Searching for a stellar public relations agency? Here’s how to get the perfect start

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How to lay the right groundwork when looking for business PR partners

Public relations in Edinburgh expert advice on choosing a PR agency for your business

THE MOST important and most expensive purchases deserve the greatest consideration.

In business, public relations falls into this camp, generally requiring a long-term financial investment that will deliver significant returns.

If you are considering PR for your business for the first time, it pays to determine exactly what you want and what you are prepared to pay to get it. That way you can find the right people to deliver the results.

In part one of our essential PR Starter Kit for businesses, here is our essential guide to help you get the fundamentals right when you launch your search for the ideal public relations agency.


What is your PR budget?

How to lay the right groundwork when looking for business PR partners

It’s far better to be absolutely up front about your budget and exactly how much you are prepared to invest.

Would you waste hours haggling with a Porsche salesman over the reductions available on a £100,000 dream machine, when in fact you only have £15,000 to spend?

Similarly there will be enormous differences between a £100,000 PR campaign and a £15,000 public relations push.

It’s best not to waste anybody’s time by setting the wrong expectations.

Put simply, you’ll get the best result for your money when your PR agency knows exactly what budget they are working with, as the campaign will be tailored appropriately to deliver the best bang for your buck.

The best public relations agencies will also be able to explain exactly how they charge – and will have clear rates, usually payable by the hour or by the day.

Indeed, at Holyrood PR we remain the only major agency in Scotland to publish our PR rates transparently online. Meaning you’ll know exactly what you are paying (and it will be the same rate as our other clients)


What are your PR objectives?

Every aspect of your public relations campaign should be shaped to meet your objectives and our Scottish PR agency can help you do that.

You are more likely to enjoy a successful public relations experience if you have a clear goal from the outset.

For example, you may want an instant profile boost in the local media to help you recruit more staff at a key time of years – exactly the kind of challenge a PR agency can help with.

However, that would be very different from a long-term public relations campaign to build influence to support a planning application for a potentially contentious development.

That in turn would be completely different from planning and delivering nationwide consumer PR  campaign to shift more widgets.

It’s not only the outcomes which are radically different in each of these cases – the tone, content, audience and messaging would also be vastly different for each.

To be as effective as possible, every aspect of your public relations campaign should be shaped to meet your objectives and the most reputable and best PR agencies in Scotland – like Holyrood PR in Edinburgh – will work with you to help refine your objectives.


How will you measure the results?

Award-winning PR agency scoops double gold at 2023 PRide awards 

When you set clear objectives, it also makes it easier to measure and evaluate success.

For instance, in the examples above it would be possible to look at the number of job applicants, the number of supportive messages for a planning application and the number of widgets sold – and measure them against previous results which did not have PR support.

Everyone wants to make sure they are getting value for money and a decent return on investment.

For decades public relations agencies have wrestled with the best ways to demonstrate success.

The truth is that it remains very difficult, because PR is about influence and reputation – both difficult to quantify concepts.

However, the best agencies will work with you to come up with metrics that are tied to your business objectives.

Some examples include key message penetration, website traffic and inquires generated among many others.

Such evaluation is extremely important – so it is worth making the effort to properly evaluate the methods offered by any public relations agency you are considering.

We hope these initial points are useful in helping you research and choose a public relations agency to work with.

This post was originally featured on Holyrood PR on 02 January, 2015.


If you’re enjoying this PR Starter Kit, then check out another of our helpful guides for busineses like yours. THE PR PUZZLE will ensure you’ll never be baffled by PR again.


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