Birst, which was recently acquired by Infor, is one of many players in the saturated Business Intelligence (BI) and Data Analysis market.
As their PR agency of record prior to the acquisition, we had to ask ourselves: How can we rise above the noise of a crowded market filled with publicly traded competitors?
We were challenged to position Birst as a market leader and drive more organic traffic to the website. To do so, we had to out-compete similar companies with way bigger budgets.
It is extremely difficult to unseat public brands. We felt the most successful approach was to combine data-driven SEO tactics with creative PR strategies. We truly fused together the right brain and the left brain to deliver on this PR challenge.
Intelligent Research Gives Campaigns a Leg Up
BOCA created an analytics-driven PR program that included social media management, website optimization, SEO, and content to increase awareness and customer adoption. Our goal was to aggressively integrate keywords within all communication vehicles, up the ante on social, and associate with bigger brands.
We examined the websites of competitors to assess what portions of their traffic came from what search terms and the types of content those organizations developed to help amplify marketing messaging to prospective customers.
This research included lists of the keywords each of the competitors and the client had in common, and examples of the how competitors organized their websites to create a useful customer experience (and usher website visitors down their marketing funnels).
Right & Left Brain Strategy Applies Data to Produce Results
Our strategy hinged on the keyword and messaging research we performed for our client.
We started with optimizing existing website content keywords and messaging we knew would help win share of voice over other competitors. Simultaneously, we worked those keywords and messaging into traditional PR assets, such as press releases, media pitches, and speaking, to ensure the same concepts resonated across all touchpoints.
PR Results Delivered More Than Just Coverage Counts
The SEO-focused campaign ran from September, 2016, through March, 2017. In April, 2017, Infor announced its intention to acquire our client, Birst. The acquisition was a clear indication that the messages we attempted to highlight and attach to our client’s brandi resonated with potential customers, as well as would-be buyers. Additionally our approach that fused data insights with creative PR tactics successfully achieved the following:
- Improved the client’s website health score from 52 to 76 by helping to fix over 60,000 SEO-related issues. This score assesses how easy it is for Google to crawl and index a page for search results. This exceeded the B2B technology industry average that sits between 65 and 72.
- Boosted our client’s search rankings for 147 terms.
- Increased non-branded organic search traffic to the website by 46%, driving more than 61,000 new visitors to the website.
- Helped our client increase website goal conversions by 248%.
- Secured placement of 53 unique traffic-driving news articles in a variety of industry vertical publications, as well as Network World, Huffington Post and CFO Magazine.
The Proof Is in the Pudding Data
Birst isn’t our only data-driven success story. In fact, we compile research for each of our campaigns. Developing a repository of data points from our clients, as well as their competitors and the industry as a whole allows us to use science to support traditional PR outreach. The results speak for themselves.
We’d love to help you reach your next demand-generation goal. Please let us know how we can assist you, here.