Public relations shouldn’t be a short-term investment. Achieving long-term awareness and success using PR is not a sprint. Yes, you can get quick wins with one-off projects but the real success comes with well-planned, strategic and consistent PR campaigns.
PR is about building relationships and building results. It’s important to know that every company’s needs and objectives are different, but the common denominator in achieving results comes with investing time into your PR.
Here are our top 10 reasons why PR success requires an investment of time
1. If you have a small monthly budget you need to allow time
PR works best when there are multiple elements like media relations, social media campaigns, influencer outreach, and thought leadership working in conjunction. This all takes time, so if you have a small monthly budget, try to be realistic with your expectations for growth.
2. If you have big goals you need to allow time
PR is a long-term game; many companies quit too soon. Results don’t happen overnight. If you don’t stick with PR for the long-term, you may not see all the fruits of your PR agency’s efforts.
3. If you are not supporting PR with any media spend you need to allow time
Ideally you’ll have an integrated communication and brand strategy including paid-for media which will help you reach more of your target audience in a faster timeframe. However your PR budget may not be big enough to afford all the activities you desire. This is perfectly OK, and great results are achievable without media spend, but naturally your timeframe for results will be need to be longer.
4. Getting to know your business takes time
Like any relationship, it takes time to get to really know one another. A good PR agency will work with you to gain an understanding of how your organisation is perceived and then mould that perception into desired tangible results. And whilst an agency can quickly come up to speed on client messaging, goals, products and competitors, the relationship itself can take a bit of time to settle in. For example, as the client, do you prefer a phone call, email or text?
5. Laying the groundwork
There’s a lot of preparation that goes into a successful PR campaign. While the action may seem like the most exciting part, it will not be effective if the proper groundwork has not been laid out. So, given this process, while good PR doesn’t usually happen overnight, it is much more likely to happen within a reasonable timeline where time has been taken to set the foundations.
6. Quick hits don’t have staying power
It’s important to remember that quick media hits often don’t stick. You may get a flutter of media interest before it fades swiftly. With a long-term PR campaign, you have an agency dedicated to building your reputation and forging enduring relationships with the media.
7. It takes time and money to build a brand from scratch
Rome wasn’t built in a day! And neither is a brand. If you’re starting out with little or no public profile, it’ll take some time to build narratives and awareness. You must create a sustainable, long-term strategy that incorporates content in many forms and locations. A good PR agency can help you determine what you want PR to do for you and what success will look like for you, and then draft a plan of action.
8. Don’t be a one-hit wonder
Just as one TV or radio advert doesn’t cement your leads for the year, don’t expect PR to do it all. Similarly whilst many companies believe a single phone call can get a TV news crew to their doorstep, the reality is that media doesn’t work that way. It takes time to establish a profile in the media. Trust in the process, and the time it takes, and the results will speak for themselves.
9. PR builds credibility
Well placed PR is considered at least four times more effective at building credibility within a community or market than advertising - and can be much less costly than marketing, so allow time (or if time doesn't permit invest a little more budget if possible) for it to happen.
10. The PR pen is often mightier than the advertising sword
ITs been well research and reported that a potential customer is more likely to trust the word of someone being interviewed on a radio show or in/on the news than the same words from that company in an advertisement. People don’t like being sold to; but they don’t mind learning about a product or a service from someone they trust. In our experience, press adverts can be extremely costly and yet may generate zero leads. On the flip side, one story or campaign costing approx. $5-$10,000 could get you the presence and kudos to win a $500,000 grant or multi-million dollar contract.
Interested in learning more about how to have a successful PR campaign for growth? We’d love to hear from you -get in touch via hello@profilerpr.com.au
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