Why You Need A PR Agency and How to Choose One Wisely A good PR agency will help you with all aspects of your business. They can help you with your media presence, brand awareness and your ability to connect with your target audience before they start shopping around for options.
By Danielle Sabrina Edited by Maria Bailey
Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.
Not all PR agencies are created equal. If you're looking for a good one, it's important to know what makes them different from one another. You'll also want to make sure that your company has the right team of people in place to handle the account and execute the strategies that have been discussed with your agency partners.
Related: 4 Reasons Why You Should Hire a Small PR Agency
What is PR?
You've probably seen the term "PR" pop up a few times. Maybe you're wondering what it means, why it matters and how to take advantage of PR services. Well, let me tell you: PR is a strategic communication process that builds mutually beneficial relationships between organizations and the public. It helps you build a brand by creating content that resonates with your audience in order to achieve your business goals.
To illustrate this concept further, here are several different examples of PR campaign objectives:
- Brand Awareness: Utilize media opportunities like story features or podcasts to drive visibility for its products or service.
- Authority: People are always going to search online when looking for a solution to their problems, and top-tier media is among the first content to come up. You can establish your authority and reputation by being the expert that reporters turn to for advice.
- Funding announcements: Whether a company is closing its seed or D round, the media want to know and it's a great way to share the exciting news about your company to the public.
- Recruiting: Attracting top-tier talent is extremely competitive. The best candidates want to know they're working for a company that is doing great things in the world and one that cares about their reputation. Media can be a great tool for attracting boatloads of new talent!
- Thought leadership development: A founder might have a great reputation, but it could only exist within their company or professional circle. Using the media, they can extend that reputation to become publicly known.
- Fundraising: Founders build awareness around themselves to help create buzz during funding rounds.
- Improve searchability: Being found quickly on top search pages heavily depends on quality content and backlinks from high-ranking authority sites.
- Perception: Earned media done right gives a perception that your brand has reached a certain size/desirability.
- Increase conversions: A single ad alone is not going to educate your customer and fully convert them. Customers who do not immediately buy will go on to do research and rely on trust media sites for advice and guidance.
Related: Does Your PR Agency See You as a Project or a Partner?
Why are PR agencies important?
PR agencies can help you get the media attention you need to grow your business. They can also help you build your brand and increase your reach on social media. PR firms are especially valuable for companies that are new to the marketplace, but even established brands can benefit from their services. Here's why:
PR agencies will create content for you in a way that is relatable to the public. For example, they might produce an infographic or write a blog post about industry trends that affect your business (like how millennials prefer buying products online rather than in-person). The agency might even send out press releases about specific topics related to what they have created so far, as well as upcoming events like trade shows or conferences where attendees would be interested in learning more about what they do at home base headquarters.
Related: 4 Tips for Hiring the Right PR Agency
How to choose your PR firm wisely
Choosing a PR agency can be an overwhelming task, especially if you're not familiar with the field. There are many different agencies out there, each offering its own specialties and expertise. Before deciding on which one is right for your needs, make sure you do your research!
- Find out how much experience the agency has in your industry.
- Ask how they measure KPIs against your desired business results
- Find out about the pitch process in detail; the agency should have internal metrics they monitor to know whether a pitch is going to gain any traction and they should be able to tell you clearly what those numbers are.
- Ask how they establish new press relationships, ask questions about their daily and weekly process for networking and what they typically see for results.
- Ask for links to recent bylines they've gotten published in top-tier publications. This will give you an idea of how well they're able to help their clients extract and articulate their thought leadership into media-worthy articles.
Related: 5 Things to Look for in a PR Agency
A good PR agency can get your business the buzz it needs
PR agencies are a great resource for any business that needs to get the word out about its brand and product. They can help you reach your target audience, gain new clients and partners and increase sales. But it's important to choose wisely when picking a PR firm because not all of them offer the same services or have experience with businesses like yours. Make sure they have experience getting the results you're looking for before committing all your resources (and money) to one agency!
