http://www.prchannel.com/blog Resources, tips, tricks & information for public relations agencies and professionals. Fri, 21 Aug 2009 14:50:53 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.8.6 en hourly 1 http://www.prchannel.com/blog/4-tips-for-choosing-a-public-relations-firm http://www.prchannel.com/blog/4-tips-for-choosing-a-public-relations-firm#comments Mon, 22 Dec 2008 17:25:58 +0000 sheena http://www.prchannel.com/blog/?p=619

Be clear on what you are expecting from the PR effort, in the same vein, be realistic about what PR cannot do.  Meet with a few firms in order to determine which will be best able to meet your expectations.

Hire a local firm if you want efforts to be specifically directed to your area, they’ll be more in-tune to the local media and attitude.  However, if your campaign will be national or international, don’t limit yourself to firms only in your city.  Sitting down face to face with the firm on a regular basis isn’t as important as you might think, and you’ll want someone who is familiar and has realtionships with national media outlets.

Ask to see sample campaigns from the firms you are interviewing.  You’ll be able to see both the quantity and quality of the work they’ve put out in the past.  Also, ask to speak with a few of their previous (or current) clients.  You’ll get to ask how the firm’s staff interacted with clients and whether or not they felt the firm cared about their business.  Valuable insights you won’t get from the actual firm.

Try to find a firm that is familiar with (or specializes in) your industry and the medium you are expecting to use.  This way they’ll be ready to hit the ground running with your campaign.  If the firm feels they’ll need to do some research to become familiar with your business or a specific medium the campaign will end up costing more as you’ll be paying for that time.

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