The Public Relations Blog

4 ways to ensure your public relations is working

A banana is more than a tasty addition to your cereal. It’s a perfect metaphor for what makes successful public relations.

Don’t let a lack of understanding cause you to miss out on the benefits of public relations for your company

Much of what people know about PR they base on misconceptions and the mistaken belief that PR is just a bunch of spin. When you separate myth from reality, you understand the actual value of PR and what it can do for your company.

Myths can be persistent, persuasive and potent. Breaking them down takes time. However, your company doesn’t have time. You must increase your market share and get a jump on the competition today. Getting rid of negative stereotypes and myths about PR will help you quickly move forward by taking advantage of all it has to offer.

4 reasons to stick with public relations for the long haul

The insightful Warren Buffett says it takes 20 years to build a reputation. Public relations shouldn’t be a short-term investment. PR is about building relationships and building results. It’s important to know that every company’s needs and objectives are different. PR isn’t a cookie-cutter process. In fact, the best results come from a strategic and proactive PR campaign. Companies that don’t stick with public relations for the long haul are making mistake #15 of Axia Public Relation’s list of the top 15 mistakes companies make when they hire a PR firm. Below  are four reasons you should commit to a long-term relationship with your PR firm.

Why PR professionals are more effective at media relations than marketers

Companies use media relations as a means of reaching their important audiences. This is a great strategy. Stories that appear in the media are highly credible and reach large audiences effectively at no expense.

It’s a fact that public relations professionals are more successful in building relationships with the media and getting news coverage than their marketing counterparts. Why do marketing professionals hate pitching the media?

How to benefit from marketing and PR strategies

The terms “marketing” and “public relations” aren’t interchangeable. Defining what makes them different can help you create better-focused marketing and PR campaigns, with better objectives, goals and expected outcomes.

Social media expert explains what social media analytics mean

One of Axia Public Relations’ favorite social media publishing tools is HubSpot. Yet HubSpot isn’t a fit for every company, so we often recommend Buffer as an alternate because it’s so easy to use and offers analytics that update daily. It’s important to understand the meaning of your social analytics. How is post reach different from post impressions? And what’s the difference between engaged Facebook users and Twitter engagements?

It’s important that the news your company puts out via a news distribution site is newsworthy so you get the maximum benefit from your investment. Some company news isn’t actually appropriate for a news release – it won’t interest journalists or your target audience. How can you tell which stories are worth telling? And when is the best time to announce your news to gain the most traction?

5 questions to ask your PR firm to initiate a measurement conversation

When you bring on a public relations firm, one of your first conversations should be about measurement. This helps both parties identify the need for a PR campaign and the overall goal for your organization. In order to establish collaborative goals and a shared vision for your campaign, you need measurable objectives in your communication plan.

Axia Public Relations covers 15 mistakes companies make when hiring a PR firm, and not having a measurement conversation is mistake #14. It’s important to have the measurement conversation with your PR firm in the initial steps of planning your PR campaign.

Don’t waste the media’s time with non-newsworthy details.

There’s a difference between internal news that you share with your employees and your company’s board of directors, and external news that’s worthy of a share outside the walls of your company. As a public relations firm, we work hard to educate our clients about what news they should share with the media. Expecting your PR firm to pitch media outlets stories that aren’t newsworthy is mistake #13 on Axia Public Relations’ list of 15 mistakes companies make when hiring a PR firm.

Be the company that journalists want on their team to gain positive news coverage

You want to increase media coverage for your company, yet you’re afraid or reluctant to share specific details, such as sales, revenue, contract value, client names, costs, etc. Your fear is understandable, as you have to worry about maintaining an edge over your competitors and keeping control of your information. The media experts at Axia Public Relations have some sage advice for dealing with this conundrum: Get over it.

In every relationship, there has to be give and take, and media relations is no exception. If you want your company to receive great media coverage, you have to share. Cooperating with journalists is crucial for the success of your brand.