We Must Promote PR and How Valuable It Is: 5 Reasons Why You Need PR in Your Marketing Plan
I have something negative to say about the PR industry, an industry that I have worked in for more than two decades.
As PR professionals, we have done a poor job of communicating what we do, why it’s vital and how incredibly valuable it is. Overall, in many industries, its undervalued, misunderstood and often ignored.
It’s time for companies from all industries to have a clear understanding of PR. This includes what PR means to companies in 2023, why it is a brilliant investment, and the substantial value and return on investment that it provides when done with an experienced, dedicated, and passionate professional over a period of at least six-twelve months.
There is a place for paid media, sponsored content and partnerships with digital creators and influencers that include payments. There is even a place for advertising!
Yet, strategic, and well-executed public relations is one of the smartest marketing tools that a company, organization or individual can leverage. The budget allocated to PR must also better reflect the value that it brings to a client, as often the reach, successful accomplishment of meeting communications goals, and value of a PR campaign is well into the millions of dollars. Budgets need to increase, while still maintaining an impressive ROI that can be highlighted via metrics in reports from your PR partner.
Good PR professionals work hard, and invest a great deal of time, while leveraging long-time relationships and experience to ensure that you have the best chance of meeting your communications goals. Contrary to what some may believe, it’s not easy to reach media and to secure a positive earned profile. PR is not easy work, but its results are beyond valuable.
Including PR in your marketing plan is a must.
Here are just five reasons why.
Earned endorsements from someone who is not being paid to tell your story or rave about your brand or product bring substantial value.
Generating earned profile, endorsed by a journalist or digital personality, carries huge weight and is not easy to achieve.
PR is not quick and simple work. Newsrooms are shrinking, or disappearing, media are fewer and often overworked, and the digital space can be hard to navigate while taking time and dedicated attention to evaluate which online personality is best suited to help you to meet your PR goals.
PR pros spend a great deal of time doing the following; developing strategic tactics, identifying timely story angles that will make their way through the clutter, building effective PR strategies and materials that journalists will actually read, and reaching out to various contacts to identify who can tell your story and dedicate time and interest in a way that helps to accomplish what you and your PR partner have identified as success.
For example, an article about a new program that’s offered by a financial institution helping those who rent to find a way to eventually purchase a home, would be a popular editorial piece that many would likely read vs. a paid piece where there may be doubt about hidden costs or authenticity; important details that journalists would investigate and present clearly.
Although there has been a lack of trust in some media as of late, there are journalists who many trust and rely on for their news and information. Identifying those media contacts and outlets is the PR pro’s job and skilled professionals do this well.
Consistent and ongoing reminders to stakeholders about your company’s work and other vital activities while keeping your brand front and centre.
Hearing a jingle or ad and singing it does not mean that you know the product or service. In fact, I find myself singing an advertisement that I have heard on the radio while realizing that I don’t know what the company offers.
On the other hand, a PR strategy is developed to ensure that your brand, and the various stages of its growth, offerings, and goals are consistently seen in various forms of media and digital outlets. This helps to develop your brand as trustworthy while often also building a company’s senior executives as thought leaders and experts in their field.
Authentic engagement and relationships with various stakeholders where you can hear from your customers, potential customers, and other communities such as potential supporters and partners.
The “relations” in public relations is key. PR is not simply broadcasting but also listening and learning from various communities. This helps your organization to develop relationships, learn from stakeholders and engage in discussions that are beneficial for the business, showing an authentic desire to build relationships. Engagement in 2023 is more important than ever as many are on social media asking questions, providing opinions and ready to engage at all hours.
Supporting you through an issues-based incident or crisis where you are either not at fault or where you must take accountability to gain back trust.
Managing difficult issues related to reputation is challenging and can require 24/7 attention. This work can be undervalued by senior executives and needs to be highly valued by business leaders.
Issues related to reputation must be handled with care, accountability, if appropriate, and managed immediately.
Leading the narrative, which will go on with or without your involvement, is important. Allocating this work to someone without much experience, or strong relationships, will result in learning the value of PR the hard way. Especially with a social media space that never sleeps, a strategy that includes factual messaging, details on who to speak with, and how to do so, and what actions to take on all communications fronts, are all considerations that can make or break your brand’s reputation- essentially your company’s foundation.
Drawing attention to a story, product or service launch or publicity, awareness building for your brand overall.
PR is about storytelling and building awareness while often using a variety of conduits.
In 2023, this includes traditional media, who still have huge value and are almost always also present in the digital space, bloggers, online influencers, content creators, and via customers and the public directly on social media.
Having a media policy in place to ensure consistency and an organized process of communication, and following the strategy that you have developed with your PR partner will ensure that creative tactics draw attention to your messaging while keeping your brand and its new products or services in places where your consumers and stakeholders spend their time gathering news and information.
Public relations is vital to a company’s success and I am keen to continue to educate professionals on its value, what goes into achieving PR success for your brand, and how impressive its return on investment is.
Written by Rachel Thexton, Principal, Thexton PR
For more information, please visit my website or chat with me online at @rthexton or @ThextonPublicRelations.