In today’s socially connected world, public relations is more important than ever before. Today, a single tweet from the right Kardashian could be worth more than your entire advertising budget. Your consumers are looking up your business online, reading reviews, tweeting about products, and crowdsourcing their experience with your brand.
But too many companies are still wholly focused on the ROI of it all when it comes to public relations results. Currently, the U.S. public relations industry is comprised of more than 7,000 companies, bringing in an estimated annual revenue of $11 billion.
The field is growing, with 70% of companies offering diverse services from media relations to event management. With such a wide range of services and expertise, it makes sense that modern PR professionals have a hard time guaranteeing hard and fast ROI numbers.
“Too many companies are focused only on the dollars ROI,” said GG Benitez, CEO of GG Benitez and Associates Public Relations, Inc. “While PR ‘hits’ are never guaranteed, when they do happen, they spur brand affinity. That results in an ROI that’s outside just the traditional dollar for dollar measurement.”
Here are five things your PR
1. Are You Keeping Your Competition Out of the Media?
Public relations isn’t only about keeping your brand in the media spotlight; it’s also about keeping this spotlight from shining on your competitors. Every placement you get, every article written about your company, and every positive mention you receive is chipping away at your competition. Ignoring your public relations plan is allowing your competition to overtake your niche and steal your brand awareness.
2. Is Your PR Team Forming Valuable Relationships?
At heart, the “relations” part of public relations is the most important. A good PR team will build connections to prominent figures, media tastemakers, and journalists. A great public relations team, however, will build lasting relationships by working as a bridge between your needs and the needs of the media.
“A brand’s PR rep is the one who is in constant daily communication with the media, gaining an understanding of what they are working on and how we can support their efforts through our clients’ offerings,” Benitez said. “As a PR firm, we aren’t trying to ‘sell’ our brands, but rather find a way that our brands can be of service to the media, and through the media, communicate their offerings to the consumer.”
3. Is Your Team Building Your Brand?
Speaking of brands, building up a recognizable brand identity is perhaps one of the most essential reasons to utilize public relations professionals. In a universe where Chipotle makes stop-motion-animation to tug on your heart strings and Old Spice deploys humorous (and hunky) spokesmodels on horses, your brand is more important than ever. You can’t afford to let the market decide what your company’s brand will be; you need to be proactive about getting out there and telling your story.
“Through the relationships PR professionals build, firms can work with the media to bring the consumer a wholly formed brand story,” Benitez said. “They help consumers understand at a glance what differentiates the brand from its competitors, what is unique and compelling about the brand and its founders, and why the brand is hot and relevant NOW!”
4. Are You Reaching Your
Thanks to big data and new technology tools, it’s becoming easier to target smaller and smaller subsegments of your target market. Public relations professionals can not only help you determine which markets you should be focusing on, they also have ready-made relationships within the communities you want to enter.
Imagine you’re trying to target customers within the beauty industry with your new product. Advertising can gain you recognition, but PR can help you pinpoint the movers and shakers you need to turn from skeptics into fans. Your PR firm knows which publications your ideal customer reads, what they’re saying on social media, who the big digital stars are, which celebrities your market is obsessed with, and how to gain market share with your target audience.
5. Do You Have The Right Endorsements?
Endorsements are huge when it comes to selling your brand and telling your story. According to research by Nielsen, 92 percent of consumers trust recommendations from family and friends more than any other form of marketing. Today, thanks to social media, the average consumer’s network also involves tastemakers, niche digital stars, and celebrities.
In fact, a recent survey of UK social media users showed 33 percent of all users follow celebrities. And positive mentions still have the ability to have a tremendous effect on a company’s bottom line -- just look at figures showing brands received as much as a 20 percent increase in sales, simply for commencing an endorsement deal.
“PR is about creating an environment of authentic endorsement,” Benitez said. “A good publicist should work to make sure your name is known and your brand offering is understood amongst editors, journalists, and tastemakers, like celebrities and influencers.”
Public relations professionals can help you connect and build relationships with the movers and shakers relevant to your target market. Firms can help you signal boost your product, get it into the hands of the right individual, and secure authentic endorsements. Trusted thought leaders and celebrities can have as much consumer trust as a close friend or family member, meaning it can be enormously beneficial to form the right connections.
While ROI is certainly important, there are more ways to measure it than just a dollar for dollar immediate return it’s not the bottom line when it comes to receiving the most value from your public relations team. Your PR team is building your brand identity, keeping your competition out of the spotlight, and forming incredibly valuable relationships for your company. This might seem more intangible than a set of numbers to be crunched, but it can be essential for your company’s success.
What do you think? How do you measure success for your PR efforts? Share in the comments!
Image courtesy of Niuton May, Flickr
