In a market where every brand toots its own horn, the endorsement of an analyst can be priceless. Journalists recognize the credibility of an analyst’s findings as bringing greater weight to a company’s claims and customers value the in-depth research that analysts conduct to help make informed decisions. These benefits make it crucial for technology companies to engage with analyst houses, large and small, to secure that ultimate endorsement.
But, the endorsement alone isn’t enough. To make the most of it, companies need to deploy the right strategies to amplify analyst reports and findings that position them ahead of their competition. Here are five ways to make that happen.
1. Make news out of it.
Recognition from renowned analysts should make your customers – and your competitors – sit up and take notice. The first step is to tell them about it.
If you have control over the timing of the report’s publication, work alongside the analyst house to publicize your company’s achievement and the analysts’ findings. Consider splitting the news up into several smaller stories if there is more than one angle to work with, targeted at the relevant audiences or pitched out over time to extend the story.
2. Incorporate their validation into your messaging.
An analyst’s opinion isn’t fleeting; it has credence that lasts as long as their findings are current. That credence should be reinforced whenever possible and appropriate. That means succinctly referencing those findings as in company messaging, such as incorporating them into a company’s descriptor, mentioning them in press releases and highlighting them on public-facing materials like web and social pages.
3. Leverage the analyst(s) as third-party voices that speak for your brand.
Journalists need a third party to validate a claim made by companies they write about. If that company has a good relationship with analysts who have written glowing reports, those analysts can serve as that third party, offering quotes and independent insight to help support the piece.
Companies should also consider inviting that analyst to speak at their user conference, in the form of a panel session or presentation about their findings. These opportunities serve as an added benefit to the original report, getting more mileage out of its impact on the market.
4. Content, content, content.
Continue extending the life of the report by sharing various perspectives from your thought leaders that link into the analysts’ findings, whether on a company-owned blog or in bylined articles placed in influential media publications. When doing so, be sure to link back to the report, hosted on your own website or within the analyst house’s.
5. Tell your friends.
You have great news – be sure to share it with your social followers. Pull-out quotes and infographics make for great social sharing, and if you can engage the analyst with some video quotes and interviews as well, you have the ideal toolkit to get some excellent mileage across LinkedIn, Twitter and other social channels. And, you can keep coming back to the report over time to remind your followers of the company’s achievement.
