Written By: Shannon Briggs

While it’s true that anyone can ask  a reporter if they are interested in a story, hiring a PR team to handle your story ideas has  many benefits, including much more publicity for you! Here are four key reasons to hire a PR firm for your campaign:

Relationships

A PR team develops and maintains  personal relationships with a wide network of media contacts constantly on the lookout for great story ideas like yours. A pitch from a familiar face, name, or email address is more likely to get consideration, as a reputable PR rep has the credibility and standing that come with a reserve of clients and story ideas.
In public relations, a big piece of the job is being aware of  all relevant media outlets and current events. A good team is familiar with all available media outlets that would be both interested in your story and able to reach your target audience. For example, many lesser known media outlets have a wide, yet targeted reach, even if they are not one of the big players. Your PR team will also have their fingers on the pulse of what’s happening in various industries and communities, and an understanding of how your story could fit within that landscape.

Expertise

Every team member in your business was hired because they possess a specific set of skills. Hiring a PR team means your internal team can focus on what they enjoy doing and do best, and gives the experts the keys to drive the media campaign. PR teams bring creativity, writing skills, knowledge on trends, ROI knowledge, and a wide range of soft skills to the table to implement a results-driven campaign. 

Money

While hiring an external PR team comes with expense, it’s often a smaller expense than what it would cost to hire, onboard, and train an internal employee. Between salary, benefits, and taxes, the cost of an employee adds up. With a PR team, you can either pay for each individual campaign without committing  to a long-term plan, or you can commit to a monthly retainer and let your PR team really shine a light for you! 

Time

A PR team will save you tons of time in the long-term. Let your staff focus on what they do best in their field of expertise, instead of spending their precious time learning new public relations skills. With  knowledge and experience, PR professionals can put together campaigns faster than a staff member who has a press release as just one item on a very long to-do list. PR teams will also handle all logistics for communicating with the media and booking interviews, prepare  you for interviews, and keep all the pieces to the puzzle in order while you focus on running your business. PR teams need very little time  for onboarding or training. Usually, one or two initial meetings is all they need to get the necessary information and run with it

Who doesn’t like to save time, money, and brainspace while still moving their business forward? Hiring an external PR team might be just what you need to fill that gap in your marketing or media plan.