Does Every Company Need PR?

From staffing to managing inventory to customer service, business owners must prioritize effectively to juggle their company’s many moving parts. With so much on their plate and a finite budget, some corporate leaders might feel that PR is not a necessity. After all, the Sales and Marketing departments are doing a great job of fostering relationships and raising brand awareness. That’s enough, right? Not quite.

Like Sales and Marketing, PR plays a critical and quantifiable role in helping companies succeed across various industries, at each stage of growth. Keep reading to learn how every company can benefit from PR!

PR Supports Every Stage of a Company’s Growth

PR firms offer corporate clients cost-effective counsel and exposure opportunities needed to build and maintain a mutually beneficial relationship with the media and the public.

• Early-Stage Growth: In the early to mid-stage of a company’s growth, PR efforts provide crucial visibility. A successful earned media campaign secures the critical third-party endorsement of media outlets, making it more likely that potential customers, prospective employees, and possible investors will find them. Early coverage also helps companies solidify their brand persona.
• Peak Growth: Companies at the pinnacle of their growth might not need to rely as heavily on their PR teams for brand awareness, but they are still important for reputation maintenance. In the age of social media and omnichannel news, one misstep can destroy a company’s reputation. PR professionals can offer advice to corporate clients, as well as point out opportunities to maintain relevance and a positive reputation.
• Seeking a New Direction: PR is often associated with helping companies come back from crisis. Though this is a narrow view of a complex industry, crisis communications are a critical function of PR. A PR firm can help a company struggling with brand visibility uncover newsworthy stories. On the other hand, companies struggling to counteract negative press can turn to their PR team for experience-based guidance on how to shift their public perception, so it is more positive.

PR Helps Companies Meet the Moment

The rise of the Internet and social media have created a new media landscape that companies need professional guidance to effectively navigate. The goal of an earned media initiative has always been to help companies secure coverage, but the ubiquity of the Internet adds weight to their importance. In today’s landscape, good PR is essential to SEO. Media coverage creates backlinks that push brands at the center of coverage higher on search engine results pages (SERPs).

In recent years, customers have come to expect more personal, immediate interactions with brands. A recent Social Sprout study found 78% of consumers want brands to use social media to connect people. Companies can rely on PR firms to help them craft a social media strategy that considers the platforms, cadence, and content that aligns with the values of their target audience while meeting current standards of customer interactions.

PR Increases a Company’s Credibility

Today’s media environment is home to a chorus of brands competing to be heard. A well-crafted PR strategy can help a company carve out a space for itself on the Internet as an industry thought leader. A company’s mention in an esteemed publication adds an air of unbiased legitimacy that a self-generated advertisement cannot. Earned media opportunities allow company leaders the space to expound upon their values, expertise, and the benefits of their product or service in an organic way that encourages thoughtful dialogue.

A valuable contribution to the public discourse can go a long way in establishing credibility. Even if the company is not a key player in a certain trend or issue, PR firms specialize in finding unique angles to insert clients into stories that capture the current zeitgeist.

Whether a company is just starting out or is a household name, it can only benefit from a good reputation. Positive public perception is the result of strategic outreach, social media use, and experience-based direction that a PR firm can provide.