The 7 Important Facts You Should Know Before Hiring A Digital PR Agency

Written by Simpatico PR

Posted on 2020-02-22

For a growing business, getting the right message across to the right people is the key to success and, there may come a time when you decide that hiring a professional digital PR agency is the right move for your brand. A professional digital PR agency in London can help your business to reach the right people, and to lay the foundations for scaling but, before signing on the dotted line, there are a few things you need to know. In this article, we’ll tackle the seven important facts you should know before hiring a digital PR agency and, the questions you should be asking:

What kind of agency?

The first thing to keep in mind is that not all digital PR agencies are created equal. There are different kinds of PR available and, these are:

● Reputation management

● Crisis management

● Media Relations

● Social Media

● Press relations

● Event planning

● Market research

● Copywriting

Reputation and crisis management PR tends to be used by larger companies and those who are going through a reputational crisis, such as a lawsuit or negative publicity. For the average business, a digital PR agency which ticks the boxes for media / press relations, market research and copywriting is usually sufficient.

Shooting for the goal

When shopping for a digital PR agency, the first thing you’ll want to do is set your objectives. It’s really important to have a clear idea of what you want to achieve from your PR as this will form the basis of choosing an agency. For example, do you want to reach a national audience through the media or, are you looking to make customers aware of your brand within a certain region? Locking down your objective before starting out will make the entire process quicker and easier.

Money matters

This one may sound obvious but, setting your budget is an integral part of choosing a digital PR agency. Prices can vary from agency to agency and from region to region - particularly within large cities and so, you’ll need to be clear on what you can afford to avoid wasting time with more expensive companies.

Great expectations

Now that you have your objectives and your budget laid down, it’s time to think about your expectations and, how these align with your objectives. This is essential as, when first approaching digital PR agencies, you’ll need to be able to clearly communicate your expectations to the agency. This will also help the agency to figure out if they’re the right fit for your brand.

A leading question

Once you have all your ducks in a row in terms of objectives, budget and expectations, it’s time to start researching digital PR agencies. The best way to start is to ask around for recommendations for friends, family and professional acquaintances as this can really help to speed up your search. Once you have your long list of potential agencies, you’ll need to make sure that you properly research each and every one including checking out their website, reading reviews and testimonials. At this stage, it’s a good idea to put together a Request For Information (RFI) document to send to the agencies. This document will lay out your objectives and goals and should include the following questions:

● Do you specialise in a niche or specific industry?

● What’s your pricing structure?

● Can you tell me about previous work with businesses similar to mine?

● What will your strategy be for my PR?

● Who will work on our account?

● How will he or she communicate with us, and how often?

● How do you measure success?

● What will the first few months look like?

All of these questions are designed to weed out the agencies who would be a bad fit and create a short list to move to the next stage.

A meeting of minds

Armed with the responses from your RFI, you’re now ready to arrange meetings with the agencies that you have shortlisted. It’s always important to have a face to face meeting to allow you to see where the agency is working from and, get a feel for how skilled and experienced they are with digital PR UK. During the meeting, you’ll be gauging the agency’s expertise and figuring out what they may be like to work with. As such, you should always insist on meeting the account manager or professional who will be your main contact.

Sealing the deal

Once you’ve made your decision, the winning agency will usually send you a contract to sign. As with any other legal document, you should always ask a solicitor to look this over for you before committing to anything.

A match made in PR heaven

A good digital PR agency London will work with your brand to create a winning strategy to take your business to the next level. Because of this, a professional agency will ask lots of questions about your company and may even ask to visit your workplace to get a feel for the product or service - if they don’t, this should be considered a red flag and an indication that they’re not interested enough to really get to the heart of your brand. Choosing a digital PR agency is a decision that should never be rushed as, when it works properly, it can often be a relationship which lasts for many years.