By Fran Prince – Public Relations Account Director
Public relations spans everything from improving brand awareness through traditional PR to digital marketing, events management, social media and content creation. It might seem daunting working with a full-service agency, but they are there to make your life easier. When used correctly, a PR team can work seamlessly with your in-house teams to take the pressure off and boost your brand. Cover the gaps in your team’s capabilities, get access to industry contacts and save time implementing your marketing strategy. Make sure you use your investment in a PR agency to its full potential.
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8 tips for working effectively with a PR agency
1. Do your agency research
Certain agencies may specialise in sectors and have lots of relevant experience in that industry. Make sure you find the right agency for you by reading their case studies and testimonials and talking to them about their areas of expertise. It’s also important to make sure that the agency is a good culture fit and works in a similar way to your brand. This can make the process run much more smoothly and help to achieve your PR goals.
You might also want to consider whether you need an agency with local expertise, regional contacts and a knowledge of niche audiences and markets.
2. Take their advice and be open minded
If you’ve hired a PR agency for a particular service, trust that they know the industry inside out and know what journalists are looking for. Don’t risk missing out on potential opportunities through having a blinkered view of your envisioned marketing strategy. Be bold, be brave and try ideas you might not have initially thought of, suggested by your team.
3. Be responsive
Sometimes potential coverage will be time sensitive, whether it’s a request from a journalist that needs to be published that day or a response to current events. Being responsive to proofing requests and signing off campaigns ensures that your team can get the ball rolling, reply to journalists in a timely manner and makes communication a lot easier.
This also means working proactively, rather than reactively, and sharing your ideas and opportunities for brainstorms with your PR team early on. It’s best to advise your team of hard launch dates in advance so they have enough time to prepare.
4. Get to know your account team
Knowing who is representing your brand in the wider world is a crucial part of working with a PR agency. Get to know their specialisms and what their roles actually cover so that you can chat to the right person and get the answers you need, quickly. This might also uncover areas of special interest and expertise you didn’t know about previously that could be useful to your business.
5. Establish your KPIs early on
Knowing what goals your team should be working towards makes things easier for everyone. Your PR team can then tailor their strategy accordingly and target publications and platforms relevant to your audience, employ the right tactics and get in touch with useful industry contacts.
6. Calculate your budget
Establishing a budget early on and working out where you want your team to spend the most time, be it digital marketing, event launches or SEO, means everyone’s priorities are aligned. You might want to keep it fairly flexible if there are services you want to bolt on at a later date. For example, you might want to scale up or scale back on services around busy working periods or campaign launches.
7. Provide as much information as possible
The more the team know about your brand, its history and your objectives, the better they can represent you in the wider market. Providing all your brand guidelines, press images and staff information and contacts upfront means the agency can immerse themselves in your story and have everything they need to take ideas forwards.
Get in touch for help from our PR experts
Do you need a PR agency in Nottingham? Contact us today and our social media and marketing team will conduct a free consultation and put together a tailored strategy specifically crafted for your brand.
