How to get the best out of your PR agency

Choosing a PR or marketing agency to support your business can be a challenging task. Engaging in a commitment with an external partner on such an important aspect of your business is something that you want to get right, especially when the external-facing presence of the company, its reputation, and its brand, is in play.

There are some key things to consider when making an appointment, all of which will help you to get the best out of your PR agency.

1. Do your research

If you’re choosing a new agency, take the time to look at what they’ve done previously. Do they have expertise in the space in which your business operates? What kind of projects have they delivered for existing clients? What are their particular areas of expertise? Agencies will be more than happy to have an introductory call or meeting with you to share some ideas on how they can help, and also provide examples of what they’ve previously achieved, as well as who they’ve worked with.

2. Set up clear lines of communication

Effective client-agency relationships are built on open, honest, and regular communication. What’s going well? What needs more attention? What are the changing needs of the business? A weekly meeting with key stakeholders to discuss priorities and check in on progress is often a useful baseline. In today’s dynamic workplace, a client channel on Slack or Teams can enable speedy and efficient collaboration on tasks and deliverables.

3. Treat them like a partner

An agency works best when treated as a partner, rather than a supplier. Bring your agency team into a ‘circle of knowledge’ by providing the information they need to really understand what makes your business tick. This includes access to key stakeholders, an awareness of business priorities, and key target audiences. Good agencies will be able to help define the latter and ensure your communications efforts are well targeted as a result.

4. Set goals

Know where you’re going and what success looks like. Establishing clear goals and objectives at the start of a project or an agreement will ensure that there’s a clear roadmap and destination for both you and the agency.

5. Expect active consultation

Don’t spoon-feed! It’s a reasonable expectation for the agency to lead activities for your business. Once they’ve been onboarded and given the tools to do the job, they should be able to set out a plan and a strategy. Don’t fall into a routine of reactive activities or waiting for things to happen. Your agency should be your eyes and ears, always on the lookout for new and interesting comms channels in which your business should engage.

6. Don’t be afraid to change your approach if things aren’t going well

If something isn’t working, stop doing it. There’s nothing more frustrating than being stuck in a rut and doing something just because it’s what you’ve always done. Be prepared to pivot and try new things to achieve the results you’re looking for.

7. Measure and evaluate results

While it’s not always possible to correlate communications activities with an impact on the bottom line, you should always look to measure what’s been achieved. This could be looking at social media reach or engagement, or the number of pieces of coverage in relevant industry publications.

With this checklist, you’ll be well-placed to onboard and establish an effective working relationship with your PR agency. Investing the time to ensure these parameters are followed will likely be paid back in spades, with effective and valuable PR activities helping drive business success.

If you’d like to chat with us about your PR or marketing needs,