Hey there,
In my previous post, I talked about how research is very important and the fact that there is the assumption that PR is about meeting people, so why should research be involved in it? But like any career or field of business, research is very important, in the investment world, they call it conducting due diligence which sets the tone for any business venture. Similarly, in PR, research takes the forefront of conducting any PR strategy or plan.
Why is research important, you may ask? It helps you to know what steps to take; it helps in strategy and figuring out exactly what tactics and tools to employ. Not all campaigns are targeted at the whole world, most times, it is very important to carve out your target audience or niche group of people who would understand your key messaging and receive it with gladness. Hence the reason research is very key, to help to figure this out.
I will explain to you, 5 ways in which you can conduct research effectively for PR:
- Desk research
- Asking friends, colleagues & family
- Telephone interview
- Online surveys
- Focus Group Discussions (FGD)
Desk research: This is when you surf the internet and ask google to provide answers for you. What you need here is your pen and paper to jot down ideas, a desktop or laptop, internet access, and your curiosity. You go to your favourite search engine provider, Google, Bing, Refseek, etc, and you search for materials that are related to the topic of discussion. You have to be careful to sift through the overwhelming or even sometimes underwhelming information that is provided on the topic. Sometimes, it is very important to search beyond the 4th page on the Google search, you might just find what you are looking for on the 5th page. Essentially, desk research helps to get an initial understanding of the topic.
Asking friends, colleagues & family: These are usually the easiest to contact when conducting research. You can ask them what they know about a particular topic or what their opinion is on a subject matter. Say, for instance, you want to find out people’s perceptions of a particular brand. You can ask your family or colleagues what they think about the brand and get real-time information that may help you in what you are trying to accomplish.
Telephone interview: This is very spot on for busy people whom you would like to contact but do not have the time to sit and engage in a physical interview. You can reach out to them via email and request a convenient time to engage in a phone call interview. Once they oblige, you prepare your questions in advance and dish them out slowly during the interview. Remember that sometimes, interviews don’t always go as planned, so you can be flexible in your questions and be innovative on the spot. This is one of the best ways to get information and also build relationships and networks.
Online surveys: This is another good tool for research if it is not the most popular at the moment. This is because you can type out your questions and share them with a vast number of people with the expectation that they fill out your survey at their convenience. Questions are properly drafted and typed out using an online form to share with the audience. Some of such online platforms that offer free online surveys are Survey Monkey & Google Forms, where you input your questions and share a link for people to fill out the forms. The answers are easily curated and analyzed for future use.
Focus Group Discussions (FGD): With an FGD, a group of people, usually more than four are gathered together and are asked questions about a topic, brand, group, or individual. The questions are asked in such a format that it triggers more responses from the respondents and rich insights are gained. With FGDs, there will be an interviewer, and he or she will be responsible for engaging the audience. There would also be a records person, who will be in charge of documenting & capturing the moment in either written, audio, or audio-visual format.
These and more, are essential in conducting research, feel free to add additional points in the comment section. I hope you enjoyed reading up to this point, thank you! Join me weekly in my journey into the PR world where I discuss challenges, tips, pointers, and wins in the PR career space. See you soon!
Warm regards,
The PR Chic
