If there is an industry that has become too saturated these days, it is the field of Public Relations. It seems that PR firms are springing up faster than weeds, and the triage process for choosing a quality PR firm can be a daunting and overwhelming process, to say the least.
This article provides you with 5 helpful tips that can hopefully make the process of choosing a PR firm or publicist a little easier and more streamlined, so you can get the most out of your PR investment and actually , see a return on your investment. investment.
Five Tips for Choosing the Right PR Firm for You
1. Size – Are you looking for a large corporate PR firm, a medium-sized company, or a small or boutique company?
The question I ask is not black and white. The answer to this question must be determined by several things. Your budget, how much hand and personal attention you need, how far you want your PR reach to be, and your desire to have a team working on your account or just one or two ambitious advertisers working on your account. Large corporate PR firms typically charge $10,000-$20,000 per month for their basic retention services, so budget is a huge factor here. For a company like Microsoft or Johnson & Johnson this is a drop in the ocean. But for a small or medium business, that kind of fee is out of reach. The benefits of a large national and sometimes international company is the wide reach your brand can achieve, a great team working on your account, a great group of other clients who are with that company that your company can connect with. and benefit. These big companies usually have a lot of experience on their side. Many of these big public relations firms are over 20, 30 or 50 years old. The downside to these large companies, aside from the hefty monthly fee, is the amount of red tape and red tape involved in the day-to-day functions of the business, and unfortunately this can often lead to smaller customers being lost. Another downside of working with big PR firms is the lack of personal attention and contact, which is fine for established companies but not so good for startups, small and medium-sized businesses that require more attention, more branding and other things. complementary services such as writing. and basic marketing support.
Smaller PR firms tend to offer monthly advances that can range anywhere from $7,000.00 to about $2,500.00 depending on how much overhead the firm has, your level of experience and expertise, your particular PR niche, your contacts, and how long plan to dedicate to your account. Most PR firms tend to fall into the mid-sized, boutique, or small category and are also very effective at getting the job done.
2. Ignore the hype and look at a PR firm’s portfolio of work!
I can’t stress this enough. Looking through some colleagues’ websites recently, I was surprised to note that some of these websites have flashy graphics, catchy promotional text about their services, and bright images, but NO examples of their media placements, marketing case studies, writing samples…nothing! Where is your work? Don’t be fooled by public relations firms that are all flash and no substance. Always, and I mean always check to see if their website is packed with examples of past projects, past examples of media placements, and other examples of company-created work. Look at the work displayed on their website and when you speak to a representative from those PR firms, ask them to elaborate on your body of work. Some great questions:
Which media placements are you most proud of? How did your company achieve that placement in the media? What is the greatest strength of your company? Can you tell me some of your contacts in the media? Can you give me some marketing case studies? Some PR case studies? What distinguishes your company?
3. Make Sure You’re a Match: Assessing Values, Vision, and Creativity
The above sentence is self explanatory, but I’ll elaborate. This publicist or public relations team will be the ambassador of your brand. You want someone whose values reflect your own values. You’ll also want to make sure your advertiser understands, appreciates, and shares your vision for your company or organization. If a PR company wants to present their beauty brand as an elite, untouchable, prestige brand, and wants their beauty product to speak to all women, showing how beauty can be accessible to all women, then that advertiser may have a vision. that’s not in line with yours and things will probably go from unnerving to downright tense. A good trick is, when talking to a potential advertiser, ask them how they view your product, who they think your audience/demo is, and how they envision positioning the product in front of the media and potential consumers. Don’t expect them to go into too much detail before really delving into the product line, but they should give you a basic idea that matches your own vision of it. If not, move on.
4. Are you interested in website traffic, magazine placements, TV appearances? what do you want? Be specific!
Don’t be shy about what you want. Why are you looking for public relations services in the first place? Really sit down and think about it. And don’t be shy about your needs. Is your primary goal to build a strong online following to drive quality traffic to your website and convert visitors into sales? Is your primary target someone who can write outstanding copy for your business, such as press releases, articles, a promotional pitch to send to the media, etc? Is your main goal to become a personality and expert in your field and build a resume as someone who appears on TV news shows giving advice on promoting yourself as a brand and expert? Find out what your goals are and choose a public relations firm that is strong in your area of interest.
5. Rent, rent, rent
In the age of email, fax machines, long-distance phone plans, and cheap air travel, the location of your PR firm may not matter to you… or maybe it does. Do you want a lot of face-to-face time with your publicist or don’t you care if your publicist is in Timbuck Tu as long as he can get the job done and get press coverage for your business? Everyone’s comfort level with the location is different and there is no right or wrong. If you are looking for entertainment public relations, you can set your sights on a public relations firm located in Los Angeles or New York. If you are an up-and-coming internet business, you may find value in a public relations firm based in San Francisco. Fashion, New York may be the way to go for you, unless your fashion line is a variety of swimwear; in that case, a Miami public relations firm might be the right choice. Looking to attract the Latino market, again, Miami could be the key for you.
Or you can simply search for a public relations firm with a list of contacts in a particular city or industry, regardless of your physical location.
