PR is an acronym for public relations. Until recently, there have been problems with understanding and giving accurate definitions when it came to PR campaigns. Thanks to the ever-growing field of this ecosystem, we have qualified personnel and appropriate tools which are making this sphere more interesting. PR happens to be one of the most important steps in marketing; according to many experts, it’s the final frontier of marketing.
Successful companies understand the role of promotion and advertisement, which is exactly the PR’s work. Enough attention has yet been given to this field and hopefully, after reading this article, your opinion will change.
Importance of Promotion
Promotion is the engine of any business, and the auto industry is no exception. The proper promotion will allow a business to thrive. Business growth is totally dependent on how much the customer base is aware of it and patronizes it. If you check the increase in sales of Audi, you’ll see that such a simple thing as an Instagram page filled with original content can work miracles. Along with rich kids posting photos of their new Audi, this decision attracted a perfectly targeted audience of 7.4 million followers. Getting the relevant information, potential buyers can think and make a deliberate decision.
Why do we need to invest in PR?
Let’s see some very good reasons why companies should seize this opportunity to invest in PR now more than ever
Great content inspires trust, creates credibility, and builds brand awareness.
The best way to get a potential customer to understand your brand and identify with it is through PR. Usually, when a customer receives an ad, there is a swift decision, but it’s not the case when a television reporter or journalist features your company or product in the news. The potential customer has time to reflect on what he or she has learned about your product and make a conclusive decision. It’s almost like developing a close rapport with a new co-worker before asking for a favor in the future.
PR fuels growth.
If you want to increase your user base, then PR is where you need to make improvements. For example, you shouldn’t forget about social networks. According to the Council report, 66% of people who want to buy a car click on Facebook ads. Moreover, ads for cars are clicked twice more often than any other ads on this platform.
Lead Generator.
If you embark on strategic PR, high quality, top-of-end funnel leads will be your reward. When you are able to generate quality leads, your customer base will triple in no time. Earned media usually takes the lead in comparison with owned media. When analyzing visitors to a customer’s website, you will notice that visitors do not just visit through earned media but also engage either by making a purchase or clicking on videos.
Basic key to brand transformation
There is always a time when a company or an industry goes through difficult times or when there is a change in the market. If they want to get back on their feet, the narrative has to be changed. For example, Chevrolet is a company that has always struggled for more attention in Europe, being a popular brand in the USA. They decided not to create just another marketing campaign with videos of their car hitting the road in the morning sun. Instead, they asked a legendary sportsman Rob Dyrdek to do a kick flip driving a Chevrolet Sonic. There’s no surprise that the video became viral, and the worldwide millennial audience was excited.
Management of reputation.
There have been so many cases when we saw how badly small or big companies handle difficult situations. Most often, they end up poor, and financial problems reflect badly on the image of the company. Respond time, as well as the language and tone of a PR team affect the whole company. So, when there is a crisis and the company needs to maintain its reputation, then it’s up to the PR team to act. Most of the companies make the mistake of treating their PR as a switch, only calling on them when required. This should not be the case if you want an effective representation, making sure that you remain on top of the marketing scale.
Great tool for recruitment
As for new companies, they can drive significant and qualified candidates to their workforce when they ensure good coverage in respected news outlets. Obviously, when most people receive a message from a recruiter, the first thing to do is to check the LinkedIn page, visit the founder’s profile, and check the company’s name and activities online. When there are good information and content about your company, either online or from the news outlet, a prospective candidate will be more inclined to respond to the recruiter.
PR outlasts advertising
PR outlasts and tends to be more powerful than regular advertising or marketing. The PR content does not have date limitations and is permanent, unlike advertises, which are short-term and temporary. When you stop paying for an ad it goes away, but when popular media publish an article about your company, it remains there forever. Let’s just recall Lamborghini donating their car to the Italian State Police. You can google “Italian police,” and check images — you’ll see this car on the first page.
Public Relations Firm VS. Full-Time PR Employee
There is a clear difference between hiring a PR firm and employing a full-time PR to see how to manage the public relations department. There are advantages and disadvantages depending on which option you follow.
Companies see them as very important assets; they invest in their people, in time, training, and resources. The amount of money spent depends on the type of staff you are employing, it means that you can spend about $4,000- $10,000 monthly. In return, the employer expects the best out of the employee, in this case, the PR manager. Proper representation and advocating on behalf of the company is what is expected from PR. This commitment has its difficult sides. Is your PR team aware of the trending facts? Can it handle the crazy pressure?
Can their job match their cost when the company is running low? What happens if the company decides to drop the staff due to a low income? These all are questions you probably cannot answer. This is where the PR firm can come in handy; you will have loads of professionals working with different companies and industries. They certainly will have all the tools and know all the latest trends, so that you won’t need to worry about the investing time. Just pay for their services, and that is all you need to do as a company owner or a business owner.
What kind of Budget is required?
So what is the right budget when considering a public relations firm? Statistics show that the richest companies have spent about 10% of their revenue on marketing last year. This amounts to 10 million dollars. Small and average companies do not have as much money to invest as the big companies do. However, there are affordable PR companies out there, and many of them provide quality services.
A range of rendered services includes editorial media campaigns, social media management, custom content creation through blog posts, and newsletters. Any company can find a PR agency that will be not too expensive, providing some crucial services and attracting more attention from the targeted audience.
Conclusion
The importance of Public relation cannot be overemphasized, as a matter of fact, if you want the best out of your company or business, then you need to invest more in PR.