Author: Rebecca Strauss

How to Use Data in PR Writing

by Rebecca Strauss

We all know how hard it is to actually get your pitch noticed by journalists, with PR Week reporting that 39% of journalists get more than six pitches a day, and in some cases journalists covering technology and B2B businesses are inundated with more than 50 pitches daily. That’s why it’s vital to make your pitch and press release as attention-grabbing, unique, and newsworthy as possible. 

Why we use data in PR 

Incorporating solid data into your pitch or press release can increase your chances of success with journalists. Offering quality data and statistics can make your story seem more credible and can offer a more interesting angle, hopefully leading to more quality media coverage. It signals that you have something unique to offer that no one else has, and it might just be worth their time to open that email. 

Using credible data can: 

  • Establish authority, credibility, and relevance, which is especially important in thought leadership.
  • Support your claims and demonstrate the impact of the product or service you are pitching. 
  • Show you have a finger on the pulse of your industry and provide helpful insights to key journalists and their audiences. 

How to use data in PR 

But it is important to know how to use data effectively in technology and B2B business public relations, in order to best work with reporters. Avoid dumping pages of research stats into your pitch — instead, select the strongest and most relevant insights that support the wider narrative, so that journalists don’t have to spend time sifting through what you send to find what they need. 

Data can come from various sources, and using it can be as simple as adding a statistic as an attention-grabber in the subject line or opening line of your pitch or using in-house data to create the basis of your press release. 

You can find helpful data to support your public relations activities in a wide range of places: 

  • In-house data from your analytics, sales, or marketing team that indicates industry trends, top sellers, main traffic sources, keywords, or patterns in buying habits. 
  • Stats pulled from surveys or polls related to your industry, ideally that your company has gathered. If you can offer your own high-quality research that no one else has compiled, you have a chance of breaking through the noise. 
  • Data that provides background for your press release, such as a wider societal issue or pain point that you’re addressing. You can get this kind of data from reliable sources like The Pew Research Center or The US Census Bureau, or from other notable sources in your industry. 

Final thoughts 

Using data in your pitches or press releases can help create a newsworthy angle, establish credibility and relevance, and even just help get your emails opened more often. If you are looking for a way to add weight to your PR and communications, consider incorporating interesting data into it. Just remember that it should always be fresh data—news should be new, and that means it’s relevant and timely.

Let us take your technology and B2B brand’s visibility to the next level. We’re here, ready to help your company showcase your “why” and share it with millions of people.

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Should Podcasts be a Part of Your PR Strategy?

by Rebecca Strauss

With 41% of Americans listening to at least one podcast every month, it’s no secret that the industry is experiencing extremely high popularity at the moment. 

If you’re part of the 41% of listeners (or even if you’re not, and you’re just curious), you may be wondering if podcasts should be a part of your PR strategy. We’ll break down all the reasons why you should incorporate podcasts into your media outreach –- and a few key tips for getting started.

For the purpose of this blog, we’ll focus on four main benefits podcasts provide that play into key public relations activities: telling your story, establishing yourself as a thought leader, getting in front of niche audiences, and creating shareable content. 

Tell more of your story, in your own words

While a news story is often limited in words and your comments may be edited down to a few key sentences, a podcast can be anywhere from a few minutes to over an hour in length. If you get the opportunity to participate in a podcast interview, you can tell your or your brand’s story in an extended format. It’s a great chance to let potential customers or users get to know you in more detail and depth, through your own narrative.

Establish yourself as a thought leader

If you have knowledge of public relations, you know how powerful thought leadership can be. A podcast is an opportunity to position yourself or a senior leadership figure of your brand as a thought leader in your industry – an expert in their field who people can turn to for advice, insights, expertise, and wisdom. 

You can use podcasts as an additional platform to share your unique expertise and perspectives on a topic over time, which will help you build credibility in your industry and develop trust with your audience. Contributing your ideas to a podcast is a puzzle piece in the process of establishing yourself as a thought leader; the more you put your ideas out there, the more you will start to be seen as a go-to authority in your industry. As you build your brand as someone who can be trusted on a topic, it can ultimately lead to more speaking or comment opportunities.

Expose yourself to new, niche audiences

With over 4.1 million active podcasts registered worldwide, podcast series need to cater to a specific niche in order to stand out and attract listeners. A podcast can cover topics as broad as the daily world news, or as narrow as a microtrend in fashion, and listeners know exactly what kind of content they’ll get when they put in their headphones for the latest episode. If you can find a podcast series that fits your brand’s niche, you’re almost guaranteed a captive and interested audience.

Create evergreen, shareable content 

Once your podcast has been released, you can turn the episode into small, snackable audio clips that can be repurposed for a variety of things, including social media posts, supporting assets for pitches, or interesting content for your next newsletter. Some podcasts will even capture video while recording the podcast, which can be an even better addition to your social media calendar. 

This benefit also ties back into thought leadership, as sharing podcast interview material on your social channels can help you increase your executive visibility on social media.  

Recap and tips 

Whether you’re doing your own public relations or you have a PR firm or PR team helping you promote your brand, utilizing podcasts is a great way to find a captivated audience, create evergreen content, and share more of your story and expertise. 

If you’re interested in being a guest on a podcast, here are a few tips to keep in mind when getting started: 

  • Do your research — know the podcast’s audience, niche, and whether or not they interview guests in their episodes before you reach out.
  • Fine-tune your unique selling points — be ready to explain why you would be a great guest for this specific podcast, in just a few sentences. If you have them, include any relevant clips from other speaking engagements to showcase your abilities.  
  • Be patient — you most likely won’t land a spot on your dream podcast immediately, but getting yourself and your bio out there can be a great start.  

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