5 Tips To Improve Any PR Strategy

Things everyone should know about Public Relations, but often don’t

Public relations has changed a lot in the last decade. While it could once be considered the holy grail - i.e. you get your product in the Daily Mail you sell out in-store - nowadays, whilst I believe that PR is an integral part of marketing, it should ideally be considered as part of a wider mix. The challenge with having a wide marketing mix to tap into is that it’s super easy to spend money, but even harder to achieve return on investment.

[Credit (disclaimer): Emma Croman’s flattering photography and with Lucy Meyer’s make-up skills]

That’s why having worked in PR for two decades, I've come to understand what PR people do to build brands and drive results.

Here are some fundamentals I think everyone should know before getting started:

Be patient, good PR takes time

Be patient, good PR takes time - on average at least three months, in fact, to build a pipeline of interest. Whether you’re dipping into PR for yourself, working with a freelancer, or hiring an agency, you need to see PR as a long-term investment. It’s there to build your brand and tell your story in a more meaningful way than other channels like social media can.

Get affiliated to boost PR effectiveness

Many online titles are now commercially driven, so getting set up on an affiliate platform before you kick off PR is important if you want to get the most out of your project (and budget).

Gifting for free is an essential PR strategy

Unfortunately, the more hands you can get your products into, without expecting anything in return, the better. I get it - stock or appointments are expensive - but it’s the media norm to be inundated with free stuff. So, if you want to be on a level playing field with other businesses, gifting is a must.

Be available 24/7

I can’t stress this enough - journalists are busy (next-level busy) and sometimes have to turn around features last minute. If you’re keen to share insights and can produce quotes on the same day, or within 24 hours, you’ll get better results and may even become the go-to source for well-known publications (i.e. get more or free PR).

Also (and I know I’m cheating with my five points here), I’d say don’t worry about going small to get big. It’s likely you won’t get invited to feature on top-ranking podcasts or panels when you begin. But if people start seeing you, hearing your opinions, and find them interesting, you might. PR must be a partnership too - you can’t expect a PR person to do a good job without you meeting them halfway. So, I’d always recommend considering how you can allocate a little bit of yourself or your business to make it work

Bonus PR tip! Focus on long-term brand building, not immediate ROI

Don’t expect your money back - PR won’t always directly drive return on investment. It used to, but the way we all consume media has changed. While I still believe it’s an integral part of your marketing mix, in isolation, it generally won’t be the be-all-and-end-all.

That’s not to say it can’t drive sales - we’ve seen many times that the right placement for the right product (and that’s not always just TV shows like This Morning) can cause orders or bookings to explode. But it’s best to approach PR, without expecting immediate ROI, and if it happens, it’s a bonus.

Anything I’ve missed? Maybe I should have made this a top ten after all..?