You Wrote a Research Report! Now What? 15 Ideas to Maximize Promotion
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This post is in response to a great question from my good friend, and B2B content marketing expert Stephanie Tilton.
Congratulations on your bundle of original research! It’s so cute, all swaddled up in that new report template. It even has that new research smell everybody talks about. I’m sure you’re very proud of all the work it took to get to this point. It was nine long months of crunching the numbers, issuing surveys, mining and wrangling data, all resulting in a pioneering piece of original thought leadership for your organization.
But this is only day one of a very long life for your new bundle of joy.
How can you get maximum exposure for your important new report? You’ve done a lot of work, how can you create some buzz?
Here are my top 14 ways to make the most of this new report.
1. Announce the findings
This is not just another eBook… this is a major moment in your company’s history. It’s a rare opportunity to issue content into the world that is truly original. Don’t just send out a tweet and call it a day.
Make sure you treat this launch like a major announcement - a press release on the wire if you’re into that kind of thing, with a short summary of key findings and a quote from an industry analyst or customer on the implications of the findings.
2. Tell the media
Original research affords you a wonderful opportunity to provide practical insight and an interesting perspective on the state of your industry. You can tell a story informed and backed by statistically sound data - and this is perfect fodder for industry trade publications and the business press (if they cover your space.)
Reach out to reporters with 3-4 key findings (don’t make them read the full report), offering a byline or an interview with your company spokesperson. Remember: why should their readers care? Try drafting the ideal headline and leading your pitch with that.
PS: Podcasts count as media! Pitch your way onto a show to discuss the findings!
3. Walk through the findings on a live webinar event
Allow your customers, partners, and prospects to experience the research with you on a guided, live webinar event. Take an opportunity to walk through the key takeaways of the report, and explain the controversial, unexpected, or critical findings.
Most importantly, allow your audience to ask questions about the research in real-time.
4. Create a mini self-assessment
What’s the first thing your audience thinks when reading benchmarking statistics about their industry?
“How do I stack up? How are we doing compared to our peers?”
Help your buyers make sense of your data by putting it into context for them. Create an easy self-assessment using a tool like Qzzr, or more complex logic with tools like Ion Interactive and Snapapp. Be sure to offer actionable ways for low scores to improve, and congratulate the high scores for their good work.
5. Lights… camera… action!
Create a short video of a company spokesperson discussing the report, the top 3-4 findings, and why they matter. This is a great opportunity to make your company leaders sound smart, don’t waste it.
6. Centralize everything on a microsite
Your study should be treated with an additional level of attention - consider hosting it on its own dedicated microsite featuring the key findings and major takeaways. This makes a great place to host the mini self assessment, the video, and a form by which to download the full report.
7. Repurpose into multiple blog posts
Each finding in the report is an occasion by itself to give your point of view. Group like findings together for individual blog posts where you dig into the “how” the “what” and the “why” behind your data points. This is a great chance to tell customer stories in the context of these data points.
Offer guest posts for other well-read blogs in your space, and be sure to include a link back to the original research (their audience is, of course, net-new to you.) Ensure your spokespeople are blogging on platforms like Medium and LinkedIn, where content reaches new audiences organically.
8. Infographic gold
Research findings make the best infographic fodder, giving readers a chance to get your key takeaways without making the time investment of reading through the full report.
9. Break the findings into sharable social posts
Social posts with images perform one-quadrillion times better than those without. I made up that stat, but we all know this to be true. Use a tool like Canva to create social-sized posts featuring the most important or surprising facts. People love to share this stuff.
10. Bake it into your presentations - both live and virtual
Beyond your live webinar event, create a version of the report that is ideal for Slideshare - something that someone can click through slide-by-slide and still get the full story. (This is not the same deck as your webinar, but something with more text and storytelling baked in.) A great example from my friend Ben Grossman.
These findings also make great content for speaking engagements at key industry events (especially your own customer conference.) Send in a proposal that discusses your findings (with a great customer) and you’ve got a winning conference speaking submission!
11. Work it into other people’s presentations
Check out the speakers for a few industry events in your space. Reach out to a few who are speaking about the topic your report covers. Email them a couple of stats that may be useful, and ask them to include it in their presentation. Nikki Nixon from Terminus recently did this to me preceding a recent speaking session I did at INBOUND, and I thought it was so brilliant.
12. Incorporate findings into sales decks
I’m sure your sales presentations have plenty about your product features. Why not incorporate a couple of slides demonstrating the key challenges in the industry - using your own research to illustrate them? If your team is savvy in the challenger sale methodology, this type of research can be used by sales to guide prospects through a new way of thinking about their problems.
13. Mail a physical copy of the report to key accounts
Research findings make great ABM touchpoints as it offers a very tangible, valuable asset to hold in their hands. Get your report printed, professionally, and mail it out to a few key customer/prospect accounts with a handwritten note. For an added touch, put a post-it note on the pages/sections that most apply to that specific account. Engagement guaranteed.
14. Hold a lunch and learn
Invite key prospects and customers in a specific geo to lunch, where you present the findings and talk about recommended strategies to address them. Be sure to include a physical copy of the report, and pick somewhere nice for lunch.
15. Add some paid promotion to the mix
Money talks. This report is a great candidate for content syndication, targeted LinkedIn ads, and Facebook ads (yes to a B2B audience.) Time is money, and you’ve already spent plenty of time bringing this asset to life. Give it the promotion it deserves.
Remember, your new bundle of joy is just a baby. It needs care and nurturing to become the well-read, oft-quoted, compelling piece of industry thought leadership it’s meant to be. The golden rule of content repurposing is to write less, and promote more - helping to reinforce your messages, reach new audiences, and improve visibility.
Congratulations on your new asset. Go make the most of it.
Every week(ish) I send out new ideas, writings, and interesting links on marketing, business, and life. It’s free & curated by me. Get on the list.