Any communication an organization has with the public can be encompassed as a Public relations activity. From media relations and publicity to crisis management, all these can be considered a part of PR, making it an umbrella term for external communication.
However, it is challenging for organizations to manage an in-house team for PR, so they outsource the business to full-time agencies that can help with media outreach and other communications.
Onboarding a skilled agency will benefit a small enterprise and even a major corporation. But, many organizations often get confused about what precisely an agency can do for them since PR is a broad term and encompasses various functions.
So, here are critical services provided by a PR agency.
1. Strategy Development
An agency will devise a plan of action for your organization. Herein, they will determine the strengths and weaknesses of your organization and will identify the area of opportunities.
Doing so can provide a clear plan of action aligned with your organization’s goals.
While planning, they will also look into your industry’s competition, target audience, and other factors.
Strategy development is the base of the whole PR strategy.
2. Crisis Management
Since the main objective of hiring PR is to improve public image, they will play a vital role for the organization in crisis management. They will be responsible for addressing the public and devising communication strategies to get the brand out of the PR crisis.
3. Email Marketing
PR and Email marketing always overlap herein; the main focus is to provide relevant and valuable information to the public. Email marketing helps gain coverage from the press and is a great tool to support PR’s activities in spreading the message about various events, accomplishments, and updates.
4. Content Marketing
Content marketing is the backbone of any marketing or PR strategy, and it can help the organization gain clients, nurture them, drive sales, and grow the business.
The PR department will function closely with the writers and copywriters to help with the press release, blogs, social media posts, and newsletters. The PR will ensure that each type of content pushed out by the company through various channels is leveraged to improve the organization’s public image.
5. Design
You might not have known that PR agencies also help with the design.
The overall design and aesthetics of the company’s website, color scheme, and other details showcase the values and beliefs.
The agency might tweak the design to improve the company’s public image. They might advise changes to the color scheme, uniform, font, website layout, etc.
The agency helps in establishing a good brand image through various design strategies.
6. Media Training
The leaders of an organization often have to engage or appear on public platforms. It could be a speech at a university, trade fair, or an interview; the PR agency will train them to help avoid common media traps.
Herein they will be trained to present themselves and interact with the media to boost the brand’s image.
7. Building a Community
They will help you build relations with stakeholders, including the community. They will also devise communication strategies to target the community of people who think like the organization and have the same interests.
For instance, Netflix will target a community of cinephiles, filmmakers, and entertainment seekers.
These are some services that a reputable agency will be able to provide. Ensure that you look closely at their experience, previous clients, and reviews before hiring them.