If you're asking yourself, "Why should I hire a public relations firm?" you're in good company. Every successful company's leaders have asked that question along the road to their success.
Q: Why should I hire a public relations firm?
A: Credibility
No matter how much you spend on advertising, you can never replace the credibility a well-placed news story about your company, its products or services can convey. According to Starch Research, a news story has six times the readership and three times the credibility of an advertisement. And, unlike advertising, earned media coverage stays online for years and perhaps decades. Advertising ends as soon as the ad contract expires.
Nine out of 10 Americans say news coverage is more influential and credible than advertising, which explains why Inc. 500 reported that 71 percent of business owners say PR is the best investment for their marketing dollars.
The most informed and experienced entrepreneurs will invest in public relations before they buy advertising — often before they launch their businesses. The ROI on public relations dwarfs that of advertising. For less money, you will reach more people and your message will be more credible using PR.
With earned media generated by good public relations, unlike advertising, companies do not have to pay for placement of news stories. One of the key advantages of public relations over other marketing channels is that earned media helps establish credibility for a company and its products or services.
Starting to see a pattern?
If you spend $10,000 on advertising to tell people you make the best blue widgets, the people who see your advertising will know that you paid to say you make the best blue widgets. When your public relations firm generates earned media (as opposed to paid media — paid for by you) in the same publications or on the same television broadcasts or websites where you bought your advertising, more people will see the story reporting that you make great blue widgets than saw the ads. More important, they will believe that news story.
Why should you hire a public relations firm?
One word: credibility.
By Jason Mudd, APR
- Jason Mudd, APR, is the CEO of Axia Public Relations, a public relations firm specializing in national public relations campaigns. He is an Emmy-award-winning, accredited public relations practitioner, speaker, author and entrepreneur. He has worked with great brands such as American Airlines, Dave & Buster’s, Florida Blue, H&R Block, Hilton, HP, Miller Lite, New York Life, Pizza Hut, Ray Charles, Verizon and emerging brands like Brightway Insurance, Pragmatic Works and It Works! Global. Learn more at www.axiapr.com.
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Topics: public relations, FAQ
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