In the realm of communications research, data scientists go beyond data to answer questions, provide guidance and enable better communications and business decision-making.
In better times, PR challenges may involve product introductions, earning announcements, executive interviews and the like. In today’s COVID-19 environment, though, communicators confront a universal challenge, across borders, throughout industry sectors and regardless of social strata. Just as daunting, the pandemic may continue to challenge communication convention.
Tracking the Pandemic
Communication research helps answer the questions most PR pros are asking: What is appropriate to communicate? When is the right time? What do I do now?
Communication researchers tracking the pandemic make their studies available directly and indirectly through PR associations and publications. For example, Page offers a variety of research resources, including the Harris Poll and FleishmanHillard insights. Institute for Public Relations updates a micro-site featuring dozens of COVID-19-related research studies. And they’re free.
At its best, COVID-19 communications research goes beyond retelling what happened to provide insight and guidance on why it’s happening and what should be done about it.
Mapping Trends to Public Opinion
In “Covid 19: A Guide to Professional Communicators,” Karinne Smolenyak and Bernd Hitzemann apply a content analysis of pandemic-related news and social media in the US, UK, France, Spain, Italy, Germany and China to map trends that reflect and shape public opinion. (Full disclosure: I assisted the authors in this study.)
In the US, for example, we see one of PR’s greatest challenges in the coronavirus environment. The concentric circles in Illustration 1 show that 92 percent of all news pages are devoted to the pandemic and the president. The likelihood of placing other types of earned media stories is low.
The research indicates that the best opportunities reside with credible stories related to serving communities, supporting healthcare workers and helping employees. However, the vast majority of PR topics are unlikely to break through the media’s focus on the pandemic. As shown in illustration 3, the most common news themes relate directly to the pandemic, making it difficult to align your brand, especially to such topics as fatalities, evictions and xenophobia.
Uncovering Opportunity
The study analyzes pandemic media trends and juxtaposes infection and mortality rates to uncover opportunity. Evidence suggests that when countries flatten the curve, guidelines for news become less stringent. By mapping infection rates and news, communicators can proceed more confidently; you may need to either stand by, get ready or begin outreach (even if the topics seemed inappropriate just weeks ago).
Trends in the U.S. are not yet as favorable as in other countries. Illustration 2 shows how the rate of infection has declined while fatalities are increasing. U.S. media began to broaden focus when school closings and lockdowns were eased. However, the rise in deaths makes proactive media outreach a nuanced matter. At the time of this report, only two of four indicators favored proactive outreach, which suggests storytellers without a pandemic tie-in should stand by and prepare for better times.
Communications research enables communicators to uncover the insights they need to guide better communication decisions and generate a positive PR ROI. The pandemic demands authentic, helpful and truthful communication. Research provides a fact-based foundation for aligning the purpose of your organization with the needs of stakeholders and society.
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