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Is it worth bothering with PR anymore?

Posted by EmilyCagle on March 8, 2010 · View Comments 

If there’s one question I get asked by my most Twitter-eager of friends these days, it’s: “Is it worth bothering with PR anymore?”

Well, it’s a pretty valid question, so here’s my answer…

Those on the ‘no’ side might argue that the field has reached saturation point, and that cutbacks in the area of print media mean that it is no longer worth investing in PR. They might point out that online communities like Twitter have opened up channels of communications between businesses and customer, so passing via a PR provider and then the media in order to reach them is two steps too many.

But I’m (unsurprisingly) in the “yes” camp, and here’s why:

I love PR (public relations)
Image by JerrySilfwer via Flickr

PR builds credibility

Whilst PR undoubtedly has to adapt and modify itself to suit the times, it is still very much a critical string in your bow when it comes to establishing credibility and building a reputation. There is nothing like an objective, third party endorsement to demonstrate that your brand really does do what it says on the tin.

PR supports advertising

PR offers highly valuable support for an advertising campaign. Whilst advertising brings in leads with a direct message from business to customer, PR adds trustworthiness that gives the customer a sense that they are making a safe purchasing decision.

PR bridges a skills gap

If you value media coverage, PR is the ‘relationship bridge’. Now don’t get me wrong, I often advocate small businesses doing their own PR if they can’t afford to outsource it. With a good product and a bit of creativity, it is possible to win coverage.

Having said that, It’s also possible to tile your own bathroom, fix your own car or build your own house, but there comes a point where the level of expertise you’d need to acquire to do (and the potential for disaster) far outweighs the cost of hiring someone in. A good PR knows a story when they see one, knows who to tell about it, and knows how to present it to maximise your chances of coverage.

PR is evolving

Of course, in writing this, I’m not knocking social media, nor am I saying you shouldn’t be reaching out to customers direct – I fully applaud that approach, and think it can be a highly valuable tool in any business’s marketing toolkit. But let’s not forget that in a great number of cases, a company or agency’s social media offering exists within its PR department.

PR is adapting to suit a changing world. More and more PR professionals are equipping client campaigns with tools such as Twitter, Youtube, Facebook and blogging – PR is no longer a paper, email and phone driven industry. Far from reaching saturation, PR is arguably becoming more inventive and innovative, ultimately improving its end product and helping to lead the way in the quest to make involvement in social media truly profitable.

So is it worth bothering with PR anymore? Yes, I think so.

Emily Cagle

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  • One thing we need to get out of the way first of all here is that there is much, much more to PR than sending out press releases. Much as I shouldn't "diss" them (part of my own portfolio as a writer is creating press releases for my own and others' businesses) they form only a part of a much bigger picture.

    I totally agree that the online phenomenon has created a whole new fleet of vehicles used to deliver PR, but frankly I don't think the theories have changed much at all. It's how those theories are applied that is changing.

    With all this immediate access to your market via the internet, as an amateur you have a loaded gun in your hands. With the right aim you'll hit your target but if you miss, you could shoot yourself through the foot. (No apologies for mixing metaphors!)

    This tendency is growing, judging by the number of professionals who now offer online reputation management as a service to clients along with marketing and PR. Provided that PR professionals move with the times - and as Linda pointed out referring to an earlier post of mine, there are still so-called PRs in industries like publishing who will never understand what it's all about - there will always be an important need for their services if they're good at what they do.

    It's possible that PRs of the future will do less hands-on writing of press releases and so-on, but more consultancy work, helping clients to communicate directly with their markets and customers without inadvertently making idiots of themselves or losing credibility. That's not because these clients are idiots - rather, it's because it's horribly easy to come across in the wrong way unless you know what you're doing, despite the straight-from-the-shoulder informality of online communications.

    Like everything else, PR needs to evolve with the times and as far as I can see true professionals like Emily are doing precisely that. Provided they continue along those lines I can see a constant, and even increasingly crucial role for them.
  • Thanks for the comment, Suzan - and what a comment! I think your consultancy prediction is spot on - I'm seeing more of that all the time (though it often goes hand in hand with more traditional PR practices). The rise of the social web has meant that in many cases, old school media training (e.g. how to handle a TV interview) isn't enough - companies are expected to interact with their customers and other interested parties 24/7 in these new public forums that are Twitter, Facebook etc or incur the wrath that is "FAIL". For PRs, that means a whole new approach to managing clients and campaigns, and for clients it means a whole lot of learning.
  • I believe that there are two points you refer to in your post that are maybe crucial to PR companies' survival - or not:

    "PR undoubtedly has to adapt and modify itself to suit the times"

    "PR is evolving"

    It reminds me of Suze's story a couple of weeks back about the appalling PR job done by a publishing house for her latest book. They clearly HAVEN'T realised the need to move with the times :-(

    Talking of which, in tough economic times companies need to have clear objectives for expenditure to achieve. As Sarah said in her post asking Are you the boss? it's often a juggling nightmare and, if PR is seen as a fluffy 'nice to have' rather than a hard nosed business 'must have' it WILL go on the back burner.

    How about a '7 points to think of' or '10 tips to remember' type post - Not giving the game away by explaining the 'how to' - after all, that's your expertise :-) - and/ or maybe one or two case studies where PR has produced a demonstrably positive outcome?
  • Hi both.

    Yes it can all go horribly wrong, as there a cowboys and poor providers in every industry, and PR is no exception. Word of mouth recommendations is often a good start, then ask to take a look at potential providers portfolio to make sure they are likely to be able to deliver on their promises.

