Significance of Big Data in Public Relations

Big data refers to the varied, unorganized, voluminous sets of digitized data created on a daily basis.  The past decade has witnessed the ever-expanding role of big data in the various sectors, and PR Services are no exception. Recent technological innovations have facilitated the capture of big data to gain useful insights. Big Data is of immense significance to PR firms as it enables informed decision- making in strategic communication and improves brand positioning.

Earned media is a formidable pillar for Public Relations. New-age analytics tools aid top PR firms to garner more insightful and accurate information of earned media placements and thus evaluate the performance of public relations campaigns. Big Data allows a PR company to quantify the degree to which earned media placements have enhanced brand positioning and also aids in setting tangible and measurable PR objectives.

As Public Relations in India witnesses the ever-increasing role of digital PR, big data has become an important tool for online PR. Combined with social media listening tools, big data helps PR Professionals gauge sentiment about the brand, mitigate risks and aid in effective crisis management. The real-time information generated by big data helps crisis management experts to foresee potential threats and respond quickly and effectively to a crisis.

Big Data also plays an important role in trend analysis. By leveraging big data, top PR agencies can identify the right target audience for the brand. Capturing data for a prolonged period also helps PR companies in trend prediction and thus alter brand messaging accordingly.

Thus, big data can be a game-changer for public relations and will aid PR agencies in adapting to the dynamic ecosystem.