Your Role In PR

In talking to a client the other day, I was caught off guard by something he said. Since he said it, I can’t get it off my mind and thought it is worth writing about to clarify and shed some light on the issue.

This client said he was surprised that since he started the PR program with my agency that he was required to do some work in support of the program. He said he was surprised at the amount of work he had to do as part of the PR we’re doing for him. I asked him to clarify and he explained that he didn’t realize that a PR program would require any of his time.

As we met with him and were putting together the program I explained that my team and I would take care of things like writing and setting up interviews with the media. He took that very literally. As we set about executing on the PR strategy we created I set up some interviews and came back to him to get them on his calendar. We also wrote a couple of press releases and, as I customarily do, I asked him to review it to make sure I had represented everything accurately.

When I said I would take care of everything he thought it would all happen and he could just sit back and watch. While that’s true, it’s only true to a certain extent. I’ll take care of executing on the PR strategy but it will still require time from the client.

With this experience in mind, I’ve listed some of the things a client will need to be involved in when working with a PR firm. By no means is this everything, as your time commitment will differ based on goals and objectives, but these items are things that, in most instances, will require some of your time and commitment.

• Media Interviews: The wow factor of any PR program is the media coverage. In most instances, this is why businesses engage in PR. Media coverage helps build awareness, credibility and establish a company as an industry thought leader or an individual as an industry expert. For the most part, if a reporter is interested in talking to a company they want to talk to the CEO or an executive that can talk about the company, it’s products or services as well as the company’s vision, not the PR person. While your PR team will pitch and set up these opportunities and prepare you for the interview you will need to give the time to prepare and conduct the interview. Most interviews will last anywhere from 30 minutes to an hour. Take these opportunities serious and, even more importantly, take the time necessary to prepare for these interviews so you can maximize the opportunity.
• Press releases and other written materials: Press releases are vital tools to educating the public or your target markets. It’s an opportunity for you to quickly share important news about your company, product or service. Writing a press release often requires the time to share the pertinent details and information with your PR team. Once the release is written you’ll need to set aside some time to review, edit and approve the press release. For one, you’ll want to make sure you’re aware of what the release says and that more importantly the information included is accurate. Once a press release is issued it’s hard to go back and correct the details and can lead to distrust or lack of confidence from your partners, clients and customers.
• Regular meetings with your PR team: The purpose of engaging in a PR campaign is to create awareness and build credibility for your brand. To do this you’ll need to meet with your PR team regularly to update them on progress, company initiatives and other activities so they can do their job effectively. These regular meetings can vary on frequency depending on goals and objectives, but they need to happen to maximize your investment in PR. I always tell clients to tell me everything and then I can tell them what is newsworthy or valuable to the PR campaign. You can keep these meetings short and to the point by creating an agenda and sharing it in advance of the actual meeting.

In my experience the more my team and I know the more effective we can be for our clients. Similarly, the more time the client is willing to spend engaged in the PR program the more success we can generate. I’ve had clients that have said they want to talk to the press, create awareness and credibility only to pass on the opportunities we create. In these instances they have minimal success. I’ve also had clients that are fully engaged in their PR program and are willing and eager to participate and leverage the opportunities we create for them. For those that are committed to PR success and give of their time they are more successful and are able to fully reap the benefits of their PR program.