BEYOND PR

What does a PR agency really do?

First association with public relations? The guys who are dealing with the media. Well, that is partly true. Do you want to learn what does a PR agency really do? Read our article!

For decades media relations were in focus of PR interest. However, public relations is (and always was) a much broader field, containing various communication tactics and deploying various channels. In contemporary communications the role of professional mass media as a communications channel is decreasing, giving space to owned and shared media. And even though the purpose of PR hasn’t changed – it is still about building relations with stakeholders – the variety of PR techniques has changed significantly. So what do PR agencies offer?

Blogging

The significance of a good own content is growing every year. It builds awareness of your brand, it positions you as an expert in respective fields and – most of all – it starts a path to purchase. A regular, relevant and unique content is a base for all SEO efforts. It is a true art to make it both people and search engines friendly. – It all starts with a good story put in writing in an appealing way – says Zuzanna Szybisty from Profeina, a Warsaw-based PR agency. – However, plain text is not enough to catch the audience’s attention. For our clients, we produce graphics and videos, but also – when relevant – a high-quality design print publications with refined design.

Ghostwriting

Blogging is not the only copywriting task being commonly outsourced to PR agencies. Having high writing and creative skills, external PR consultants often ghostwrite for client’s management experts. From speeches and conference presentations, CEO and other representatives statements, comments and opinion pieces for media, to texts used in internal communications. Not mentioning content for social media entries, newsletters and other own channels.

Influencer relations

For many companies, no matter if they are b2b or b2c businesses, key opinion leaders and influencers are often a crucial audience, demanding special attention and communication. Sometimes this field is being handled by marketing managers and specialized influencer agencies. Mostly when it all amounts to paid cooperation and advertising in influencer’s channels. But when it comes to building true, long-lasting relations – PR professionals seem to be better crafted for the job.

Social Media management

Social media is another field of communications, where skills of PR specialists are highly valued. Running a dialogue with fans, followers and critics demand knowledge and understanding of overall positioning and communications strategy. Plus, of course, copywriting skills and diplomatic approach. Again, it is all about relations. However, since Facebook has changed from social network to reach the campaign platform, the role of SoMe specialists evolved. PR agencies have developed new competencies and services, including social media buying and paid campaign management.

SEO PR (link building)

Presence of your company, brand, representatives and experts in digital media can have different purposes. Gaining visibility and recognition, building trust, position the company as an expert or – last, but not least – gaining backlinks. This is one of the SEO strategies to improve the position of your website in search results and, in effect, to improve its performance.

Branding

Branding is the process by which our product or service ceases to be just a product or service, and becomes The Brand – that you can love/identify with / adore or … hate. It becomes a brand that evokes desired emotions in the representatives of target groups. The beginning of branding is the preparation of a brand strategy, sometimes also referred to as brand architecture.

Brand Design

Strong branding results from visualization. The brand design makes a company or product visible and communicates its values through creative design. Based on the right brand strategy, a consistent visual brand identity creates uniqueness and transforms brands into powerful and memorable assets. By offering corporate design, packaging solutions, booth design, digital experiences and many other design services, a PR agency can complement the branding process.

Communication Strategy

A document prepared to describe how an agency (PR or – broader – communications agency) will support the brand’s business objectives through communication. It describes groups that influence the achievement of business goals and key messages we want to use in communication to achieve the intended effect. Strategy defines the language, identifies benefits and matches the right “reasons to believe” in your story as well. What is more, it puts it in the right and current media contexts.

Public Affairs

PR agency may build and develop relations between an organization and politicians, governments and other decision-makers. This service is often identified with lobbying. PA activities can, but do not have to be oriented to changing the law. Sometimes it just about a constructive dialogue with stakeholders, presentation of your point of view, being informed about industry developments and maintaining good relations with regulatory bodies and administration.

Coordination

Coordinating/ managing projects with other contractors (creative agencies) may often be underestimated, but it is crucial to have one partner who may be in control of many different activities run for a brand. It takes time, needs to be integrated and optimised. A good PR agency may be a good choice.

Constant consulting

This is a special role which PR consultants play in many organizations and for many clients. Running communications requires deep knowledge of the company, it’s business model, audience, sales and most of the marketing related fields. It also requires knowledge about media and a variety of communications techniques. Therefore PR specialists are often “a third party” to advise or give an opinion on ads, conferences, direct and digital activities.