Bringing awareness to your business or brand can be a daunting task, especially when you are on a strict budget. You need someone who is experienced in public relations to help you build your empire without breaking the bank. You may be wondering what you can expect from a PR agency if you decide to enlist their services. 

If you think you have reached the point where you need some outside help to keep your business in the red continue reading to find out what you can expect from a good PR agency. 

What To Expect From A PR Agency 

You are passionate about your business and it is important that you find a PR agency that you are comfortable with and can trust to be as passionate about growing your business as you are. 

It is important to protect yourself when searching for a PR agency so don’t hesitate to ask them a lot of questions about how they operate. 

The following list explains what you can expect from a good quality PR agency as well as things a PR agency does not do. 

Learning You and Locating The Targeted Demographic 

The first and most important step for your newly hired PR agency is research. They will be extensively researching you and your company or the brand you wish to promote. 

Your rep will be asking a lot of questions so they have a clear understanding of your vision and ultimate goals. The more they know about what they are promoting the more people they can potentially attract to your business or brand. 

Once the rep has a good idea of what you need they will begin in-depth demographic research to learn some of the following things about the surrounding area: 

• Ages

• City or rural area

• College or university town

• Different entertainment platforms; movie theaters, clubs, amusement parks, etc. 

• Other businesses in the area

• Sports arenas 

• Types of ethnicities 

• Types of restaurants in the area

This is not an all-inclusive list, but it gives you a good idea of the time your PR agency will be dedicating to promoting your name as efficiently as possible. 

Establish A Game Plan

Now that you know them and they know you it is time to establish your game plan. This is where your PR rep will decide which avenues need to be taken to best get your name into the faces of the people that need to see it most. 

Following Through With The Plan

Another thing you can expect from a PR agency is that they will follow through with the plan once it is established. 

A good and trustworthy PR agency will keep records of how well the plan is working and if they find that they need to make adjustments they will let you know. 

An agency that is not truly invested in you may not always be honest if the plan goes south so it is crucial that you understand the contract you sign with your agency. 

The reason for this is that PR agencies are not responsible for increasing sales but simply for bringing awareness and drawing people in. 

Therefore if their plan fails and you have signed a contract you are pretty much out of the money spend on hiring them and back to square one. 

This is why many businesses will do a month-to-month agreement so they can terminate the services if they are not satisfied and not lose as much money.

Staying Current On Social Media 

Another thing you can expect from your PR agency is extensive social media coverage. In this day and age, everything is done online. 

Everyone has a phone or smart device in their face for a large majority of the day. So if you want to be discovered you need to get yourself noticed by having a large presence on multiple social media platforms. 

In addition to establishing your place in the online world, your PR agency will also continue to manage the content that is being posted and viewed to make sure that your business stays relevant and appealing to all viewers. 

Making You Searchable 

Not only will a good PR agency create a strong social media presence for your business but they will also perfect your business’s webpage so that it can be found easily and appears at the top of the search result list. 

Search engine optimization has become essential for anyone who relies on the internet as a locomotive for their business. PR agencies focus on making sure certain keywords and phrases are used to attract the most attention to your site. 

Promotional Event Planning 

Depending upon the type of business you are trying to grow you may be interested in hosting promotional events to draw new clients in and show your gratitude to your existing patrons. 

If this is the case you can expect a quality PR agency to handle the promotion portion of the event and give advice on the best way to run the event. 

One thing you need to keep in mind is that although a PR agency intends to attract potential customers they are not responsible for the actual increase in sales or for keeping track of sales. 

For instance, if your sales do not increase they cannot be held liable. They are there to bring the people to you, after that you are responsible for completing the sale. 

Repair Damage To Your Reputation

If you are struggling financially from a blow to your business’s reputation a PR agency can be the bandaid you need to get back on your feet. 

If bad reviews or a scandal of any kind is associated with your business or brand the PR rep will help you to react and respond accordingly so that you don’t come out looking like a total fool. 

A good quality PR agency will be able to turn your negative image around and portray you in a more positive light so you can revive your passion once again. 

Take Your Brand To The Next Level

When hiring a PR agency you can expect that they will help you to improve your brand if it needs some tweaking.

This ties in with the market research they will perform when your partnership begins. They can survey the public to get their opinions about your product, services, overall look, etc. 

Ways they can help improve your brand may include creating a new logo or look for your business or updating what you currently have to look more modern. 

Partnerships That Last

If you hire a good PR agency with years of experience you can expect that they will do what it takes to build a lasting relationship with you and your business. 

They will not only be your marketing experts but they will likely become your friends because they are just as passionate about growing your business as you are. 

The Right PR You Boost Your Business

As you can see, a PR agency can offer a lot of help when it comes to bringing your business to the top of the search results and helping you to create a timeless brand that speaks for itself. Be sure to do plenty of research before settling on an agency to be sure you have hired the right group of people to promote your niche, whatever it may be. 

Written by Contributor

Sources:

(https://www.thebrandingjournal.com/2015/10/what-is-branding-definition/), 

(https://searchengineland.com/guide/what-is-seo), 

(https://smallbusiness.chron.com/expect-pr-company-64605.html), 

(https://blog.hubspot.com/marketing/pr-agency), 

(https://www.prweek.com/article/1310257/five-things-expect-pr-agency#:~:text=Make%20sure%20you%20ask%20lots,is%20part%20of%20the%20package.), 

(https://zapier.com/blog/what-does-a-pr-agency-do/)