Putting PR in perspective

By Daniella Hess, issued by Grapevine Communications

2 Feb 2017

With the first quarter of the year well underway and marketing budgets being finalised, the time has come for businesses to make the decision – do we hire PR professionals or don't we? – and to allocate available spend accordingly.

Daniella Hess

If you are still deciding whether appointing a PR/communications firm is right for your company, here are a number of reasons why businesses should consider appointing an agency with a solid track record:

A good communications agency is a brokerage between a brand and the media and the best PR consultants possess the ability to take an idea and narrow or broaden it. This is important when it comes to pitching a story as well as identifying the right medium and target market/s and informing the media about the news item. After all, they should work just as hard at maintaining good media relations as they do customer engagement.
An agency has the knowledge and experience to produce interesting and engaging copy, effectively branding a client and crafting a narrative around the business, product or service that fits in the media landscape.
Ability to offer journalists quality content on time and consistently can secure coverage for clients in highly regarded publications. Furthermore, PRs will establish the client as a thought leader and go-to person for industry commentary while having the ability to leverage the content for other mediums using the information as a central repository to communicate to different markets.
An article published by a trustworthy source and a respected third party will gain influence and recommendation, establishing credibility for a brand by proving that the company or product/s and service/s are reputable.
A good PR consultant should be an extension of the marketing and social media team. It is the communications professional’s priority to keep clients abreast on trends in their industry and inform clients on how they can ‘join the conversation’.

Hiring a PR/communications agency with creative and connected people should bring the outside in as well as the inside out increasing a brand’s chance of making a profound impact. However, it must be noted that appointing an agency is a smart move only if you have clear objectives for your business and the resources to support your investment in the consultancy.