[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]You are looking to bring a PR Consultancy in to build your brand, enhance or protect your reputation and to create a plethora of media opportunities for you. But have you done your research on what it is you actually want a PR consultancy to do? If you set about carrying out come simple desk research by giving your chosen consultancy an initial ‘plan of action’, then it helps them devise and create the most appropriate methodology from the outset which is specifically tailored to your requirements.
Some early groundwork carried out internally, will help set the scene.
For example:
- What are you hoping to achieve from hiring a PR consultancy? Define you objectives, audiences and messages
- What ‘calibre’ of information can the PR consultancy expect to receive?
- Think ‘So What’? Put yourself in the mind-set of the journalist receiving your information. Your PR consultancy needs to take ‘hard news’ to a journalists for consideration. Get an understanding of what journalists want and how best to appeal to them
- Ensure you give your PR consultancy a good time framework in which to deliver your objectives. You want a strong relationship with the media through your PR consultancy, so ensure this is done on a ‘retained’ basis, rather than in a fragmented ‘ad-hoc’ way. ‘Loose’ association does not deliver the consistency you need to maximise. You want to engage your PR Consultancy to raise and sustain your profile over a minimum period of, say six months – one year. Remember, month-on month engagement will be for more cost effective in the longer term
- Don’t ever think your PR Consultancy can ‘guarantee’ coverage. They can’t. If you want guaranteed coverage – take an Advert.. but you’ll soon realise the return on investment is negligible.
- Present your PR Consultancy with some form of internal communications audit and analysis. What have you done thus far? What worked for your previously and, just as important, what didn’t ?
- Be serious about the engagement with your PR Consultancy. Have you apportioned a PR budget? Too many companies fall into the bracket of knowing the ‘cost of everything/value of nothing’. If you have that mind-set, don’t hire a PR Consultancy. PR is a recognised professional service and should not be considered a ‘luxury bolt-on’. Like all professional services, there is a ‘day rate’ for engagement and this will vary dependent on size, experience and possibly location – London rates are at the higher end of the scale, for example – so it pays to shop around or go on recommendation from others.
- Don’t expect your PR Consultancy to solely focus on social media. Social Media is simply another communications channel, like the print and broadcast mediums. Too much is made of Social Media as ‘stand-alone’ media presence. It isn’t. It should be integrated and absorbed within the entire communications mix
- Keep a morning free every month to meet with your PR Consultancy to review the previous month’s activity and plan the forthcoming month’s activity. Again show consistency in your ‘engagement’ strategy. Your PR consultancy should produce a regular contact report so all the activity can be reported on and actioned.
- Finally, in most cases, by hiring a PR Consultancy you wish to grow the bottom line, engage with new customers and clients to create awareness and generate a strong level of enquiries and increase the sales channel. A good PR Consultancy will do this…and much more besides.
Acumen PR is a Edinburgh PR Agency, Scotland (UK). Good PR is all about building and maintaining a positive image of your business in front of the key audiences you wish to influence. Speak to Acumen PR Consultancy in Edinburgh directly: 0131 661 7027.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row]
