There is no greater worth to a corporation than to have a positive reputation amongst their target market. By utilizing the power of public relations through a reputable PR firm you are able to generate additional advertising at a fraction of the price. Learn how to better manage the spread of your information across the internet with the help of public relations.
PR firms take the brand building off your hands so you can focus on generating more revenue.
Nowadays consumers base their purchasing decisions and buying behaviors on positive reviews. Generally speaking, a buyer will not select your business or purchase from you if you have negative reviews, bad press or simply a bad reputation. Traditional advertising methods limit a company’s ability to increase their trust whereas modern day public relations efforts help to bridge the gap. This way you are in complete control of how your consumers see you.
Whether you are in the market to hire a PR firm or you have convinced yourself that your company can survive without one; here are 6 reasons why every company needs to hire a PR firm in 2019.
What Does a PR Firm Do?
PR agencies, also referred to as advertising agencies, promote brands or individuals via editorial coverage and various media outreach methods. Often referred to as “paid” or “free” communications. These advertising methods not only create transparency but improves internal communications of a company as everyone knows what’s going on at all times since most news is made public.
PR firms work to increase brand awareness and exposure levels of a particular brand by publishing high-engaging stories that appear on websites, newspapers, magazines and television programs. These methods tend to resonate with consumers more than traditional advertising methods such as Adwords, Facebook Advertising and Bing Ads.
PR firms tell a story. What is yours?
PR agencies and advertising agencies share identical goals: to generate buyers and give their brand the appearance of being trusting, honest, important, exciting or high quality when compared to their competitors.
However, there are various methods that you can implement by hiring a PR firm to boost your marketing communications. Consumers generally look at traditional advertising as a “lazy” way to market a brand online. Most paid advertising campaigns such as Google Adwords or Facebook Ads require little to no adjusted once they are implemented (if set up properly of course).
PR firms create relationships that yield great results and a much higher ROI in the long-run.
News articles or television appearances on prominent media outlets have the advantage of third-party validation and are usually viewed as additional favorably and highly captivating. In short, the more other companies talk about your brand in a positive light the better you look in the eyes of consumers.
1. PR Firms Will Help You Outbeat the Competition
2. Increase Brand Awareness
First, let’s be very clear, building a brand or company is a marathon and not a sprint. This simply implies that you ought to begin the race as early as possible and do not overexert yourself or overpromise your offerings to your audience. Focus on building a following first, once people notice you have a quality service or product offering that is of value to them word-of-mouth will help to generate additional business.
The semipermanent effects of media visibility grow over time, in fact, years, and this creates amplification.
Public relations starts the snowball effect. By maintaining a positive online reputation and remaining relevant, your company will excel compared to those who lack quality PR efforts. Rome was not built in one day and neither are businesses, treat your brand like a fine wine and enjoy your success in the end.
Good promotional material works in conjunction with alternative parts of your overall promoting strategy.
Many PR firms specialize in managing social media accounts. Why? Because every child and adult across America has a smartphone. In addition, there are over 1.7 billion active mobile users across the nation each and every month on social sites like Facebook alone! Publish high-engaging articles online every day to show your target audience what you are all about. Include “behind the scenes” videos of your team to create more trust as well as motivational quotes and promotions that may interest them.
The more consumers that trust your business, the more successful you will be in the end. Period.
3. Remain Relevant & Consistent
One of the worst things an organization will do is rent a PR firm for 6 months then allow them to go as a result of they achieved a singular goal. Staying relevant means editors and writers are forever hearing regarding your whole, thus if you stop talking, then you’re now not relevant. InternetReputation.co works with business on an ongoing basis to ensure all of your marketing efforts are aligned with the vision and mission of your company.
It is imperative that you consistently post and publish new media content online whether this is on your website’s blog, social media or through press releases. Make sure the public knows about you. The minute they forget you or your brand is the minute you go out of business.
By utilizing content scheduling calendars (such as Hootsuite or Monday.com) PR firms are easily able to schedule posts so they never skip a beat. Posting at the same times each time gives their readers a sense of comfort.
After you build a decent following, users will start opening up Facebook or go to Instagram at 4:00 pm because they know the exact time they should be expecting new information from you. Every social media application has “audience insights” for your business account. These tools will better help you pinpoint the highest traffic times throughout the day so you can be strategic when publishing content on the internet.
90% of consumers read online reviews before visiting a business.
A good PR strategy can embrace a multi-tiered method with alternative ideas to form new means of communication. Thought leadership opportunities is an excellent way to relinquish quality to your trusted employees. This further suggests putting bylined articles on your blog articles so your readers can really get to know who is writing the content and what their name is.
Many other startup businesses such as Optimize.me sends weekly podcasts including tips and tricks to better improve your overall quality of life. (Click here to see Optimize.me)
4. Crisis Management
Crisis management plans are imperative and every company must have a strategy to deploy or implement at any time if negative information is posted online. Every company should be able to quickly pinpoint the root cause and brainstorm solutions.
A brand crisis can occur as a result of an unpredictable event that had been considered a potential risk. An easy way to quickly identify these problems is by conducting a SWOT analysis. In either case, crises almost invariably require decisions be made quickly to limit damage to the organization.
One of the first steps in crisis management is to select a crisis manager. Or for the sake of this article, hiring a PR firm to work for you.
5. Be Transparent With Your Target Audience
Many corporations, specifically startup companies believe that the key to differentiating your brand is to be transparent. Create a sense of brand loyalty by showing your consumers everything about your brand, the good and the bad. If something negative appears online that you cannot resolve, write a press release voicing your side of the story. Consumers appreciate when brands admit fault and take responsibility.
Another vital part or public relations is language and writing. Be honest with yourself:
Are you an honest writer? Are you speaking the language of your consumers or are you just saying what you think they want to hear?
6. Boost Your ROI with a PR Firm
The bottom line is completely different for different types of industries. Generally speaking, if a company invest time and money into ensuring a positive online reputation the ROI is unmeasurable. However, if you are hiring a PR firm due to negative backlash it may take month recover from that pitfall in order to start operating in positive numbers again. (If you are in need of a reputation repair solution click here)
Be cautious of one-hit wonders publicly relations. In this day and age, consumers use the internet for everything. Companies must ensure they have a wide array of publications spread across the internet to boost your visibility. Granted everything online is neutral or positive your sales will soar as more and more consumers find your brand.
ROI happens over time and is accumulative. Remember to keep in mind that you are running a marathon, not a sprint.
Organizations can persuade itself that since sales are up, there’s must not be a need for a PR firm. They are wrong. Name one major company (successful) that doesn’t have a PR firm or dedicated promotion person in-house. There isn’t one. Do not try and reinvent the wheel, go with what works and public relations works when managed well.
Conversely, once attention-grabbing or powerful news surfaces that are relevant to what they are doing, consumers will recognize this. Finally, if you take away the PR from the equation you’re not relevant. You’re not building complete recognition, and you’re never standing up against your competitors.
Contact us today to learn more about how PR firms such as InternetReputation.co can boost the overall success of your business. What are you waiting for?