    I'll be writing lots more tips on PR over the coming weeks. Choosing a provider, campaign expectations, whether you 'want' or 'need' PR, capitalising on coverage, goal setting and measuring results are all great topics that I will make sure I cover in the coming weeks :)

    Em
  • Morag
    I had a very bad PR experience last year from a woman who was recommended to me for her contacts etc. She charged a fortune for doing bog all and I never did get any cosy editorials or press releases issued, or anything. It made me very leery of the value of PR to a small business.

    However, I have been talked around by others to try it again. Had more progress from Jane in less than a week than I got in four months from Angela (who now lives abroad, so I can mention her name)!
  • It's something I have never tried in a small business, quite simply because there has never been a budget for it. That will change though :-)

    The PR that I was involved with when working for a larger companies was interesting. One company was independent and had very little PR and it was all performed and carried out by graduates on the company grad scheme. The other had a large PR firm and there were always lots of meetings from which very little seemed to come from.
  • I think UK PR companies are a bit behind the times - when it comes to online marketing - at least as far as kitchens are concerned. I know this isn't from the perspective of using PR people for my own business ... but I'm a regular blogger, looking for stuff to write about. Shouldn't PR people for kitchen products be searching me out?

    I get contacted by any number of US PR people, every week ... asking me to mention kitchen products, offering me free books to review and telling me about exhibitions and open days ... all in the US. It's a waste of their and my time ... because my web site is strictly UK only.

    It's only in the last couple of weeks that I've had any contact from UK PR companies ... I even got a free gift last week. And was it a glamorous kitchen appliance? No - it was a mop and bucket! Typical.
  • EmilyCagle
    Hi Majjie,

    Your experience of receiving pitches is really interesting.

    I think you're right that many UK PR companies have yet to bring blogs wholly into their communications strategy, but I also know of many that have done and are doing it well. What you've said makes me wonder how many are doing it not so well (wherever they are in the world), as really, a PR ought to be researching exactly what a blogger covers before contacting them, so you shouldn't really be getting US pitches at all! :)

    I'd be interested to know if you see any other differences in the way UK and UK PRs pitch.
  • Hi Emily - bit difficult to tell, as yet!

    And you're right that the US PR companies aren't getting it right. There are more kitchen designers blogging over there and - because I've spoken to them and we're on each other's blogroll - they assume I'm US based too.

    I even had contact from a US bloggers directory which aimed to link PR companies with suitable bloggers. They were very apologetic about making the same assumption.
  • I would say it is definitely worth bothering with as you just never know which doors it may open. I did pay for PR in my first year of trading and it saved me time and effort of getting my name out there, besides i really didn't know how to do it.
  • Thanks for you comment, Ida. Great to hear that it worked for you. You mention you used PR for the first year - was there a reason for stopping after that, may I ask?
  • Jane Crofts
    ....and of course we have to remember that there is a whole lot more to PR than just media relations. Brian Solis has recently shown us that web 2.0 is putting the public back into public relations
  • Hi Jane - yes exactly! Putting the Public Back in Public Relations (by Deirdre Breakenridge and Brian Solis) is a must read!

    As I say in the post, in my opinion the PR industry really is helping lead the way when it comes to involvement in social media and engagement with publics through these channels.

    Thanks for commenting. :)
  • Far from reaching saturation point and running out of channels for PR, we have more to do and more potential avenues to reach people - and I think that's great for us practitioners and the organisations we support.

    This opens up so many opportunities - whether it be through print, broadcast, digital etc etc, PR arguably has more power to change minds and influence choices now than ever before. We just have to be a bit cleverer about it but that can only be a good thing.
  • Hi Lynne, Thanks for your comment. I agree that new media/social media/web 2.0 has opened up new avenues for PR - these are exciting times for the industry.
  • Brittany
    It is definitely worth bothering with PR. People see it as not worth the time and effort or an easy cop out. For all the reasons you gave and more, PR will always be needed and can never disappear.
  • Thanks Brittany. As a PR student, perhaps you could share your experience of how the question of "the place for PR" is taught these days, and what channels are given the most attention, in terms of class / lecture time?
  • Morag
    Well, I hope it IS worth bothering with PR, because I've just taken on Jane to do my press releases.

    What I'll be paying for is her knowledge on how to put the stuff across, her unbiased look at our material, unclouded by what I think should be done (I'm a great one for deciding what I would like to see, which is not necessarily what we should be trying to show!), and most importantly her contacts.

    Print advertising I find is a waste of space a lot of the time these days. I think we should be focussing on word of mouth, leafleting (with a chat at the same time, not random door drops) and more creativity. Back all of this up with press releases, and I think people will hear about us. :)
  • Thanks for your comment, Morag - interesting to hear the thought process behind your decision to engage the help of a PR pro. I also like the fact that you're approaching your marketing from several different angles. If you get a chance, please do check back in and let us know how you get on.
  • Hi Emily,

    Sorry but to me this is the standard reply trotted out by people in the industry for years.

    PR has to re-invent itself using all the on line resources available. Brand and reputation management is now easier, and using the web a cinch to monitor.

    Write your press releases and customer endorsements and put them on the web. Don't worry about the printed media - its now far less relevant. Let prospects know that your new material is in circulation using wire services and social media and watch traffic to your web sites grow. Enquiries and orders from your web site will prove the worth of your PR rather than relying on a tenuous link between your PR and supporting advertising!
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