketing department and in that accountability.”
To ensure consumers are getting the right experience, “lean into some of those success indicators that help you realize that the content and story you are trying to get out there is sticking,” he suggests. And if it’s not, “pivot and be agile with this approach,” says Rañola.
(l-r) Nardone and Rañola
Driving action and interaction
Marketers have historically “lived in the top of the funnel to drive awareness,” notes Nardone. However, it’s important to look at the consideration stages to see how the brand is landing. What is the story message? The influencer strategy? Premium content and branded research?
“Take that whole middle of the funnel concept and move that right to messaging externally into the media,” he emphasizes. The key is to build a consistent story thread across channels and departments. “How you lean into those stories across social, how your voice is authentic, how it's building credibility and trust – those are all key tenets to position yourself.”
It’s important “to be able to share and democratize the insights that you're able to glean from your own data and use that to help exemplify and show value to your team and organization,” Rañola explains.
One way to do that is by honing in on the customer voice and understanding their willingness to share data and “empower you with as much data from their standpoint so that they have the right productive experience,” advises Nardone.
To encourage interaction and gather data, brands must consider whether or not to gate content.
“Part of my key objective is to share as much knowledge as I can,” points out Nardone, “which then translates into trust, which then translates hopefully into revenue down the line or retention of both employee and customer.” That might mean letting go of visibility and leaning into ungated content to see how it impacts the customer journey.
With all the privacy changes and the removal of cookies, Rañola concludes, “now is the time to start innovating and thinking of new ways to better understand your audiences.”
Click here to listen to this webcast on demand.
