With data analysis now playing a key role in sectors as diverse as law, sports, and event planning, there is no excuse for public relations practitioners to ignore the value analytics can play in their work, a business intelligence software provider and PR industry veteran says.
“PR budgets have always been under scrutiny, and will shrink if you’re not analyzing what is working and what isn’t,” MediaMiser president Chris Morrison, whose Ottawa-based company not only develops and delivers media intelligence software to businesses, but includes a PR division of its own, told ITBusiness.ca in an email.
“To further that point, investing more into the areas that are successful can make the difference between a good communications plan and a great one.”
Morrison noted that while businesses are increasingly embracing the use of business intelligence software to solve internal challenges, too many are ignoring the opportunity it presents for PR and external communications teams to cultivate personalized user engagement and public brand visibility.
“PR agencies have been measuring and analyzing campaigns for quite some now,” he said. “But it used to only happen after a campaign or new product launch had already concluded.”
“The real impact that analytics can have is analyzing in real-time to understand how plans can be adjusted on the fly, and eventually result in a more successful campaign,” he continued.
Morrison, who served as a senior consultant for PR giant Hill & Knowlton for four years before cofounding MediaMiser in 2003, is in a unique position to offer his opinion, since his company acts not only as a technology provider, but backs up any data gathered with experienced media analysts who serve as an extension of the company’s PR division, Agility PR Solutions.
Agility’s PR teams then apply that data to media briefings or analysis reports.
“If you care about your brand reputation and want to understand how competitors are being perceived in the marketplace, then there is value in analytics,” Morrison said. “Where I think it becomes even more impactful is when you combine the analytics from a platform like MediaMiser with proprietary information that only the organization has access to: for example, sales information, web site visits, newsletter opt-ins, etc.”
By turning business intelligence into media intelligence, PR agencies or divisions can be better positioned to promote their brand’s growth, he said.
To highlight the value analytics-driven media relations can deliver to businesses, MediaMiser recently created an infographic, which you can check out below.
For more information on the company’s services, you can visit its website here.
