3 Reasons Data-Driven Stories Help Garner Media Coverage
Reading Time: 5 minutes Journalists are overwhelmed with content pitches. To stand out, your pitches need to have a special angle. Data-driven pitches and storylines are more likely to command respect and authority and catch journalists’ attention. They are also more likely to augment journalists’ digital marketing strategy through SEO.
This article discusses three reasons to ensure the content you’re pitching is data-driven.
- Data commands authority on search engines
- Top-tier news sites place data-driven stories
- Data prompts you to critically determine who to pitch
Journalists are more likely to post stories constructed on a solid foundation of research. Agencies who keep this in mind can successfully garner media coverage and awareness for their clients.
Table of Contents
1.Data Commands Authority on Search Engines
The more you research, the more of an expert you become. Both journalists and search engine crawlers would agree that articles backed by research command authority.
Journalists know that providing high-quality content for their readers will simultaneously strengthen their digital marketing strategy. When you command respect from journalists and improve their websites’ SEO, your content will be more desirable.
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High-quality, recent content will improve your SEO strategy. This can only be achieved if you’re building your article on a foundation of sound data.
Using data from reliable online sources will bolster your credibility and is a best SEO practice.
For instance, publications such as HubSpot highlight research-backed statistics in their content headlines.
Journalists know that readers are more likely to click on headlines with numbers and data.
Including data from credible sources drives more readership, which in turn helps search rankings.
Ultimately, the effectiveness of a pitch is not measured in how strongly it is pushed forward. Rather, credible sources let data speak for itself. This way, journalists and search engines will endorse your content.
2. Top Tier News Sites Publish Data-Driven Stories
Since data-driven stories command authority, blue-chip news sites are more likely to pick up the content.
As an agency, placing content in established sites builds credibility, gains exposure, and strengthens your client’s digital marketing.
High-authority news outlets can afford to discern what they are willing to cover. Data shows that research-backed storylines are an effective way to get their attention.
A study by Fractl reports that well-known news sources look to publish trustworthy third-party research. The sites’ pitching guidelines state that conclusions drawn from studies are the most attractive to them.
While science sites top the chart, the results include news sources such as The Independent, CNN, and The Guardian. Targeting these top-tier sources is a viable strategy for getting your data-driven content covered.
Another chart considered which domains have the highest number of links generated for their “study finds” stories. Topping this list are many credible publications listed including CNN and NPR.
These news sites produce a significant number of links for their data-backed stories. Journalists want the content, and you want the links. Targeting blue-chip news sources for data-driven stories can be a win-win strategy.
If your goal is to place content in a well-established news source, make sure your storyline is backed by sound research.
3. Data Prompts You to Critically Determine Who to Pitch
Journalists post your content if it is relevant and valuable to their readers. Pitching data requires you to think critically about who you’re pitching and why they are interested in this specific storyline.
Alexa Blog reports that a structured, personalized pitch is more effective with journalists.
Marketers can use the data in their stories to correctly define their audience. Certain readers find specific types of data most useful. When you determine your audience, you’ll be able to discern which outlets to pitch.
For instance, Moz Blog posts content that’s relevant to professionals looking to enhance their digital marketing tactics.
Moz often posts immediately actionable stories focused on SEO. If your data speak to B2B marketing professionals, Moz would be more likely to accept your content.
Before you pitch a story, you can research which links your target site trusts for information. Tools such as Open Site Explorer reveal the highest authority links publications use.
If you find your links align with the data the publication trusts, it’s a green light to pitch that story. This report would also show you which studies to highlight in your email to journalists.
Your email pitch should speak to a new angle that the publication hasn’t touched on before. Instead of blasting many outlets with a generic data report, you should find the angle that will speak to journalists’ audience.
You’re prompted to research news outlets when you’re pitching a data-driven article. This approach will pay off when your content is placed.
Research-backed Stories Are More Appealing to Journalists
Journalists are more likely to accept pitches with data-driven storylines. Anecdotes don’t fare as well as concrete evidence.
Data commands authority with search engines and readers. Including research makes a story reliable enough to place in a blue-chip news site.
Also, data-driven pitches are more successful because they require targeted outreach to relevant sites.
Agencies should consider augmenting their content with data to increase their pitch-win rate.
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Co-Authored With
Nicole Schlabach is a Content & Editorial Associate for Clutch, B2B research, ratings, and reviews platform in Washington, D.C. She is responsible for ensuring reviews content on Clutch helps inform users about the top software and services for their business needs.
