|
Home / Marketing / Public Relations
5 Tips to Choosing a Public Relations Firm
By:Marsha Friedman
If you are one of the thousands of businesses looking to gain national media attention for your company, products or services then you are probably facing the difficult decision of finding the right PR firm. What can make this decision difficult is that there are so many different kinds of PR firms out there. Some are local, some national. Some retainer based, some project based. So how do you know which PR firm will be the best fit for your objectives? Here are 5 tips on how to choose the RIGHT PR firm to get your message the media attention that you desire
1. Find a firm that specializes in your industry. "For example,if you have a technical B2B business then you should find a national PR firm that specializes in B2B. If the PR firm regularly works with companies that are in your industry, they will be familiar with how to write and pitch your message to the media." Also, they should be able to get started right away. "If you choose a national PR firm who is unfamiliar with your industry, be prepared for them to spend some time researching your industry in order to get a full handle on your topic." And guess who will be paying for the PR firm's research time: you! "Most firms charge a costly monthly retainer, so the longer it takes for them to get started the more money that will be coming out of your bank account. Just to give you an idea the minimum is around $3,000 per month, the industry average is approximately $5,000 per month and the large PR firms can charge anywhere from $20,000-30,000 per month."
2. Choose a firm that specializes in your medium of choice. If you are ready to hire a PR firm, then chances are that you have given a bit of thought as to what medium you want to use. "By the time you start looking for a PR firm you will probably have a good idea if you want to use talk radio, television, newspapers or magazines to get exposure for your topic. It is useful to know that not all PR firms work with all types of media." "A whopping 95% of firms specialize exclusively in print." So if you are interested in doing radio or television you need to find a firm that specializes in these mediums. "The best way to find out is to ask the PR firm what media that they specialize in...simple as that!"
3. Request sample campaigns. "Before choosing a PR firm, request to see some sample PR campaigns that the firm executed for their clients." "This way you can see the quantity and the quality of the media obtained for their clients." When you are given a campaign it is important to know what the duration of the campaign was. "For example, if they show you a PR campaign that has one huge newspaper placement (such as USA Today or The New York Times) and the duration of the campaign was 2 years, think twice about working with them. "If it took 2 years to get one major media placement, based on the minimum retainer level, you would have paid a massive $72,000 for that one newspaper hit." Sample PR campaigns are a great indicator of the effectiveness, especially the cost effectiveness, of a PR firm's work.
4. Find a pay-for-performance firm! The costly monthly retainer can really hit your budget where it hurts, so it is good to know that there are other options out there. "There are a handful of PR firms out there that get paid based on their performance or per project. So instead of paying a monthly fee, you will only pay for the results that the PR firm obtains for you." By choosing a pay-for-performance firm you are truly making your PR firm put their money where their mouth is!
5. Speak to the PR firm's clients. When you are choosing a national PR firm it is very important to ask to speak to some of their clients, past or present. When you get them on the phone, ask the PR firm's clients what sort of media exposure they received and how long it took for the PR firm to obtain it for them. "Great questions to ask are; How well did the PR firm's staff interact with them? Did they seem interested in the campaign? How creative were the pitches and press releases? These answers will give you valuable insight as to how the PR firm will handle your campaign."
Well there you go! The first five tips on how to choose the right PR firm for you!
Digg
del.icio.us
Blink
Stumble
Spurl
Reddit
Netscape
Furl
Article keywords: public relations, pr, national pr firm, national public relations firm, marsha friedman, emsi
Article Source: http://www.articles2k.com
Marsha Friedman has been a leading authority on publicity for authors for nearly two decades as CEO of Event Management Services, Inc (EMSI). If you would like to receive her free Ebook "How to Be a Great Talk Radio Guest" visit http://www.emsincorporated.com.
|
|
| Top Public Relations Articles |
|
|
- 2). Finding the Right Equipment Supplier Paramount to Success in the Restaurant Industry By : Kingston Amadan
Most companies with any degree of overhead know that finding the right supplier of products necessary to run their business is of the utmost importance. For most businesses, it can mean a substantial savings and reduce the headaches often associated with searching for a reliable equipment dealer. For restaurants, however, finding the right equipment supplier can mean the difference between success and failure in the industry.
|
|
|
- 4). How to have lasting relationship with clients? By : CD Mohatta
Clients are the most precious assets for a business. Without clients, there can be no business. With poor quality of clients, the business will be poor and if you manage to get very good clients and retain their loyalty, your business will only go up and up. This all sounds very exciting. But it is not easy to get very good clients and all the more difficult to retain them.
|
- 5). Public Relations - and what it means for your Franchise By : Walter Raleigh
The First Rule for building a Successful Franchise Business is to establish a great PR operation. You need to build a good reputation and as quickly as possible.
