What is PR?
This is what PR companies should deliver according to the Public Relations trade body, the Chartered Institute of Public Relations:
“Public relations is about reputation - the result of what you do, what you say and what others say about you. It is the discipline that looks after reputation, with the aim of earning understanding and support and influencing opinion and behaviour. It is the planned and sustained effort to establish and maintain goodwill and mutual understanding between an organisation and its publics.”
What does PR involve?
PR companies can deliver results through a number of disciplines and channels including:
- B2B PR
- Consumer PR
- Media relations
- Public Affairs
- Corporate communications
- Public Affairs and Lobbying
- Investor Relations
- Internal staff communication
How can PR help companies?
At Limelight we see PR as a way to help you achieve your business objectives.
So whether that’s supporting your new business strategy by demonstrating thought leadership in the media, winning exposure for your products and services or reassuring your current clients that you’re the best in the business, we can tailor a PR plan to match your businesses needs.
We believe PR can play a powerful role in helping you reach consumer and business audiences when linked to your other marketing or advertising activity. Take a look at our case studies.
How is it different to other types of Marketing?
One of the primary differences between PR and other forms of marketing is you don’t directly pay for the space where you are promoting yourself, as you would for a newspaper or TV spot. Instead PR seeks to influence other people into talking about your business or allowing you space within their publications.
Because PR messages are delivered through content or directly, they are generally accepted to have far greater influence than paid for marketing.
Although PR exposure is often achieved via the press, which can be unpredictable, a good PR agency should be able to advise you on the best route to achieving results.
There are also many other direct routes to your audience through events and experiential, digital marketing and content generation. Take a look at our case studies for examples of our original thinking.
What are the benefits of hiring a PR agency over building an in house team?
PR agencies offer a flexible solution. Employing a good one will mean your business will gain access to a team with a wealth of media experience and the ability to proactively manage and build your PR profile.
A significant potential difference between PR agency teams and in-house PR teams is the likelihood that the agency will deliver more objective advice and fresh ideas.
It’s often the case that the closer you are to the problem the more difficult it is to see the solution. A PR agency should add value through objectivity and new thinking.
It’s also often the case that in-house teams are focused on a particular area of responsibility (perhaps corporate reporting), or their role also covers marketing and new business generation. A PR agency team can be used to deliver focused proactive support, closer media relations and creative thinking against long-term needs or short terms PR projects.
PR agencies are naturally focused on proactively working with journalists to create opportunities and build relationships. Because they will often have many clients their influence in the media can be greater and a good PR agency should use that influence to deliver for you.
But a good PR agency should never hinder or obstruct your relations with the media unless there is good cause or they are instructed to. Great PR is about making those relationships better and easier, so that your messages reach your audiences more effectively.
How can you connect your Digital Marketing and Digital PR?
Digital marketing and PR now overlap in many areas such as search optimisation, social media, blogging, micro-blogging, content sharing and reputation management. What is clear though is your PR strategy and digital marketing strategy should be aligned. At Limelight we’re able to blend our traditional media PR strategies seamlessly with digital PR and digital marketing.
What is the difference between B2B PR and business to consumer PR?
Business strategies that need to sell themselves to other businesses are referred to as B2B or corporate communications or simply business PR, whereas those strategies that seek to speak to consumers are called B2C PR (business to consumer) or simply consumer PR.
Experienced PR companies will be able to deliver results that really contribute to your business' bottom line.