How to Find the Right Digital PR Agency For Your Company in 2021

For any business, choosing a Digital PR Agency can be really stressful and the outcome of this can impact the success or failure of your marketing at large. 

Appointing a Digital PR and communications agency is an option to consider if you’re looking to amplify your business or products to the media.

First, let’s take a look at the role of a Digital PR Agency within your business.  

What does a Digital PR Agency do?

A Digital PR firm helps to handle the online reputation of your company through owned, earned, and paid communications. The main objectives of a Digital PR firm are brand awareness, visibility and online reputation management. Digital PR aims to build brand value while using digital tools. 

Below, you'll learn everything you need to know about hiring a Digital PR agency for your business. Entrusting your brand in the care of another company to represent your company on main digital channels – means you need the right fit. 

So how should you go about choosing the best PR firm for your startup?

Take these 5 tips into account before you start your search. 

Tip 1 – Where to look. 

There are a plethora of agencies and consultants from which to choose. Talk to your networking contacts to get recommendations. Use google search as a tool to validate your search and the recommendations given. 

Tip 2 – Determine your Digital PR Agency budget 

It is very essential to be upfront about how much you can truly spend. It saves everyone involved time and effort when you do. It is also important to make a firm decision on your top-line budget. Agencies are expensive and you’ll need to make sure you clearly articulate your top-line budget, including base retainer, expenses and incidentals. Make sure you have a clear path that requires written approval for any month expense that exceeds your budget.

Tip 3 – Establish Digital PR goals. 

A good agency should be happy to help work with you to refine your brief if necessary, but try to be clear from the start about:

• what you want to achieve
• whom you want to communicate with
• your priority messages and ideas

Also, provide any relevant background information upfront, so the agency can approach the brief in the right context.

Do you want the agency to generate online media placements (and, if so, in top news platforms; sponsored blog posts, online content outreach, etc); attain speaking engagements (ie, local or national; keynoter or featured panelist?); and/or position you as an industry thought-leader? Understanding and outlining what you want digital public relations to accomplish is a necessary starting step.

Tip 4 - Look to hire an extension of your team, not just an agency

It is important you think of your Digital PR firm as an active part of your team, not as a 3rd party. While your PR firm team will work with more than just your account, you should never feel like they are working with anyone but you. You want to hire an extension to your team, you’re not looking for an average client/agency relationship.

Tip 5 - Make sure you’re excited to work together

In the pitch meetings, if the PR agency has done their homework and prepared properly, they will present a few different PR campaign ideas based on your RFP requirements. When the hard work is done, due diligence is completed and a PR agency has been selected, what you should be left with is a sense of excitement. The PR firm ought to have demonstrated a clear desire to be part of the startup’s journey, understanding its offering and space it’s operating in. For your business, there should be a confidence that your goals can be achieved, an impact can be made within the press, and that they have decided on a team they genuinely want to work with. If that’s the case, the selection process has been a success.

These tips will make the process of hiring a Digital PR firm less painful and they will help you to make an informed and wise choice. 

If you’d like to find out more about how our boutique PR and communications agency can help your business get in touch.