How to Hire a publicist: Tips for Hiring a PR Firm

Most brands and businesses should use part of their marketing budget to hire a publicist, especially for public-facing organisations. This is just one more way that businesses can enjoy a competitive advantage in today’s hyper-competitive business space.

For many people, public relations can be challenging to navigate effectively and that’s why we recommend working with a publicist that can help you achieve your PR goals.

Unfortunately, many businesses neglect PR as these costs run relatively high, especially as a marketing strategy.

However, the significance of PR can’t be overlooked and traditionally is one of the best marketing avenues to grow your audience and provide your business with a high return on investment over time.

There are countless benefits to working with a publicist and using PR to effectively work towards your business goals. This post will look at how recruiting a publicist can add value to your business and some tips on hiring a publicist.

What Does a Publicist Do For Your Business?

The main goal of a publicist is to communicate the message of your business or brand to consumers.

This is going to be people that you wish to reach, impact, and influence to promote your business, product, or service.

Working with the publicist helps to streamline this process as they’ll be able to decide what the messages will be, how they’ll be delivered, who’s going to deliver them to them, how to engage with your target audience, and how to target your audience online.

Publicists also helped to manage publicity for public figures, larger businesses, and influencers.

This management includes press releases, media alerts, social media content, Etc.

Publicists stay busy by managing clients’ public image and setting up any necessary public events to drive publicity.

Some other responsibilities of publicists can include pitching clients to journalists and influencers, managing crises, developing media lists, arranging interviews, and tracking media coverage.

Where to Find a Publicist

The easiest way to find a publicist is to leverage your existing network.

Open up a line of communication with people within your industry or personal network and ask if they’re working with a publicist or PR firm.

This is the best way to find somebody to work with that has already been vetted and comes recommended by someone you know personally.

Otherwise, the next best option is to work with a PR firm.

These agencies work with publicists and make connecting your PR goals to an entire organisation easy.

Working with an agency also opens you up to other services or potential opportunities, depending on your PR goals.

Helpful Tips for Hiring a Publicist

Before you recruit a publicist or hire a PR agency, some things need to be considered.

One of the most important factors is whether or not you’re going to like working with the agency or individual.

Not only should you be getting recommendations, but you should have a few meetings with a publicist or PR agency before working together to ensure that there is specific chemistry and that your goals are aligned.

It’s important for a publicist to understand what the goals for your organisation are and how you’re hoping to achieve them before you invite them on board.

As a business or product owner, you need to be able to convey your message is clear before having somebody work on promoting it themselves.

You also need to decide whether you want to work with a publicist as an individual or as part of a PR agency.

One of the benefits to working with a PR agency is that they’re typically involved with several people across different networks and professional Industries, so they have access where a sole individual might not.

Most PR agencies are well acquainted with market trends and have less difficulty aligning themselves with your goals happened to be.

There’s also more of an agency to fall back on for a specific publicist rather than one working independently.

Something else to keep an eye out for is references and examples of past work. Always ask for case studies and look for those as specific as possible to your business.

Like with any industry, only a handful of the best publicists will be able to deliver the meaningful results that you’re looking for, so it’s essential to take your time to find the right person or agency to work with from the start.

Is it Worth it to Hire a Publicist?

The most significant benefit to hiring a publicist is that they will have a better chance of being trusted by the media than you do, as an individual or as a relatively unknown business.

There will be people or agencies with contacts and relationships in place better able to reach out and pitch content, stories, or ideas at a far more successful rate than you would be able to.

Not only have they already built these relationships, but they have experience with the entire PR process, so you’re able to jump right in with your digital marketing strategy rather than learning the ropes on your own.

Get in contact with us here to find out how JamPrime can help you.