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June 3, 2019 Content Chat Recap: How To Use Proprietary Research To Fuel Your Content Marketing Strategy

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Data is a goldmine of potential storylines and statistics to reinforce your company’s message and reach your audiences, especially when the data you use is something that your competitors do not own.

Every company has proprietary data at their disposal and the ability to commission propriety research, but it’s up to savvy marketers to know what data is important, how to access it, and what to do with it.

In this #ContentChat, our friend and active community member Amy Higgins (@AmyWHiggins), a content strategist and brand communications specialist, stepped in the hot seat to share best practices for making the most out of your proprietary research.

Q1: What is proprietary research and why should you conduct your own proprietary internal research?

Proprietary research is research that your company owns, and it can range from internal data, surveys, studies and more. The benefit of proprietary research is that your organization controls what data is collected and how it is used.

Your proprietary research can be used to develop thought leadership through a variety of communications or marketing activities, including reports, infographics, blogs, videos or on social media.

This internal data can be meshed with other public data to make your story more relevant and credible.

Q2: What are three different types of research your content team may want to consider fielding?

Some thought starters include customer surveys, customer activity/usage, surveys with partners or thought leaders and research on specific business units.

Develop goals for your research to determine the best strategy and target audience. Non-customer target audiences can be relevant in some cases but thought leadership is best built by targeting those relevant to your space.

There are a variety of books and resources on the topic that can serve as inspiration.

Q3: Who are the internal stakeholders whose buy-in is critical for a successful proprietary research project and why?

Buy-in must come from your internal marketing team, since they are the experts who will use this data to advance your company’s marketing goals.

Buy-in from leadership team members is necessary for budget and resources, and your sales team should be able to use the data in their day-to-day.

Q4: How do you obtain buy-in for your research project from the C-suite?

Detailing your expected ROI on any project is essential for gaining C-suite buy-in. Conducting a pilot project or starting small could give you the evidence you need to get the green light.

Well-crafted research can yield results for years, and planning quarterly or annual updates is a simple way to build on your initial investment.

Q5: How can your sales team help with your proprietary research?

Your sales team is a direct link with your customers and prospects. Leverage them to: add perspective on the challenges your customers face, review the survey draft, distribute surveys to customers, amplify the findings, and provide quotes or anecdotes for marketing collateral.

Other customer-facing departments can provide value, including your help desk or support team.

Q6: Should you purchase survey respondents? What are the pros and cons of doing so?

For this question, we’re exploring whether you should purchase a list of survey respondents. Generally, these are a great way to gain access to relevant folks to send your survey to.

Pros can approach survey incentives a few ways, but first access to the survey results or receiving additional analysis or insight is an easy way to say thanks to your participants.

Quality and quantity are both critical for surveys. You need access to the right audience, which is why purchasing a high-quality list is worth it, as well as enough members of that audience so that your results have a low margin of error.

50 survey respondents is the bare minimum, but 100+ is ideal, especially if you plan to segment your data. However, there is no exact target for every situation. Some publishers require surveys with 1,000-2,000 respondents.

Q7: How long does it take from idea through a statistically relevant number of results for a content marketing research project?

Timelines are dependent on a multitude of factors. You could expect results in less than a day, other/most times it could take 2-6 weeks.

Factor enough time to not only receive quality responses from the right audience, but to explore the data and find its value. Don’t rush the process and push out results that are inaccurate or irrelevant because of you were in a time crunch.

Q8: How do you take your proprietary research and infuse it throughout your content marketing plan?

Start with your research and then build your strategy. By starting with the value of your data, you can build a comprehensive strategy that neatly ties your data (or its themes) into all of your content.

Segment your data to give it additional legs, and keep the findings top of mind for all your internal stakeholders. They should integrate it into their strategy, and talk with them to see what data they’d like to see next.

About Alek Irvin

Alek Irvin is a content marketing professional with a rich history in social media management, executive thought leadership development, and media relations. As a consultant at Erika Heald Marketing Consulting, he creates human-focused content and thought leadership platforms that help brand leaders connect and engage with their communities. Alek has worked with a range of startups and Fortune 500 companies across the B2B technology and consumer spaces, including IBM, Dell Technologies, Hitch Works, Emtrain, Integrate, and Frameable. Connect with him on Twitter @AlekIrvin.

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