Tips For Selecting The Right Public Relation Firm

When people have a tough time achieving their career goals, they often turn to public relations firms to help them. Public relations may be a little confusing because it can encompass so many different things, but these tips are great for narrowing down the field of longshot options and finding the perfect firm for your needs. This blog is loaded with helpful tips about how to select your public relation firm; get a start on understanding their services, which platforms they work on, what attention you should pay to when making this important decision.

The following tips that you'll find in this blog are: 1) sources of information 2) examples 3) questions 4) benefits 5) questions 6) qualifications 7).

There are a plethora of services that a public relations firm could provide for you. This article focuses solely on the five most common. The first three are all about your business's marketing plan, and the final two are related to your company's reputation.

We'll start with five sources of information before looking at examples and questions. Here, we'll first look at four potential sources for information about your business, then cover an example of each: 1) clients 2) competitors 3) employees 4) partners/suppliers 5) media outlets/news websites/blogs. We'll also cover some questions that you should ask before selecting a firm to assist you in managing your company's image and reputation.

CRITERION ONE: SOURCES OF INFORMATION

The first criterion will be where to find information about your business. The majority of people usually turn to the internet when they want information about a company. Most searches are done via Google, Bing, or Yahoo! These three search engine websites have exploded in popularity since their creation. Businesses have even begun to use them for marketing purposes. It is important for these companies to optimize their website for the search engines that their potential customers use most often, which is why businesses are also paying attention to ranking algorithms and other factors when it comes to choosing a website platform.

There are many benefits of using internet platforms as opposed other sources of information. One is that internet platforms consist of more searchable data. Another is that internet platforms are often free to use. There is yet another benefit that may be the most important; the internet allows people to go from one source of information to another with no trouble at all.

Internet research can be done on a variety of sources, such as 1) the internet 2) television 3) radio 4) newspapers 5) magazines 6). Depending on your company and how it has been mentioned in the media, this type of research will give you a lot more information about why your business has received attention from news outlets and what that attention was like.

Working with a public relations firm will help you use this information to your advantage. If, for example, your company has been mentioned positively in several local newspapers, then a public relations firm may assist you in drafting a press release about that attention and have it sent out to the same media outlets. This is an example of how using the internet as a source of information can be turned into something positive for your business.

CRITERION TWO: EXAMPLES

Along with having different potential sources for information about your business, there are also many different ways that the information gathered from those sources can be used by a public relations firm. There are two categories of these methods: 1) marketing and 2) reputation management. Marketing methods include things like 1) web platforms 2) social media 3) video 4). Reputation management methods include things like 1) service messages 2) news articles 3) newsletters 4).

Generally speaking, marketing methods can be used to promote your company to potential customers and improving your sales. Reputation management methods are used for improving a company's image among its community of employees, partners, suppliers and customers. In general, reputation management is a more complex set of services than marketing is; however there are some ways in which they can be connected.

Examples can ultimately provide you with the information that you need to know about a public relations firm's work with various types of clients. In doing this, you'll be able to see how they can assist you in the services that they provide. While writing an example, even if it is a situation that is similar to your own, it is important to use information from a variety of sources. You should also not expect an example to be written in the same format as your company because every business has a different situation and uses its own methods for dealing with media relations.

CRITERION THREE: QUESTIONS

Before researching and selecting a public relations firm, you need to know how you are going to choose one. 1) You should have a set of questions that you want answered by every firm that you contact. 2) You should know how to differentiate between a lead firm and a second-tier one. 3) You should have an idea of what you will expect for their services. 4) You Should know about their reporting methods, which are the ways in which they will give you feedback about your campaign's progress.

The first and most important thing that you should do is set up criteria for choosing a firm. 1) You should consider the firm's background, experience and reputation. 2) You should know exactly what types of services they will be providing. 3) You should know what their pricing model is and whether it will fit into the potential budget of your company. 4) Lastly, you should be aware if they have any unique qualities that you will not find in other firms.

You also need to figure out how much flexibility a firm can give you. 1) Whether or not they can allow you to make basic changes to their PR plan on your own. 2) If they are willing to give you updates on your campaign's progress on a monthly basis, then this would also be worth mentioning. 3) You should ask how long they will be doing your publicity campaign for, and how long after the campaign is over that you can expect to receive the final report. 4) Lastly, you should ask for a time frame for when your final report will be finished.

You also need to consider whether or not a firm can meet your needs or whether they are going to work with you on a trial basis. 1) If this firm only does one PR campaign per year, then this may not be ideal for you as it would mean that you would have to pick another firm in a year's time when your campaign ends.

Conclusion: There are many different ways that public relations firms can be of service to your company, but it is important to remember that public relations has grown in sophistication and in demand. As a result, there are many different services that can be provided by PR firms. In addition, there are many criteria that need to be considered when researching a potential firm, such as the experience of the firm itself and its background. If you do not have all of this information before you approach a firm, then you will not be able to do an effective job during the selection process.

References:

1) http://www.wikipedia.org/Main_Page

2) http://www.usnews.