These Guys I Know is not a PR Agency in the traditional sense (to be fair - we’re not particularly traditional in any sense!), but we know PR is a crucial part of the integrated marketing mix - and we are actually very good at it (if we do say so ourselves) so offer it to clients as part of our integrated services suite.
PR presents opportunity for all - individuals, organisations, commercial enterprise, founder, startup, academia, not-for-profit and beyond - because it enables others to better understand a point of view and reach shared understanding.
An effective PR strategy can place you in the conversation, put you on the radar of others (whether prospects, investors, customers or partners), drive sales and conversions and help you achieve business goals. It’s also a great way to unite a team, articulate a clear position - and increase internal morale. A clever client of ours used external PR as the core of their internal communications strategy, recognising the momentum it created within the team.
Importantly, if successful, the ROI for PR is great - largely just the cost of the practitioner's time. We’ve driven millions of dollars worth of coverage for projects and recommend all of our clients consider it as part of their communications mix.
That said, PR is “earned media” (as opposed to owned or paid) and so, as the name suggests, you will need to work for it.
As much as we advocate for PR as part of an integrated communications approach - there are risks to be aware of. It's true what they say - nothing of great value comes easy.
Risk #1 - There is never any guarantee of coverage. Because you are not paying for the space - editors, quite rightly, decide which stories are most newsworthy for their valuable space. Framing your story in such a way that it demonstrates this value is one of the most important tasks in executing a PR strategy. That is - positioning as news - and not a promotional piece.
With no guarantee of coverage - there is a risk to your investment when initiating PR. The best you can hope for (and you will find it in us) is a provider who is laser-focused on achieving success for you - clear outcomes. After years of client-side experience - and hearing “well we sent the release, there was no actual pick up, but here is the invoice” These Guys I Know mitigate this risk by charging based on success. That is, the majority of your invoice is payable only if coverage is obtained. Because of this, we only take on projects in which we can really recognise a strong news angle. Recognising this is our superpower.
Risk # 2 - You are not entirely in control of messaging. To be in complete control of messaging is the domain of paid advertising. It is ultimately entirely up to the editorial team as to what runs in the end (So no, sadly it is unlikely the publication is going to run a detailed call to action with a link to your website within the article! Though we have achieved this once or twice!).
Risk # 3 - When opening a can of worms - be ready for unforeseen risk. Journalists won’t automatically run with what is presented to them, so you need to be prepared to answer further questions. Journalists, after all, are paid to seek the truth in an unbiased manner - a good journalist immediately recognises what information is omitted from a release, rather than just included - and to investigate, for example, a pricing offer every which way. (We have worked on a number of price-related projects - and each time, when submitting pricing to journalists, we have also had to supply full analysis and competitive comparison to demonstrate value and that there are no hooks) Be careful what you wish for when drawing attention to your project through media. We begin our projects with the pessimistic but very helpful question of “what is the worst that could happen?”. This helps ensure our clients avoid tricky situations.
In a nutshell, our job is to make your story as newsworthy as possible, while at the same time get your message across and achieve your goals.
The PR toolkit has grown with the fragmentation of channels and attention. It’s satisfying to wrangle words into something coherent, influential or valuable to people and to see our clients on websites, radio, TV, or even a good ol’ fashioned weekend paper. (We still love to turn the page and experience the ritual of the papers on the weekend!) Tools like social media, podcasts and blogs are all part of a modern PR toolkit and strategy these days.
Whilst we have freaked you out with the risks of embarking on a PR strategy - now let's celebrate the benefits. There are many! Coverage can help drive awareness, engagement and change. It can help inform, influence and persuade. It can do good in the world. Sharing of ideas is important.
Benefit # 1 - The first is the immediate opportunity for high ROI. On average - the ROI delivered on projects through These Guys I Know for PR is about 10 to 1, $10K spend = $1million coverage. Not bad! If you nail your messaging and framing correctly - and work with the right partners (hello!) - you can achieve masses of reach - driving awareness, interest and conversion.
Benefit # 2 - Higher value is placed on editorial than advertising. Editorial space is thought to be more respected, credible and authentic than advertising space because someone is speaking about you - rather than you having purchased space to speak about yourself. (So long as where it is placed is credible too of course! Placement does matter and do watch out for the ol' trick of "Scoop" and other news release sites featuring in your post analysis with value assigned)
Benefit # 3 - Depth of storytelling. An effective PR strategy builds a story through layers - we work with each client to identify story pillars and foundations - each might be told in different ways and different channels. Together they layer up to provide a rich and meaningful story in the market and carve out a distinct space for your brand, not easily replicated by others.
So, now that we have conveyed the risks and benefits - how to? Over the years we have identified many tips and tricks to drive effective and engaging storytelling through PR - so, if of interest - we’ll share more in future columns.
Until then, if you would like to discuss your own communications strategy and how PR might be used to help you achieve your goals - let’s chat! We are happy to do a no-obligation 30-minute session to discuss how we could support you and your goals.
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