If you’ve read our guide on PR vs marketing you’ll know that public relations sits in the ‘earned’ camp rather than ‘bought’ or ‘owned’ meaning, when done well, it should feel and seem organic.
That it’s PR behind the media coverage can often go unnoticed by the untrained eye or ear, but it still delivers plenty of impactful results.
So while you may think you know what it is all about, and why you would do it, there are probably many more benefits, outcomes and uses to PR than you might not realise, to suit whatever size you are or whatever goals you have; the types of clients who use Nibble to find their freelancers are a mix of founders, entrepreneurs, startups, small businesses, as well as those in large companies too.
If you are writing a brief for the first time, want a little PR-inspiration for your next campaign, or have been wowed by the business results PR can deliver and want to see what else it can do, here’s a near-exhaustive list of reasons to integrate PR into your marketing mix - from the obvious, to the often overlooked (in no particular order).
- Leave a legacy - of a campaign or cause you care about or a change you’ve been integral to
- Create endorsed content - to boost or share as part of other marketing efforts
- Build a ‘Google footprint’ - a controlled presence when people search your name
- Flood search results - to push negative coverage about you down and off the page
- Support SEO - landing keyword-charged media releases or backlinks on high domain authority media sites
- Change perception - among targeted audiences of you, your business or your brand
- Impress investors - ahead of looking for funding or during fundraising
- Reach a new audience - to be relevant to people who didn’t even know you existed
- Drive action - in real life or online such as buying a product or clicking a promotional link
- Drive emotion - land a positive or specific messaging to make people feel something
- Target a specific sales audience - to boost your visibility and your bottom line
- Straight-up fame - it’s obvious right, and there’s nothing wrong with wanting to be famous for what you do!
- Drown out your competitors - make so much noise about your brand that you own the ‘share of voice’
- Educate an audience - about something critical for your business or personal success
- Be an expert - become the go-to specialist so your thoughts and opinions are valued by those who hear/read them
- Support marketing efforts elsewhere - a mix of owned, earned and bought, read more here
- Attract brand advocates - let other people do the talking for you and generate real buzz
- Generate news where there is none - to keep yourselves in the media consistently
- Stunts - a great way to get everybody talking about you (read about some great stunts here)
- Create qualified leads - ensure the right people know the right things about you to cut time wasted dealing with those who don’t
- Cement reputation - develop trust and build loyal audiences among customers old and new
- Create differentiation - stand out from the crowd and competitors, where it isn’t organic
- Find the best talent - attract the best skilled and diverse employees to come work with you
- Be known in the trade - make your top suppliers or mentors want to work alongside you
- Build personality and brand love - the reason why fans and customers are loyal to, and choose, you every time
- Celebrate your customers/clients - use case studies to show what great work you do and engage your network
We can help match you with the right PR consultant from the UK PR freelancer network to reach more of your audience, customers or stakeholders and achieve your goals. Sign up to get started.
