When I search Google News for "surveys," I get nearly 50,000 results. When I search for "stocks," I get about 54,000. The media love polls and surveys.

Here are just a few headlines in the news as I write this, generated directly from surveys:

Survey: CEOs cut expectations of economy
Survey: Israelis more depressed, anxious than Western Europeans
Survey shows farmers aware of soybean rust

As you can see, surveys are used for just about any industry. Why not yours?

If youre the expert on bankers, or single parents, theres hardly a better way to tell the media than by releasing surveys of your market group. Its easy to do almost all media outlets accept informal or online polling.

You don't have to hire a research company, you can just have clients or colleagues check a few boxes on a photocopied form.

You don't have to release a massive book of results, you can just send media people a press release highlighting the most newsworthy responses.

The general media arent professional journals: they dont insist on strict statistical methodology. They just want a good story.

That said, you should never make up a result or falsely represent your data. Media folks aren't likely to double check the information you give them, but you want to be able to present accurate, truthful results if they do.