Importance of PR for Business

Some people think of PR as ‘free advertising’ which in fact is far from the truth. Building relationships with the right people and organizations is time consuming, so a PR agency is the best way to go if you need quick effective results. Most bloggers and influencers now charge for reviews, promoted posts and featured posts, so PR is definitely not free.

PR however is very important for every brand. Just imagine no customers is talking about your products or your company, then you are nothing more a forgotten brand that is gradually disappearing from the public eye. This is basically what public relations is built for: keep your company on people’s minds. Apart from being used to put out scandals or disgraceful events, PR actions are also taken to make sure topics about your company is followed and discussed by the audience, meaning a successful PR action should help the brand to:

1. Raise awareness. People tend to trust time-honored brands. One way to make your business known and compete with these famous brands is to send out your messages through channels owned by a third party, such as a popular magazine in your industry, a high-traffic website, a respected influencer or social media superstar.

2. Build credibility. Nowadays, a magazine’s mention of your product or a product review may not lead to a direct sell, but a recommendation from a person who is an influencer in your niche like a famous beauty blogger with thousands of followers, may bring you actual business leads.

On the other hand, reputation damage control is also what PR practices are implemented for. For instance, a competitor starts to spread false, but persuasive/convincing negative information about your company, it’s obvious that if without countermeasures from your side, you’re going to lose some valuable clients. But if PR specialists join the game in time, they can easily beat the attack.

To achieve ultimate PR goals, good media relations are necessary:

1. Help manage reputation. With trusted media relations, you will probably get free chances to market your products but also gain better reputation management. During your business journey, it’s unavoidable to encounter some tricky situations like advertising tone goes wrong or unsatisfied customers lashing out on social media about how bad your product is. In cases like these, good media relations can help you repair the damage through a press release or other propaganda means.

2. Know your competitor. You are not the only one who spends time in building good relations with media. It’s one way of knowing what your competitors are up to, which gives you clues about how to keep up with them.

In addition, PR can also help to attract investors and recruit talents. Placing ads on the right media at the right time can attract the attention of job hunters and other investors. With appropriate messages and strategies, PR will increases your credibility as a stable and lucrative investment target. And in many cases, PR campaigns not only attract new clients, but also draw the attention of employees as well. With PR, you can gradually build a reputation to become one of the leading companies in your industry and you can use your new established media channels to accelerate your growth.