Can You Afford to Skimp On Public Relations for Your Company?

If you walk into any Fortune 500 company, it probably won’t be hard to find its PR department. Its team members will be hard at work, analyzing data from the last marketing campaign and planning for the next one. In fact, it is safe to say that behind every successful business lies a good public relations strategy. Why, then, do so many startups forego on what is an integral part of other companies? Let’s take a look at some of the reasons why PR should be included in your business plan even if it may be a while before you get listed on the New York Stock Exchange.

Reason 1: Public Relations Can Help You to Manage Your Online Reputation.

Is the Internet the new Wild West? That is debatable, but most of us would agree that people can, and do, say anything on the Internet, and that can include about your products. A bad review, deserved or not, has the potential to derail your months of hard work, and PR can help you to overcome it.

At a minimum, your public relations plan should incorporate daily monitoring of your reviews. If you receive a negative review, press releases, blog posts, and video-interviews can all be utilized to either address it or potentially distract from it. As for the good comments, and there will be many, of course, try to respond to them, too. That is just great customer service.

Other times, you may see a PR campaign get off track and not achieve the results you envisioned. If that happens, having a plan B – a new public relations strategy – that you can immediately implement can also help you with your reputation online, where so many companies connect with potential customers.

Reason 2: PR Is An Excellent Way to Define Your Company.

Let’s say, for the sake of example, that your company sells women’s shoes. You can already see the problem: you are just one of probably hundreds of companies that sell the same product. It won’t be easy to break into such a lucrative market unless you can differentiate yourself from your competition in the minds of consumers.

PR, however, will go beyond the fact that you sell hiking boots while your competitors sell stilettos or sandals. It will bring out your values, which potential customers may be able to relate to. Perhaps your company is into ecotourism or donates a portion of every sale to an environmental nonprofit. The more your PR campaign incorporates those important details, the more personality your company will have and be likely to stand out in a crowded business world.

Reason 3: A Public Relations Campaign Can Connect You With More High-Quality Job Candidates.

While a leader of a company can understandably be focused on PR strategies that generate sales, they often forget another potential benefit: finding new employees that can help take the company to the next level.

PR is designed to allow those candidates to see into your company and understand you, the leader, and the work culture. What is it like to work for you? Where do you see the company going? What fires you up and inspires you? Through blog posts, podcasts, and one-on-one interviews, you can show jobseekers that your company is on the rise and that you are the kind of boss they would love to work with.

PR Is An Indispensable Part of Every Business No Matter Its Size.

In the early days of a startup when every penny counts and is quickly allocated, you may be tempted to decrease the budget for public relations. Choosing to develop a PR strategy for your company, though, may be a very wise decision.

Imperium Group is an American public relations and marketing consultancy firm. Founded in 2016, it specializes in guaranteed placements, creating utmost transparency for its clients. Imperium Group generates over 15M impressions a month for its clients. Its team is based out of New York, Dallas, and Los Angeles.  

For more information about Imperium Group, please see https://shop.imperiumgrouppr.com/.