6 Signs It’s Time To Hire A PR Agency
It’s not always easy deciding when it’s the right time to hire a PR agency, especially if your business is an SME. Whether it’s thoughts about budget, or the hesitance to not hand your baby (your company!) over to someone else to share the load, the right time to bring in help can be difficult to pin point. Which is why we’re here to help. At Source, we’ve been working with smaller local businesses, right up to multi-national companies since 2008, and our team members have experience in marketing that far precedes that too.
Here are your 6 signs that it’s time to hire a PR agency, and why you’ll be glad you did.
When Should You Hire A PR Agency?
1. The Owner Is Managing Marketing
One of the biggest signs that your business is probably ready to hire a PR agency, is if the owner or CEO is doing all the PR and marketing – and it’s starting to have an impact on day-to-day operations. Any company with ambitions to grow should recognise the value of outsourcing work and leaving certain aspects to the professionals in the field, instead of trying to take it all on – which can lead to severe burnout!
Why you’ll be glad to have hired an agency: you’re an expert at running YOUR business, we’re experts in PR and social media. PR agencies are full of teams with experience from all different industries, that kind of knowledge injected into your business usually can’t be replicated by one person. Most importantly however, most business owners have enough on their plate so appointing a PR agency will free your time to focus on your business knowing your marketing, PR and social media is all being taken care of.
2. You Have Budget To Invest In Growth
The best thing PR can do for your business is to nurture and encourage its growth. We’ve worked with several businesses who we’ve supported for over a decade, and we’ve been a part of their evolution from very early on. Such as Meadow, one of our longest retained clients that’s recently undergone a full re-brand and change of top-level management. If you’ve got profits that you’re willing to re-invest for the greater good of your company, then it’s time to give a PR agency a call.
Why you’ll be glad to have hired an agency: PR is all about building a great long-term reputation, so if you have the patience and time to invest in it, you’ll reap the rewards further down the line.
3. You Want Your Business To ‘Do’ Better
One thing we’re seeing more and more in PR, is companies wanting stronger ESG strategies and ensuring they’re carrying out regular ‘good work’. Whether that’s encouraging employees to join in on group voluntary sessions, lending services for free or simply donating to good causes and partnering with local groups – all of the above helps in strengthening both the reputation of your brand’s name, and what the local community thinks of you too. If you want your business to benefit from a strong CSR strategy, then it’s time to hire a PR agency that knows what they’re doing.
Why you’ll be glad to have hired an agency: charity and community work not only helps to improve and then maintain a strong presence, but it can also align to your wider business strategy and reputation. You’ll also earn you some lovely local coverage too – which helps to get your business out there even more.
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4. Your Customers Aren’t Hearing From You Enough
Another time it might be right to hire a PR agency, is if you’re finding you’re not communicating to your stakeholders enough. Whether that’s through your social media channels, website, or external communications in the media. It’s not enough to be seen little and often, the best brands have a strategy that gives them consistent visibility. This is something a PR agency can certainly help with.
Why you’ll be glad to have hired an agency: having someone else manage your social media and website takes a lot of pressure off other team members and ensures there is a consistent and considered approach. It should keep your customers engaged and make your life easier.
5. Your Online Presence Isn’t Strong
It’s no longer enough to be in the Yellow Pages (was it ever?) or to just ‘have a website’, for your business to really grow, you’ll need to be visible across multiple online channels. One of the biggest things clients get wrong, is thinking that having a Facebook, or LinkedIn channel alone will convert them sales. A good PR strategy will combine social, web content, media relations and more to ensure you have a very strong online presence. When potential customers look you up – are they finding a strong brand with clear information about your company? If not, it’s time to hire a PR agency.
Why you’ll be glad to have hired an agency: having one centralised management system for your online presence ensures that everything is on brand and working well together, which really comes across to anyone searching you up online.
6. Time Is Being Lost In Other Departments
Finally, even if it’s not your CEO or owner managing your PR, even having another member of the team or even a department looking after it, when it isn’t their core area of expertise, can be impactful to your business operations. Sales teams can run the risk of messages being too driven by a need to convert, which can lose the faith of your customers, whereas operations staff may put marketing on the backburner because they need their time to keep things running smoothly day to day. If you’re finding that you’re losing valuable time from your team, then it’s time to bring in help.
Why you’ll be glad to have hired an agency: some staff members really love getting stuck into PR and social media for their businesses, others would rather focus on what they were brought on board to do – let a PR agency work with your business and become an extension of your team, and you’ll keep everyone happy!
If we’ve convinced you that you’re ready to hire a PR agency and you’d like to find out more about how Source PR can support you, drop our friendly team a line. We’re always happy to chat.
