Choosing the right PR agency can be a critical decision for your brand’s success. With so many options available, it’s essential to find a partner that aligns with your goals and understands your industry. So, how do I choose a PR agency that fits my needs? In this guide, we’ll walk you through the key factors to consider when making this important choice.
Keen to get started with a PR agency but don’t have time to read this blog in full? Our team would love to discuss how we can support you! Click here to get in touch.
What is PR?
Public relations, also sometimes referred to as PR or communications management, is all about getting a brand featured in relevant media outlets. This includes newspapers, magazines, the radio, podcasts, and the TV. In utilising these established platforms for organic promotion, you gain access to their loyal audience.
There are two different types of PR – advertorial and editorial. Advertorial is paid advertising within the press, such as ads at the back of a newspaper. Meanwhile, editorial press is more organic. These are the stories you see filtered throughout a newspaper and can be used to subtly promote a brand.
Editorial coverage is what we always aim for, as we find this has a better success rate and is more natural. Should a client require advertorial coverage, however, this is a service we can also assist with.
What is a PR Agency?
A PR agency is simply the team you have in place that help you manage your coverage within the media. At VerriBerri, we have a specialist, in-house department dedicated to this area of marketing.
The Benefits of PR
Public relations have many benefits, the main one being exposure. Being featured in mainstream, industry-specific, or local press all have the benefit of introducing your brand to new customers and, in some cases, untapped demographics too. This will help you to build more of a buzz around your company, driving more traffic to your website.
Another key benefit of PR is its impact on your reputation. Not only can this help to shine a positive light on your brand, but it will also help you in a crisis too. Should you find yourselves in hot water, our team can help generate positive press around your brand to outshine the rest.
Last but by no means least, PR is also interconnected with SEO and can really help to bolster your results here. When securing press for any of our clients, we always try to secure backlinks where we can. Coming from such credible sites, this will ultimately help to build your sites authority and visibility.
Why is a PR Agency Integral?
Prior to us answering the question ‘how do I choose a PR agency?’, it’s first important that we cover why outsourcing is so crucial.
PR is all about who you know and creating a story that is newsworthy. Without contacts in the field, this exercise can be both lengthy and costly. When you work with an agency, however, we are able to speed up the process with minimal costs to you. The only cost to our clients is our management fee. We don’t expect you to pay for placements in the media unless, of course, you’re looking for advertorial coverage too.
How Do I Choose a PR Agency?
If you’re wondering ‘how do I choose a PR agency?’, below, we’ve listed a couple of key things to look out for.
Good Communication
When working with any external agency, good communication is vital. When you are speaking with agencies in the initial stages, we advise asking about their touchpoints and when you can expect to hear from them.
At VerriBerri, not only do we make communication a priority, but we also produce monthly reports for each of our clients. This provides a detailed insight into what we have achieved and what our plans are moving forward.
Lead Guarantee
When it comes to PR, there is always an element of the process that is out of the control of your agency. At the end of the day, journalists are the ones that decide what stories get published and, on occasion, they may change their mind about sharing an article. As such, when you’re working with an external team, something like a lead guarantee can help put your mind at ease.
When you work with the PR team here at VerriBerri, we set a minimum lead quota that is guaranteed for your peace of mind. This means we are able to put tangible targets in place, giving you a clearer idea of what you can expect. What’s more, this is always a minimum quota and more often than not, this is exceeded.
Proven Results
Good connections are the sign of a good PR team. Without these, you may as well do the PR yourself.
When choosing an agency, ask to see their case studies and examples of their work. You should also ask who they have relationships with, allowing you to manage your expectations.
Click here to read some of our case studies!
How Much Should a PR Agency Charge?
Click here to read a recent blog where we explore how much you should be paying for a PR agency.
Our Process
Getting your head around PR and how it works is key in answering the question ‘how do I choose a PR agency’. Every communications firm has their own process and it’s all about finding a team who fit well with yours. Below, we take you step by step through our typical process, helping you get to know us a little better!
Discovery Call
Once we receive your enquiry, the first thing we do is set up a convenient time to talk to you. This is called a Discovery Call and is a great way to understand your brand and where our support is required. It’s at this stage that we can discuss with you what you want to gain from your PR and marketing, and what kinds of publications we should target.
Proposal
Following a discovery call, the next step in the process is producing a proposal. This document breaks down our offerings and the associated costs, allowing you the time to decide whether our offering works for your business. Every proposal is bespoke and completely complimentary.
If you would like another call at this stage to discuss the proposal together, that’s totally fine! Or, if you’re happy with our offerings, we can move straight onto putting together a Scope of Work.
Scope of Work
Once packages and services have been decided, we will put together a Scope of Work document. This acts a contract between you, the client, and our team. It outlines what each party is responsible for and is required to be signed by both sides.
Onboarding Call
Once a Scope of Work has been finalised and signed, we can then introduce you to the team members who will be managing your account. This is a good opportunity for us all to get to know each other and for us to ask more specific questions about what you’re happy for us to speak about in the press.
Pitching
Once the above has been determined, it’s then over to our PR team to come up with some story angles and get pitching to journalists.
Article Writing
When leads are secured, our team will begin writing the article for publication. We may occasionally need some input from you, however this is more common in the initial few months of working together.
Approval
Once an article is written, these are then sent to you for approval. If you have any edits or anything you would like us to add, this should be done prior to us sending the article to the journalist. Once it has been published, edits cannot be made.
Publication
We will continue to stay in touch with the particular journalist working on your story to ensure the article goes live as planned. Once published, we will notify you. All that’s left to do now is shout about it on social media!
Our Connections
At VerriBerri, our PR team have spent over 15 years building connections within the journalism field. During this time, we have been able to forge quality relationships with a plethora of publications across mainstream, industry-specific, and local outlets. What’s more, whilst our connections are strongest in the UK, we can also help you to secure international coverage too.
We have been successful in gaining our clients exposure in a range of publications, including:
- Forbes
- LadBible
- Women’s/Men’s Health
- Cosmopolitan
- GQ Magazine
- Business Insider
- The Independent
- ABC Magazine
- The Guardian
- The Daily Star
- The Metro
- And many, many more!
Industries We Specialise In
The team here at VerriBerri are confident working with brands in any industry. We have experience in everything from beauty, fashion, and lifestyle, right the way through to construction, insurance, and petrochemicals. Whether you’re a pet brand looking to make noise in a crowded industry or a B2B organisation looking to boost your reputation, we’ve got you covered!
Contact Us
If you’re still asking yourself ‘how do I choose a PR Agency?’, why not get in touch? Our friendly Business Development team will be able to tell you more about how we can support you. This will allow you to determine whether you think we’re the right fit for your brand!
For more information about working with VerriBerri, our packages, and how to get started, contact our team today! Call us on 01376 386 850 or click here to drop us a line.