1. Act on Topicality
The more you engaging your research around holidays or current events, such as the Olympic Winter Games or a National Day, the higher the chances your research will be picked up by the media. For example, consider the studies focused on the massive purchases we made during Black Friday. Or the surveys around holidays such as Halloween, and what about the annual holiday period. These are all reasons for an investigation, as long as you can link it to your brand, service or product. Please note; sometimes you have to accept that your product or service does not match well with a particular topic. The ‘parenthesis’ must not be too far-fetched, or else you’ll miss your goal.
Another way to respond to current events is to focus your research on current trends and relevant developments in your sector. Manhattan Associates, for example, played a useful role in the online shopping trend last year. With their research, they tried to find out if the Dutch were planning to order their groceries online during the Christmas period. The results appeared in various media. Similarly, Bol.com took too various media by examining the run on power banks after the launch of the popular Pokemon Go. The hook here? If you play Pokemon Go on your smartphone while you walk through a city, you don’t want your phone to run out of battery as you encounter a special Pokemon.
2. Ensure Recognizability
If it is difficult to line up current events with your brand, try focusing on recognizability. Look for an approach that is recognizable to a large audience. Think of annoyances or situations that many people face in everyday life.
It is important to leave room in your research for fun facts in addition to all ‘dry’ facts. From those typical funny facts that are shared with the coffee machine. For example, did you know that men are really sick when they have flu? This research proves that it is not all in their heads! And did you know that the number of searches containing ‘trick or treat’ on PornHub increased by 3368% around Halloween? Neither did I, until I came across the research results in the media.
3. Verifying Striking Results
In fact, ‘reliability’ deserves the first place in this list of tips. Your research falls or stands with the reliability of your results, because there is always a chance that journalists will verify your outcomes. But how do you guarantee that reliability? This depends on a number of factors; Of course your research questions play an important role. In addition, the size and composition of your research target group are also important. The above are factors in which a good research agency can help you. They can tell you everything about the quality of your questions and the reliability of your research.
Checking your results after research is complete isn’t a bad idea. A recent example that shows why this is important is Durex’s research among Dutch and Belgian women. Research results showed the that half of women who never or rarely cum during sex appeared widely in the media. Which De Volkskrant decided to fact-check. You guessed it, the Volkskrant together with the knowledge center in the field of sexuality came to very different conclusions. So, double check that your results don’t deviate far from the truth!
4. Bring Diversity into Your Research Questions
When you do an investigation, you are probably hoping for a certain outcome that best fits your organization’s message. Do not hope too much, however, because what if the results deviate completely from the parenthesis you had come up with? Research results can’t be controlled, at least in a reliable study.
By refraining from putting all of your eggs in one basket when compiling your questionnaire, you preserve the news value of your research results. So ensure diversity; ask multiple questions that have a different approach. If the hook you hope for does not produce the desired answer, then you always have a number of newsworthy facts at hand.
5. Search for the Media
In the end you have a number of surprising conclusions based on your research results. The final step is to make these conclusions as interesting as possible for the media. You draw up a press release containing the most important conclusions from your research, the fun facts and of course state the way in which you have obtained the results. A catchy headline above your press release and it’s ready to send to the relevant media titles.
Depending on your research and the subject you focus on, it may be wise to write several press releases about one study, but always with a different approach. This way, you can tailor the results of your research to different target groups, so that your research has a greater reach. For example, write a press release with a relevant approach for B2B publications, and another message that focuses on the results that appeal to B2C publications. That way you get the maximum PR value from your research.
Do you need help gaining media attention for your research? OR, do you need help conducting market research that will grab media attention?Contact us.
