While evaluating campaign outputs is crucial and easily achieved thanks to solutions such as Ace Media’s Reports, demonstrating outcomes and business impact often gets overlooked due to the perceived time and cost constraints. Here’s where online survey tools come in – powerful allies that help you gather data showcasing the true value of your PR efforts.
Survey tools serve as essential resources for businesses to understand consumer trends and effectively measure the impact of their Public Relations initiatives. Utilising these tools streamlines survey creation, distribution, and data analysis, leading to informed decision-making processes.
This article delves into the top 5 survey tools that can be adopted by PR professionals to facilitate the measurement of not only brand awareness but also the tangible business outcomes of campaigns.
SurveyMonkey: Comprehensive Market Research Solutions
SurveyMonkey is a household name for a reason. It’s a user-friendly platform that caters to both beginners and experienced researchers.
Pros:
- Drag-and-drop interface: Building visually appealing surveys is a breeze with SurveyMonkey’s intuitive interface. Simply drag and drop question types, customize answer options, and personalize the layout to match your brand.
- Impressive question library: Choose from a wide range of question formats, including multiple choice, Likert scale, open ended, and even branching logic to create dynamic surveys that adapt based on respondent answers.
- Powerful data analysis: SurveyMonkey goes beyond just collecting data. It provides basic and advanced data analysis tools to help you understand trends, identify correlations, and extract actionable insights.
- Free plan: While SurveyMonkey offers paid plans with additional features, the free plan allows you to create basic surveys and collect up to 100 responses.
Cons:
- Limited customisation for free plan.
- Not ideal for complex research.
Pollfish: Reaching a Global Audience
If you need to reach a global audience quickly and cost-effectively, Pollfish is the tool for you.
Pros:
- Global reach: Access a network of millions of respondents across 160+ countries, allowing you to gather insights from a diverse demographic.
- Fast turnaround times: Pollfish delivers survey results rapidly, often within hours of launch. Ideal for situations where you need immediate feedback.
- Mobile-first design: Pollfish surveys are optimized for mobile devices, ensuring a seamless experience for respondents on the go.
- API integration: Integrate Pollfish with your existing tools for a streamlined research workflow.
Cons:
- Limited data analysis
- Focuses on quantitative data.
Appinio: Advanced Insights and Analytics Platform
Appinio goes beyond just surveys, offering a comprehensive AI-driven research platform designed for a complete market research experience. Here’s what sets it apart:
Pros:
- High-quality respondents: Appinio boasts a global network of pre-profiled respondents, ensuring you reach the right audience for your research.
- Multiple research methodologies: Conduct surveys, run online discussions, or gather in-depth feedback through video interviews – all within the same platform.
- Real-time reporting: Get instant access to data and insights as responses roll in. No need to wait for the entire survey to be completed.
- Collaboration tools: Share your research projects with your team and work together to analyze findings and draw conclusions.
Cons:
- No free plan (flexible pricing)
- Requires technical expertise.
Typeform: Revolutionizing Survey Creation
Typeform takes survey design to the next level with its interactive format.
Pros:
- Conversational interface: Typeform surveys feel more like engaging conversations than traditional question lists, leading to higher completion rates.
- Visually stunning design: Customize the look and feel of your surveys with themes, images, and even video backgrounds to create a branded experience.
- Logic jumps and branching: Guide respondents through the survey based on their answers, ensuring they only see relevant questions.
- Free plan with limitations: The free plan allows you to create limited surveys, but it’s a great way to test out the platform’s capabilities.
Cons:
- Limited question types.
- Not ideal for long surveys.
Google Forms: Quick and Simple Surveys
Google Forms are excellent for simple surveys, polls and internal research within organisations.
Pros:
- Completely free: Budget-friendly option for creating surveys without any cost.
- Easy to use and share: User-friendly interface allows anyone to create and share surveys quickly.
- Real-time collaboration features: Multiple users can work on the same survey simultaneously.
- Secure data encryption: Ensures the confidentiality and security of your survey data.
Cons:
- Limited features.
- Limited customisation options.
- Limited data analysis.
Choosing the Right Tool
There’s no one-size-fits-all answer when it comes to survey tools. Consider these factors when making your choice:
Complexity of your research: Simple surveys can be handled by free or basic plans, while in-depth research might require advanced features offered by paid tools.
Target audience: Who are you trying to reach? Some tools offer access to specific demographics or global audiences.
Budget: Survey tools range from free plans with limitations to tiered pricing based on features and respondent volume.
By leveraging these top survey tools and carefully considering your research needs, you can unlock valuable market insights that fuel successful marketing campaigns. So, what
By strategically using these survey tools alongside PR analytics platforms, you can gather data that goes beyond brand mentions to showcase the real business impact of your campaigns. Weave a compelling narrative around the data you collect, and watch your PR efforts truly shine.
Tips & Hints 