You have to understand the value and the overwhelming benefits that flow from having an impeccable, transparent and reliable reputation so make this a major goal, as the continued success of your franchise business depends on it.
|
- 6). Change Your Tone - Media Coverage Shouldn't Be Toned By Software By : Chris Morrison
The world of PR is benefiting from dramatic changes in the way media coverage is being delivered electronically to your computer desktop or PDA of choice. Perhaps the nuisance of ink on your fingers is being replaced by a bad case of "BlackBerry thumb" -- but nevertheless getting your media coverage electronically has never been easier or more mobile.
|
|
|
- 8). Protection from Protectors By : James Hayes
This article discusses the vulnerabilities and security holes introduced by security suites, the very programs that are supposed to protect a PC, not make it more vulnerable!
|
|
|
|
|
| New Public Relations Articles |
- 1). Guerrilla Marketing By : Jaci Rae
How you can use guerrilla marketing, tips, tricks and ideas that will help you make money and sell online.
|
- 2). Your Expertise is Boring! By : David Avrin
I see your lips moving, but all I hear is “Blah, blah, blah, blah, blah.” I know it’s not what you want to hear, but quite simply, if you are a speaker, author, consultant or other "expert" I see being interviewed by the news media, your expertise just isn’t very interesting. Information is a dime-a-dozen and yours is no different.
So in this age of round-the-clock, on-demand, blue tooth, on line, high def.
|
- 3). One of America's brightest leaders and thinkers By : eyelogic
Marshawn Evans, J.D., has garnered a reputation as an inspiring, articulate and intelligent orator. In the same mode as multitalented trailblazing women such as Oprah Winfrey, Katie Couric, Tyra Banks and Kimora Lee Simmons, Marshawn is a: media personality, distinguished entrepreneur, passionate youth advocate, inspirational speaker and up-and-coming litigator.
|
- 4). Are You Ignoring Your Customers' Requests? By : Willie Crawford
Copyright 2006 Willie Crawford
Many Internet marketing experts will tell you that the best way to find out what your customers want from you is to ask them. While that may be true, I believe that an even more accurate way is to just listen to what they're telling you, and to what they're asking you for.
To illustrate my point, I'll use a couple of examples from one of my own niches.
|
- 5). Send Business greeting card this holiday season By : thomsonchemmanoor
The holiday season is around the season. There are lots of cards and gifts being exchanged, with lots of money being spent in the air. This is the season to be jolly, and also to make others jolly through greeting cards and phone calls.
When the holiday season comes, one starts deciding on whom to send business greeting cards to, and on whom not to send cards to.
|
- 6). How to Create a Better News Release By : Robert F. Abbott
Many organizations and businesses want media coverage of their activities, and at the same time many newsrooms are looking for local (or even national and international) topics to cover. If you're belong to an organization that wants coverage, you can increase the odds of getting it by following a few simple news release (or press release) conventions.
|
- 7). Public Relations - and what it means for your Franchise By : Walter Raleigh
The First Rule for building a Successful Franchise Business is to establish a great PR operation. You need to build a good reputation and as quickly as possible.
You have to understand the value and the overwhelming benefits that flow from having an impeccable, transparent and reliable reputation so make this a major goal, as the continued success of your franchise business depends on it.
|
- 8). How to Remove Barriers To The Sale By : Bernadette Doyle
Copyright 2006 Bernadette Doyle
When a client is thinking about hiring you, two major questions in their mind are: ‘Can this person deliver what they say they can deliver?’ and ‘Will their approach work in our particular business?’ The trouble is no client can really answer these questions until after they have hired you. And that’s the catch 22. This is a major stumbling block which can delay if not totally grind the sales process to a halt.
|
- 9). Public Relations Strategies For Manufacturers and Industrial Suppliers By : Conrad Bailey
By Conrad Bailey
What you are about to read here is not what you would expect to learn about marketing industrial products via public relations, or what you would normally find from other PR sources. The reason is because the majority of public relations articles you'll find online are nothing more than hidden sales pitches from PR firms that offer advice based on what's best for their agency - and not the client.
|
- 10). Communication & Corporate Social Responsibility By : Robert F. Abbott
In the past few years, the anti-corporate movement (including those opposed to globalization) has gained a bit of steam.
What many people in the movement promote now is called Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR), the idea that corporations should be responsible to all of society and the environment, as well as to shareholders.
It's a shame they've gained momentum.
|
|
|
