The shopper voice has all the time been necessary, however with the rising affect of on-line critiques as a trusted useful resource for patrons, it issues extra in the present day than ever earlier than. Surveys are a confirmed and cost-effective technique of producing publicity primarily based on that voice, but many public relations professionals and entrepreneurs wrestle with creating and maximizing protection when doing survey work.
Survey-research consultancy Researchscape Worldwide, which helps organizations draft, discipline and supply statistically projectable newsmaker surveys, has crafted a listing of 10 ideas to enhance the effectiveness of your survey initiatives.
The agency analyzed survey pattern sizes for each B2C and B2B survey press releases. The findings counsel client surveys ought to have at the very least 1,000 respondents; and B2B surveys a pattern measurement of at the very least 500. Many companies have begun bundling their B2B surveys with B2C work utilizing the B2C findings to hook a broader vary of journalists.
1) Set a aim to your challenge
A aim focuses your efforts and saves money and time that may have gone to extraneous particulars. Pattern long-term targets embrace constructing model consciousness, demonstrating thought management and growing content material to help lead technology. Widespread short-term targets embrace offering help for a product launch, for coming into a brand new geographic area or for selling an occasion.
2) Write your dream headline
Along with your targets in thoughts, brainstorm the potential headlines or key findings you’ll like to see. Let your creativeness go wild in envisioning the outcomes that can greatest drive protection.
3) Draft the survey questionnaire
Rein in that creativeness now by drafting questions which are straightforward to grasp and free from bias. As soon as completed, be sure that knowledgeable market researcher critiques them for errors or biases and rewrites them, the place essential.
4) Decide your pattern measurement
B2B and B2C surveys have their very own DNA and completely different pattern sizes ought to be thought-about for every. For instance, in conducting an evaluation of three,106 newsmaker press releases issued between 2013 and 2023, Researchscape discovered a variety of client survey pattern sizes however 80 p.c of them had at the very least 1,000 responses. For B2B surveys, the variety of responses is often decrease as a result of larger price of reaching specialist audiences. In the identical evaluation, Researchscape discovered that 56 p.c of B2B surveys had 500 or extra respondents.
“As a result of larger price of implementing B2B surveys, many companies have begun bundling their B2B surveys with B2C work, utilizing the B2C pattern measurement to hook a broader vary of journalists,” mentioned Jeffrey Henning, chief analysis officer at Researchscape, in a information launch. “As an example, a press launch might state that, ‘we surveyed 1,000 shoppers and 250 advertising and marketing professionals on their attitudes in the direction of x and we in contrast and contrasted the findings.’”
5) Embrace data that journalists require
Credible survey releases and content material advertising and marketing materials ought to comprise the knowledge reporters are skilled to ask for, together with how many individuals have been surveyed, from which international locations, how they have been interviewed and if and the way the info have been weighted.
6) Optimize your launch for bloggers
Bloggers, generally, are much more pressed for time than journalists. Offering an infographic will improve your possibilities of pick-up.
7) Think about optimizing your launch for prospects too
For practitioners utilizing surveys as lead technology instruments, think about linking your launch to a companion doc (e-book, white paper, full survey report) to be able to seize reader contact data. In response to the info, solely 22 p.c of survey releases have been linked to a lead technology kind from 2018 to 2020. This jumped to 30 p.c in 2021 and 41 p.c in 2023—indicating the rising significance of producing ROI from PR investments by straight growing leads.
8) Publish your launch in a well timed style
Survey information can develop stale shortly; it’s necessary to publish your launch as shortly as potential. In response to the findings, solely 4 p.c of survey releases have been revealed inside per week of closing the fielding of the survey whereas a couple of quarter (26 p.c) have been revealed inside 30 days. The median size of time was 62 days.
9) Hyperlink to further sources
You don’t have to over-inform by together with all the pieces out of your survey leads to your press launch. Embrace the important thing findings with out overhyping the outcomes and ensure you should not lacking the general level. Then, make it straightforward for journalists and end-users to search out extra data by linking to exterior sources.
10) Adapt and reuse
Surveys are way more versatile than simply supporting a press launch. After you’ve pitched the survey, gotten protection within the press, constructed model consciousness and generated leads, think about squeezing further mileage out of your content material by utilizing findings for social media, commerce present literature and display shows, making a byline article, together with leads to a speech or presentation and together with the findings on-line within the firm web site. Your means to additional leverage the findings is simply restricted by your creativity and resourcefulness—newsmaker surveys ship nice worth for a comparatively small funding.
For extra ideas and recommendation about constructing highly effective surveys into your PR program, obtain the agency’s Finest Practices for Newsmaker Surveys.
