Why You Need A PR Agency In 2020 More Than Ever
PR is one of those terms that is bandied around without people necessarily knowing what it entails. At its most fundamental, it is a way of garnering good public exposure for your business. However, to put it in such reductive terms is almost an insult.
A good PR strategy is complex, multi-faceted and creative. A poor one can damage your business immeasurably. VerriBerri, an award-wining PR agency based in Essex, know more than it most when it comes to public relations. We’ve written this blog to show you why you need a PR agency going forward.
You Need A PR Agency To Enhance Your Optics
Optics. It’s a snazzier word for saying something very simple – how your business or brand looks to the outside world. Usually this ends up being centred around the decisions your business makes; advertising choices, public stances on social issues and the service itself that you provide. Good optics simply refers to the idea that those choices will be received in a generally positive light.
You need a PR agency for your optics because as a business owner, you’re far too entrenched within your brand to have an objective perspective. It’s harder, to see the wood from the trees when the project is your ‘baby’. With a PR agency, however, we can offer constructive, genuinely objective advice on whether you’re making the right business decisions from a publicity perspective. PR agencies also employ people who are ‘in the know’ when it comes to trends, ideas and the social zeitgeist of the time. After all, it’s our job.
Generating Positive Press
One of the main directives of a PR agency is to aquire positive coverage in the press and publications. With access to a huge directory of journalists globally, a good PR agency will send pitches on behalf of your business. This will secure you articles and the sort of attention you want your brand to receive.
You need a PR agency because if you attempt to do this legwork in-house, you’ll only be able to scratch the surface of the vast potential that’s out there. The world of PR is like an iceberg, only a tenth of it can be seen above the surface, whilst the remaining 90% lies hidden in the depths below, waiting to be untapped. A PR agency’s team have the abilities and resources to tap into that goldmine. A PR agency has full, detailed access not only to many journalists, but access to the right journalists for you and your business.
Similarly, a PR agency can get you access to the relevant trade fairs that may benefit your business and help with press release statements for any big updates or news about your brand. PR agencies also help massively with crisis management. Now, obviously, in an ideal world there won’t be any crises that need managing. However it’s always best to plan for the worst-case scenarios. A PR agency has the uncanny knack for being able to put a positive spin on even the seemingly worst of situations, and to keep consumers onside.
Building Your Brand
Many business owners know exactly what it is that their company stands for. For the general public, however, that key ethos can often appear muddied, unclear or vague. Having a PR agency on-board will help to build a clear, concise set of key values with a strong core. If you have that as your foundation, then it makes it far, far easier for potential customers to get behind.
They’re committing to something clear-cut as opposed to a jumbled, job-lot of ideas. It doesn’t even need to be something as clunky as marketing your company’s USP (though, obviously, it’s vital that your company has one), it’s simply about people knowing exactly what it is that you do and stand for when they think of your company. A strong PR strategy (which is what you need a PR agency for in the first place) will work in tandem with content creation, social media management and paid advertising to generate noise around your brand. PR is the figurehead of gaining that publicity and attention.
There’s A Vast Difference Between Good And Bad PR
Like we touched upon at the beginning of the article, there’s a world of difference between helpful and harmful PR. The distinction between them, however, isn’t always as clear and often takes a PR agency’s industry expertise to discern what would be beneficial and what wouldn’t. There are some key things you should be aware of, though, when it comes to PR; particularly, what you should avoid. Primarily, you should avoid overly haranguing journalists.
There’s a fine line between chasing up and being proactive, and becoming a nuisance. Also, you need to make sure what you have at hand to pitch is actually worth pitching. It’s far better to wait for a genuine newsworthy story or piece of content to come along than to spin something out of nothing. Journalists will respect you more for pitching them objectively worthwhile material than filler. This will also help to build up a stronger relationship between your brand and the journalists; this could then lead to repeat work and exposure in the future!
VerriBerri have over a decade’s worth of experience within the PR sector, winning multiple awards along the way. We’ve established as ourselves as one of Essex’s most reputable marketing agencies, and this stems from our care for our clients. Hiring the right PR agency is essential; if you hire the wrong one, your business won’t grow any differently. In fact, a poor agency can sometimes hinder your brand. The business world is as competitive a place as it has ever been, if you want to thrive, you should hire a marketing agency. So, if you think, having read this, that you need a PR agency, then get in touch with VerriBerri today! Call us on 01376 386850 to find out more.
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