How To Be A Great Public Relations Client

Companies around the world spend billions of dollars on public relations (PR) each year, and for good reason. Brand awareness, audience engagement and reputation can make or break a company. Consider this example: There are more than 170 telehealth startup companies. When you are one of that many, how do you stand out from the pack? Businesses across industries—including healthcare tech—realize the value in being where their audiences are, and PR can go a long way in helping do just that.

Even for executives who appreciate and understand PR’s role in establishing, building and maintaining their brand, the time and cost investment are always big considerations when bringing on an outside partner. After all, when it comes to expenses, every leader wants to stretch resources as far as possible and get a solid return on investment (especially in today’s uncertain economic climate).

That’s why it’s so important to make sure your company is set up for a successful PR partnership before making that investment of time and money.

In my 20-year career as a PR professional, I have observed the traits and characteristics that make an effective client—one who achieves media success and return on investment (ROI). Even when a company has an exciting story, when these qualities are missing, the consequence is often a program that does not meet expectations on either side.

What Not To Do

First, let’s talk about some key obstacles to executing a successful PR program.

Leaders Who Are Not On Board

Even if the marketing team is all-in, when a company has an executive team that either does not understand the value of PR or is not engaged in the process, the program often stalls or fails to take off. That’s because the leadership team is typically made up of people who are thought leaders and experts in their fields and are the people we need to call on for media interviews, content creation and more.

An Arduous Review Process

The media work on a tight timetable that is unfamiliar to most corporations. If it takes too long to respond to a request, the reporter will move on. High-profile industry articles tend to go to executives who make themselves available on short notice.

Silos

The PR team needs to have access not only to company leadership but the many other resources that can help fuel a media program, such as data scientists or subject matter experts (SMEs). The PR team needs the autonomy to reach out to the right people (and, when it’s for an opportunity, expect a response within media’s very tight time frame).

An Unbalanced Focus On Reporting Versus Action

Reporting is good and necessary; it’s critical to measure an investment and review what is working and what isn’t. But media takes time, so if your team is only focused on short-term data—and not on doing the actual work to cultivate a long-term strategy—the results can suffer.

How To Be A Great PR Partner

Here’s what your team can do to proactively make the most of your PR efforts. Clients that cultivate these tend to see a higher ROI and receive more high-value media coverage and can track that coverage to their long-term business goals.

An Engaged CEO And/Or Spokesperson

PR professionals should take the time to familiarize themselves with their clients’ respective industries, but we can never replicate the years of experience and expertise that someone dedicated to that field has. Having an executive or other spokesperson who is engaged and understands that they play an important role in the process yields the best results.

Some clients add our team directly to their company Slack, giving us real-time access to everyone. For one former client, whenever we had a question or media request, we’d go directly to the founders to get their thoughts—and then take those insights back to the reporter for their story, under the deadline.

A Solid And Unique Story

Your public relations team is there to help you figure out the best way to tell your story. That said, even the best PR professional cannot (or should not) make something out of nothing. It doesn’t have to be perfect, but knowing what story you want to tell is critical to kick off a successful media program. From there, your PR team can help hone that message for your target audience(s).

An Understanding That Media Care More About Your Expertise (Than Your Product)

With few exceptions, the media are more interested in hearing from people with a point of view their audience will want to read about than they are in hearing a sales pitch. It can take practice, but being open and recognizing this is how it works can go a long way toward a successful media relations program.

A Commitment To Open Communication

Like any relationship, when something isn’t working or causes confusion, it’s important to deal with it immediately rather than letting it fester. With open communication, any issue can be addressed before it becomes something bigger.

A Willingness To Have Fun

When we can laugh together, the entire process is more enjoyable for everyone.

So many clients expect their PR teams to work magic on their behalf. We are storytellers, relationship-builders and problem-solvers, but we’re not magicians. In order to produce the best results—and deliver a return on your investment—we need partners who can help ensure we have the tools we need to get your story in front of the people who are waiting to hear it.

Originally published here