Let’s call it like we see it. No two days in comms are the same. Even the most routine day can be flipped upside down at the drop of a hat. That said, we see so many of our customers digging into readership data daily to help inform their tactics and monitor trends.
In this post, I’ll walk you through the top 6 ways our customers tackle day-to-day comms with readership data.
1. Find the team’s biggest wins
Articles typically attract the majority of readership within the first three days of publication. I see some of my most data-inclined customers looking at readership across coverage daily to better understand what articles are accruing the most interest.
The team’s biggest win might be a sleeper hit. What do I mean by that? Sometimes the piece of coverage in the biggest publication isn’t the article that is performing best. My customers are always looking for what articles are getting to most readers so they know what the biggest win is for their team, regardless of publisher, and learn how they can recreate that success.
2. Surfacing new reporters for proactive outreach
Every comms team already has a list of reporters who cover their industry. Understanding who is driving readership around their brand or specific topics they care about can be a completely different ball game.
Customers who look at reporters by readership on a daily basis can see who is shaping the narrative for their brand and industry and uncover media targets that they’ve historically under-indexed on. Media list maintenance isn’t the most attractive part of the job, but it will make or break any PR campaign.
3. Uncovering what topics are trending
I see customers looking at coverage by topic daily to see what is rising to the top. If one topic is picking up, the team can decide on a dime if they want to lean in (or out) and capitalize on the momentum (or create a combat plan).
For example, we work with a large beverage company that looks at top-read articles daily so they can better understand what topics and trends are attracting readers. Armed with data, they can figure out what viral trends are worth leaning into and what trends are fleeting successes.
4. Finding early indicators of a crisis
Whether you feel like you’re always in crisis or they are few and far between (knock on wood!!!), monitoring potential risk is part of every comms hero’s daily routine. Memo topic tags group coverage related specific issues together so you can see if readership for a specific article or a developing issue are attracting an upswing in readers.
For example, we work with a large U.S. conglomerate that looks at readership data daily to understand any issues being read across subsidiaries. Gaining a macro view of issues across brands helps them keep an eye on any negative news coverage that might be gaining momentum so they can create a plan of action (or inaction).
Here is another post outlining 4 ways customers use readership data in a crisis if you’re interested in diving deeper.
5. Seeing highly-read headlines to inform campaign planning
Seeing what headlines attract the most readers (whether they mention the brand or not) can uncover what types of articles resonate most. My customers are always looking at what types of headlines are attracting readers and what messaging is making headlines so they can craft campaigns designed to maximize readership.
6. Comparing performance to industry benchmarks
Understanding what people are reading about your brand is one thing, but how does your readership track against other brands, similar coverage, or even global events? Some of my customers dig into the dashboard daily to calibrate their own media coverage with industry benchmarks.
For example, we work with a large electronic manufacturer best known for producing TVs. The comms team looks at product roundup coverage daily to understand how their product is mentioned in relation to the competition, how many people are reading about what products, and understanding what products are performing best according to media coverage.
Other use cases include:
- Understanding how coverage readership compares to that of their direct competitors
- Seeing how coverage readership compares to average readership for a specific publication
- Putting it all into perspective by comparing overall coverage readership to major global events, like an election, celebrity news, or a major acquisition.
Read more about how Memo customers leverage data to make smarter, data-driven decisions with our collection of Memo How-to Guides.
Kendra Jones is a Customer Experience Manager at Memo.