Because PR is hard to measure and tricky to do, many companies miss incredible opportunities for awareness building, by putting all their money into digital marketing campaigns. Those campaigns might be easier to track, but marketing campaigns are not designed to talk to a large enough audience to build awareness. Unless you throw millions of euros at the problem of course. PR is a cost-effective and efficient way to grow your visibility and market share in existing markets, and help enter new ones.
Here are three great arguments you can use to tell your boss why you need a PR budget.
Marketing needs PR to be effective
Think about your own life. Do you click on paid ads from companies you have never heard of? People rarely interact with marketing from brands they don’t know or trust, and so reaching them through channels they trust becomes critically important. PR hits differently, because the content is checked and verified by media professionals. That gives a trust to your brand that you cannot produce through your own channels, and next time they see your ad, they are more likely to engage, because they know you.
PR is incredibly cost effective
You know how much ads cost? Well, if you’re trying to build awareness, the answer is: Alot. To make an impression on a large group of people, social media and search engines charge their premiums. Add to that all the work that goes into creating visuals, content and executing these campaigns, they are rarely very effective ways of reaching people who do not already know who you are.
For earned PR, the cost is only related to the work you put in. You can reach thousands of people through media coverage, without paying for additional reach services or having your content producers pull all-nighters to get the content together. Your only costs for PR are the hours spent doing it, and partner costs, if you have one.
PR puts you ahead of the competition
If you can steer the discussion in your industry to be about something your company excels at, it can be a huge competitive advantage. This isn’t done overnight, and building a media presence takes time and is hard work. But once built, a strong media presence means you are more likely to be used as an expert source in your industry, invited to speak at events, podcasts, radio shows, TV and similar, where you are able to talk about your company and insights in depth.
Want to know more about why PR is critical for a company’s success?
Download our specialists’ guide to international PR to learn more!
