Choosing a Public Relations Agency
When it comes to how the public sees your business or product, perception equals reality. It is therefore of critical importance that this perception is accurate and positive, and this is where a public relations agency steps in.
But how do you go about finding the right PR agency for your company?
This Buyers' Guide was written in partnership with PR Business Expert BlackChilli who have stripped down the whole PR methodology to its barest and purest components.
We'll take you through the process of choosing a PR company and cut through the jargon to ensure you're making the right hiring decision for your business.
Define your PR Objectives and Goals
Feeling like you need to hire a PR company is one thing, knowing what you want them to do for you is quite another. There are a range of different tasks and campaigns to which a PR agency can be applied and working out which ones are relevant to your company is of vital importance to choosing the right firm.
Some important areas in which PR agencies work are:
- Planning a complete corporate communications strategy that will assist you and your business to communicate the most appropriate messages to your chosen target audiences. In an ever changing world of communications, what you may consider to be the obvious communications channels may not be the most appropriate
- Writing press releases to generate coverage in printed, online or broadcast media
- Writing commentary pieces of high quality for a host of communication channels, where the media face of your business can be seen as an ‘expert’ in their field
- Writing articles & case studies for printed publications, online publications, your own customer focused electronic communications, web, and new media channels
- Organising events such as launch parties, company anniversaries or conferences.
- Social media engagement to communicate with your target audience via Twitter, Facebook or blogs
- Crisis communications to mitigate the effects of bad publicity
- Employee communications to ensure you’re sending the right signals internally, especially during turbulent times
- Corporate communications to manage and enhance your interactions with other companies in the industry, trade bodies, investors etc
- Lobbying to create awareness and leverage at governmental level
Your senior management and marketing personnel can help you determine which of these areas you need assistance with. You’ll then know whether you’re likely to need ongoing PR support or just a one-off campaign, what you’re likely to gain from the process and how much you’re willing to pay for it.
Identify Potential PR Agencies
Once you have a clear idea of your requirements you’re ready begin the search for suitable agencies. There are an abundance of PR firms vying for your business and it can be hard to know where to start. The following suggestions should provide a useful jumping off point:
- As with most types of recruitment, looking for recommendations is great place to start. Do you know people in your industry, or similar industries, that have used a PR company before? What was their experience of using this particular company? Would they perhaps be good for your company too?
- Listings and advertisements in trade publications for your industry will have been posted by companies who are specifically looking to work with companies in your field. It should therefore be safe to assume they know something about the industry.
- Have you seen a piece of media coverage for a particular company and thought ‘that’s the kind of thing we need’? If so, which PR firm was the company in question using? Could you find out?
- Look in directories or business to business sites like this one for lists of PR companies and testimonial from previous clients.
Make a Shortlist of PR Agencies
Now that you’ve found a list of potentials it’s time to start whittling them down to a shortlist who you can invite to pitch for the job. It’s important to do this methodically rather than being seduced by flashy websites and copy (though this could be very important to you as well) and wasting time on the wrong companies. You may wish to use some of the following criteria, always keeping in mind your objectives and goals for your PR operations:
- As implied above, choose companies that have experience in your industry or experience with similar businesses. Such companies may already have media contacts in place that could be very valuable to your business and won’t need to be schooled in the ways of your particular trade.
- The location of the PR firm may determine how easily and how often you’ll be able to meet. However, in the digital world, communications via email, VOIP, Skype and the good old telephone make face-to-face meetings less essential. Aside from initial interviews and pitches maintaining a good relationship with your PR firm is vital for effective communication and future problem solving.
- Make sure that they are experienced and qualified professionals. At least the senior consultant should have a degree or diploma in public relations, and if the agency is a member of a public relations society, then they will be obliged to practise according to ethical and professional codes of conduct. Experience is important in this industry as it implies that the agency will have long-standing relationships with media contacts. Also look out for any industry awards or major achievements.
- Evaluate the services on offer. A particular firm may be the best candidate for a one-off assignment, but if you envisage longer term, more complex campaigns in the future, would it be better to start a relationship now with a company that can handle those jobs?
- If you know any journalists or media professionals, ask them if they’ve ever dealt with the specific companies. If so, how was their professionalism and service delivery?
By this stage you should have a shortlist of 3 or 4 companies who you’d like to invite to pitch for you. Next you’ll need to arrange face-to-face interviews, presentations, consideration of written proposals and in-depth checking of the PR firms’ backgrounds. These are all critical to selecting the right PR firm to meet your needs.
Make your final selection based on an evaluation of both the written proposal and the interview. If there is more than one suitable contender, trust your gut responses to the personal interviews: probably the single most important factor in choosing a PR firm is the interpersonal relationships between your two companies. If they’re speaking for you, you need to be on the same wavelength.
This Buyers' Guide was written in partnership with PR Business Expert BlackChilli PR.
About BlackChilli:BlackChilli is helping businesses succeed in the economic downturn by strengthening their public profiles. We leverage market position, develop business advantage initiatives and create precise corporate messaging that makes sense – delivering market share through proactive communications that get you noticed.
No mystery or unnecessary charges – just total honesty and commitment from a team that thinks ‘outside’ the box. What do we do? We don't do lunch; kissy-kissy meetings; cluck like demented hens; or travel first class and bill the client. We get the job done, on time and budget, devoid of frills, unwanted extras or frippery.
