On May 30, our president Elizabeth Christian participated in the Austin Chamber of Commerce’s “Business Boost Camp” — a series of lunch boot camps covering a range of business topics. Elizabeth discussed PR practices and the best ways to reach your targeted audience by utilizing different outlets — print, radio, online and television. She also shared how to develop strategic alliances and build grassroots for your business. The Business Boost Camp served as a crash-course for those interested in building their brand using PR methods.
As the boot camp concluded, Elizabeth opened the floor to discussion and received many good questions about how PR can be beneficial to a business, including how to find the right PR firm when outsourcing your company’s media relations. As I caught up on my daily industry blogs this morning, I was reminded of Elizabeth’s tips when searching for the right PR firm in this article by Ragan’s PR Daily.
Tips for finding the right PR firm:
- It’s important to ask who will be working for you. Learn about the staff members assigned to your account and how their experience can be beneficial to your business goals.
- Ask what tools the agency has access to and how those can help your business model. If your company relies heavily on social media, look for a firm that integrates the latest and greatest social media platforms into its plans. If your goal is to generate relationships with prominent reporters in your area, seek out a firm that cultivates media relationships.
- Find a firm that echoes your mission statement. Look for a firm that understands your company and creates a nice synergy. If the firm does not understand your company’s culture, it may not be a good fit.
- Look for a firm that demonstrates offered services under its own roof. If the firm boasts its strategic media placement skills, look at the firm’s client roster and see the quality of news stories garnered. The firm is likely behind the majority of its client’s positive coverage.
-Whitney Herrick
Account Executive, Elizabeth Christian Public Relations
