Wes Tyeryar, Director of Strategic Partnerships, PublicRelay

Pushing key messages rooted in larger reputational goals is one of the most effective ways to contribute to company-wide objectives and demonstrate the communications team’s value to the business in a quantifiable way. Getting your messages picked up though, is easier said than done.Using data to be more strategic in the tasks you already perform every day to execute your messaging and campaign strategies will allow you to amplify your messages while using your time more efficiently.Follow these three tips to amplify key messages without increasing the time spent on messaging strategy:

1. Target the right authors and outlets

Use data to target the authors and outlets that have a wide reach in your industry space, receive high social sharing, and are interested in the topic you want push. Within your earned media data are authors that have written about your competitors, but not you, or ones that don’t write about your industry as frequently, but receive an outsized amount of social sharing when they do. Narrowing down the authors you pitch will be more effective than mass outreach. You will hone in on the audience you want to reach.You should also use historical data to personalize your pitches to these authors, increasing the likelihood that your message will resonate with them. Understand how they have written on the topic in the past, reference that in your pitch, and why they should be interested in your organization’s take on the topic.Creating personalized pitches for a targeted list of authors both increases the likelihood that your message gets picked up and ensures the largest amount of your target audience sees your message.

2. Harness the power of social media amplification

Analyzing the social sharing of your traditional coverage reveals important trends that can help you quickly amplify key messages. Knowing that your CSR efforts are typically highly shared on Facebook, while financial performance news is shared more often on Twitter is important for pushing your messages to the right channels. You’ll also uncover other valuable insights like when one leading healthcare company found out stories that quoted executives received 6X the social sharing of stories that did not. 

3. Collaborate with third-party influencers

Third party influencers like industry thought leaders, legislative coalitions, and academics are the experts that authors consult with and quote when writing about industry topics that your brand cares about. Building relationships with these influencers is a powerful way to lend credibility to your organization’s stance on an issue and amplify key messages.Some of these influencers are known to you, but others will come to light as they appear in the context of your brand and industry coverage over time.  Measure the topics they most often weigh in on and the sentiment of those comments to understand how they align with the message you want to push and reach out from there. In addition, you may also uncover new conversations that you should be participating in based on the topics these influencers are part of.A third-party influencer doesn’t have to mention your brand by name. The more they espouse your organization’s stance on a policy or industry issue that’s important to your brand, your message gets amplified and your team moves the needle on an important company goal.To learn more about what data-driven messaging strategies can do for your team, like informing resource allocation and crisis management strategies, check out our e-guide: Make the Most of Your Messaging and Campaigns Data