{"id":2648,"date":"2017-10-16T12:33:34","date_gmt":"2017-10-16T16:33:34","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/prlab\/?p=2648"},"modified":"2017-10-26T09:57:58","modified_gmt":"2017-10-26T13:57:58","slug":"the-analytics-face-of-todays-pr-industry-three-things-you-need-to-know","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/prlab\/2017\/10\/16\/the-analytics-face-of-todays-pr-industry-three-things-you-need-to-know\/","title":{"rendered":"The Analytics Face of Today\u2019s PR Industry: Three Things You Need to Know"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>By\u00a0<span>Jingxin (Jessie) Zhang,\u00a0Account Director at PRLab<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">When we talk about PR, what\u2019s the first word or phrase that comes to your mind? <\/span><\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" src=\"\/prlab\/files\/2017\/10\/1-636x376.png\" alt=\"1\" width=\"636\" height=\"376\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-2649 aligncenter\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/prlab\/files\/2017\/10\/1-636x376.png 636w, https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/prlab\/files\/2017\/10\/1-768x454.png 768w, https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/prlab\/files\/2017\/10\/1.png 975w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 636px) 100vw, 636px\" \/><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><em><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">[Source: Jon Ericson (2013). <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">PR Word Cloud<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">. Buchanan PR]<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n<p>Hmm, looks like research and analytics are not on the top of that list. It is true that we associate PR with communication, but research and analytics are rapidly becoming the backbone of PR initiatives. Here are three things about research and analytics that will possibly shape and revolutionize our future careers as PR pros.<\/p>\n<p><b>1. The rise of In-house research and analytics departments at PR firms<\/b><\/p>\n<p>Many PR firms, including those on the top of the industry, have large, in-house research and analytics teams. Let\u2019s name a few:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.edelmanintelligence.com\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Edelman Intelligence<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, the research and analytics specialty at <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.edelman.com\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Edelman<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, works with noteworthy clients such as Adobe, Facebook, Unilever, and eBay<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><a href=\"http:\/\/fleishmanhillard.com\/research-analytics\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">FleishmanHillard\u2019s<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> research, analytics, and measurement practice group offers services such as <\/span><a href=\"http:\/\/cdn.fleishmanhillard.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/meta\/expertise-fact-sheet\/2015\/research-analytics-1424067790.pdf\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">media listening, web analytics, SEO, and more<\/span><\/a><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The measurement and analytics practice at <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.webershandwick.com\/what-we-do\/practices\/measurement-and-analytics\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Weber Shandwick<\/span><\/a> <span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">dig into the audience and media that clients need to target<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Ketchum\u2019s<\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.ketchum.com\/research-analytics\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> Global Research and Analytics (KGRA)<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> team conducts qualitative and quantitative research projects to support PR plans, campaign tracking, and result measurement<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Research and analytics are the essential starters of the PR loop and the base for planning, execution, and result measurement. In addition to skills like writing, information searching, and strategic thinking, today\u2019s PR pros may need the following expertise to advance in their career:<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Primary research methods <\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Analytics tools (at least know how to read through the dashboard)<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">If possible, basic coding and HTML<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><b>2. PR pros need research and analytics to prove the effectiveness of plans and secure real results<\/b><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">For a long time, PR pros are proficient with secondary research, such as: <\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Searching competitors to come up with competitive PR tactics<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Reading industry reports to keep updated about our key audiences<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Following reporters on Twitter to update ourselves on recent articles and beats.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">But PR pros need more to craft effective strategies. Today\u2019s clients seek for much more than impression or coverage &#8211; they need tangible conversions and high ROIs more than ever. PR pros must strive to get stronger evidence to justify any planned initiatives and to prove that these moves will produce positive results (by the way, clients may also want the results all displayed in numbers).<\/span><\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" src=\"\/prlab\/files\/2017\/10\/2.png\" alt=\"2\" width=\"634\" height=\"382\" class=\"size-full wp-image-2650 aligncenter\" \/><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><em><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">[Source: Conversion Tips and Tactics: Three Simple Ways To Increase Conversions and Sell More. (2017)]<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">PR pros are able to generate primary insights without becoming a computer science expert. Tools such as <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/analytics.google.com\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Google Analytics<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/sysomos.com\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Sysomos<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, or <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.crimsonhexagon.com\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Crimson Hexagon<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> are now widely used by many communication firms to capture target audience insights, create and adjust PR strategies, track PR campaigns, and further measure the results in a timely manner.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><b>3. Digital era as the best opportunity for PR<\/b><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">PR pros are trying to predict the trends every day to earn better presence, increased awareness, or favorable engagement. We search what time will help us generate the most likes on social media. We create social media calendars based on popular hashtags. We check the blog traffic to decide the best time to publish new articles.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">We only spent several decades to become highly digital and put aside all the channels through which we used to talk to our audiences. Society as a whole is gradually immersing itself in the cyber-land, and the rising generations even spend <\/span><a href=\"http:\/\/www.tnsglobal.com\/us\/press-release\/tns-millenials_study_111915\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">nearly one day in a week online<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Thanks to the digital era, we now can use data to better predict when and how to generate the best effects. PR pros now may worry less about the accuracy of self-reported data in traditional market research, as we can use analytics tools to observe the audiences when they conduct communication activities naturally (of course, we observe them in a proper and legal way). <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The tools mentioned earlier are excellent ways to go, and many PR firms mentioned before come up with their own algorithm to create unique indexes for different research purposes. The opportunity to make PR initiatives further customized and targeted is just at our front door.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">All in all, happy researching and analyzing, PR pros!<\/span><\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" src=\"\/prlab\/files\/2017\/10\/3-636x358.png\" alt=\"3\" width=\"636\" height=\"358\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-2651 aligncenter\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/prlab\/files\/2017\/10\/3-636x358.png 636w, https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/prlab\/files\/2017\/10\/3-768x433.png 768w, https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/prlab\/files\/2017\/10\/3.png 781w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 636px) 100vw, 636px\" \/><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><em><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">[Source: RED BULL GIF, Giphy]<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>By\u00a0Jingxin (Jessie) Zhang,\u00a0Account Director at PRLab When we talk about PR, what\u2019s the first word or phrase that comes to your mind? [Source: Jon Ericson (2013). PR Word Cloud. Buchanan PR] Hmm, looks like research and analytics are not on the top of that list. It is true that we associate PR with communication, but [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":13999,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[1],"tags":[2905,2906,2875,2876,2903,2904],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/prlab\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2648"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/prlab\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/prlab\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/prlab\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/13999"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/prlab\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2648"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/prlab\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2648\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2656,"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/prlab\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2648\/revisions\/2656"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/prlab\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2648"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/prlab\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2648"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/prlab\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2648"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}