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Your company does not need to be famous to land in USA Today or CNBC. It needs a number nobody else has.
That is the promise of data-driven content: original research, rankings, and studies built so a reporter can turn them into a story. Done well, data-driven content is one of the most reliable ways I know for a small or mid-sized brand to earn national news coverage, high-authority backlinks, and a place in the answers AI tools give buyers. In this guide, I will explain why data-driven content works, how we build it step by step, and what it has produced for real Prism clients.
What is data-driven content?
Data-driven content is any piece of content built around original numbers. In PR, it usually takes the form of a study: a ranking of all 50 states, a survey, or an analysis of public data that answers a question people care about.
The key word is original. A blog post that repeats statistics from other sites is not data-driven content in the sense that matters to reporters. A study that produces a new finding, such as which state has the most romance scam victims per capita, is.
For PR, data-driven content does three jobs at once:
- It gives a reporter a fresh, newsworthy angle.
- It earns a link, because reporters credit and link to the source of the data.
- It makes your brand the expert on the topic, in Google and in AI search.
Why reporters want data-driven content
Newsrooms are stretched. Cision’s 2026 State of the Media survey of 1,899 journalists found that 66% rely on PR-provided content for story ideas, and that original research, expert access, and embargoed information are what journalists value most in a pitch.
That is data-driven content in one sentence. A reporter with a deadline and no new numbers can write a story from a good study in an afternoon.
Relevance matters too. Muck Rack’s 2026 State of Journalism report found that 78% of journalists say a pitch feels genuinely relevant when it directly affects the community their audience belongs to. A 50-state ranking turns one study into a local story for every state. That is why so much of our data-driven content ranks states.
Why data-driven content matters for AI search
There is a newer reason data-driven content pays off. AI tools such as ChatGPT, Gemini, and Claude build their answers from sources they trust, and the sources they trust most are news outlets.
Muck Rack studied more than 25 million links cited by AI tools and found that earned media made up 84% of AI citations. Paid and advertorial content made up 0.3%.
When your data-driven content earns coverage in trusted outlets, those stories become the sources AI tools read when a buyer asks who the leading company in your category is. We go deeper on this in AI Search Visibility: Is Your Company in ChatGPT’s Answer? and on our SEO, AEO and GEO page.
How to build data-driven content that earns coverage
This is the process we use at Prism for every study.
Step 1: Start with a question people argue about
The best data-driven content answers a question your customers, and reporters, already care about. Where is the best place to retire? Which states have the worst online scams? Where are older Americans still working?
Avoid questions that only matter to your company. “How popular is our product?” is a sales message. “Which states are hit hardest by a problem our product solves?” is a story.
Common mistake: Choosing a topic because it is easy to research. Choose it because it is easy to explain in a headline.
Step 2: Use data a reporter will trust
Credible data-driven content uses credible sources. For most studies, that means federal and official data: the Census Bureau, the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the FBI, the FTC, or industry bodies. Your company’s own data can be powerful too, as long as you are open about how it was collected.
Every number in the study should trace to a source a reporter can check. If a reporter cannot verify it, they will not publish it, and they may not open your next email.
Step 3: Rank all 50 states
A national finding earns a national story. A state-by-state ranking earns that story plus 50 local ones.
We score each state on several measures, combine them into one ranking, and use statistical methods such as Z-scores where they fit, so the ranking holds up when a reporter asks how it was built. Then we write a short summary for every state: where it ranks, why, and what stands out.
Step 4: Make it easy to cover
Reporters do not have time to dig. Our studies run about 1,500 words and include 5 to 10 infographics, so a reporter can see the story at a glance and an editor can drop a chart into the article. We also write the headline findings as short, quotable lines.
Step 5: Pitch it nationally and locally
We pitch the national finding to national reporters, then pitch each state’s result to reporters who cover that state. Each pitch is short, specific to the reporter’s beat, and leads with the number that matters to their readers.
Step 6: Put it on a calendar
One study is a campaign. A study every month is a media engine. Recurring data-driven content lets you tie studies to moments reporters are already covering: romance scams at Valentine’s Day, IRS scams at tax time, holiday scams in the fourth quarter, retirement in the new year.
What data-driven content has produced for Prism clients
These are real results from our case studies.
Social Catfish: 3,862 backlinks from one annual study
Social Catfish, an online-safety company, publishes an annual 50-page State of Online Scams study that we built from FBI, FTC, and platform data. It ranks all 50 states, and we pitch a state-specific release in each one, plus seasonal hooks throughout the year.
The results: 3,862 editorial backlinks at an average domain authority of 77.3, coverage in CNBC, USA Today, Reuters, Business Insider, the TODAY Show, and Fox News, and revenue growth of 372%. Social Catfish reached No. 118 on the Inc. list of fastest-growing companies. Its founder, David McClellan, put it this way: “Over the last five years, we have been covered in virtually every media outlet in the country. Prism is the best PR agency I have ever worked with.” Read the Social Catfish case study.
Seniorly: 317 stories with backlinks in one year
Seniorly, a senior living company, ran monthly data-driven content with us in 2025, built on federal data. Studies included Best Places to Retire 2025, Where Single Seniors Are Thriving for Valentine’s Day, and Best States for Older Workers, which reported a record 11.2 million working seniors.
The campaign earned 317 stories with backlinks at an average domain authority of 76.2, including Yahoo, Entrepreneur, Travel + Leisure, Investopedia, CNBC, AARP, and Fortune. Our results played a key role in Seniorly’s acquisition by CareScout, which kept Prism on afterward. See the Seniorly case study.
Digital Ventures: 1,489 backlinks and an acquisition
For Digital Ventures, we earned 1,489 editorial backlinks at an average domain authority of 73.9 in one year across four sites: SafeHome.org, SeniorLiving.org, Security.org, and TheSeniorList.com. Centerfield then acquired the sites at a significant profit. Read the Centerfield case study.
Two of these three brands were acquired after their campaigns. None of them was a household name when we started. Their data-driven content made them the source.
Mistakes that sink data-driven content
- Unverifiable numbers. One bad statistic can cost you the reporter, and the outlet.
- Self-promotion inside the study. The study should be useful on its own. Your brand earns credit as the source.
- No local angle. A national-only study leaves most of the coverage on the table.
- One and done. Reporters remember sources that deliver every month.
- No link. If coverage mentions your brand without linking to the study, ask for the link. Recovering those lost links is part of our full-service PR work.
How to get started
You can build data-driven content in-house if you have a researcher, a designer, and someone with real relationships with reporters. Most companies do not have all three.
That is why we offer a pilot. With pay-for-performance linkbuilding, we create a data-driven study, starting at $1,999, pitch it to journalists, and bill only for the do-follow editorial links we secure from outlets rated DR 50 and above. No links, no invoice.
When you are ready to run data-driven content every month, our full-service PR program includes 6 to 12 studies a year. Learn more on our data-driven studies page, or schedule an intro meeting.
Frequently asked questions
What is data-driven content in PR?
It is content built on original data, usually a study or ranking, designed to give reporters a new, newsworthy finding they can cover and credit with a link.
Does my company need its own data?
No. Many of the most successful studies use public federal data, analyzed in a new way. Your own data can make a study stronger, as long as you explain how it was collected.
How many backlinks can one study earn?
It depends on the topic and timing. Across Prism campaigns, the average is 20.1 links per campaign at an average domain authority of 76.9.
Why rank all 50 states?
A state ranking turns one national story into 50 local ones, and local relevance is one of the strongest signals that a reporter will cover a pitch.
