Press release -
9 out of 10 PR professionals struggle to gain valuable meaning and insights from data
Ever since entering the digital era of communication, PR professionals and marketers have been drowning in data; and yet competencies in data literacy remain low. When assessing individual skills, only one out of ten PR professionals consider themselves as having a high level of data literacy, meaning that they can extract meaning and insights from data, while the rest struggle.
Today Mynewsdesk is releasing additional insights from The Data-Driven Mindset, a survey examining how 1,050 marketers, PR professionals, and business leaders globally use data in both strategic and operational tasks. Previous findings from the same survey show that only one in five can explain Artificial Intelligence.
“We often talk about data as something revolutionary, but working with data is not a goal in itself. Data is only powerful when one can draw insights and business intelligence from it. Unfortunately, though, the number of PR professionals that can do just that is low,” warns Christopher Van Mossevelde, Global Content Manager at Mynewsdesk.
In marketing, one out of five professionals say they have a high level of data literacy. Although the competence level is higher among marketers compared to PR professionals, education across the whole industry is much needed. According to the survey, business leaders appear to be the most literate, with 25% claiming that they are good at interpreting and working with data.
One out of five collaborate with Data Scientists
Another interesting finding from the survey is that organizations still rely on their marketing department for collecting, measuring and analyzing data (according to 60% of the respondents). Also, 49% of respondents state they collaborate with sales, while 25% work with Data Scientists.
“Throughout the survey, we noticed that access to data is not the problem. The critical issue is rather that the industry needs more education in how to process and question data to gain actionable insights,” concludes Christopher.
More interesting results:
- 42% of the respondents state they have invested in technology that supports data-driven decision-making.
- What is preventing data-driven decisions? 54% say they don't have enough time, and 41% say they lack the budget to be data-driven.
- 49% of PR professionals monitor performance but do not frequently change the approach based on the findings.
For more information, please contact:
Sara Lindström, Global PR Manager at Mynewsdesk, sara.lindstrom@mynewsdesk.com, +46 76 288 56 15.
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Survey Methodology:
The 2018 Outlook survey was conducted online by Mantis Research on behalf of Mention and Mynewsdesk. The company surveyed 1,050 individuals from October to November 2018; 41% work in PR and communications, 39% in marketing, and 19% are business owners/leaders. Responses came from all over the globe; the majority work in Sweden (54%), and the remaining work across Europe and the Americas.
Definition of data literacy: The ability to extract meaning and insights from data. If you’re data literate, you’re comfortable interpreting data graphics, analyzing and criticizing data presentations, and recognizing when data is being used to mislead.
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