As a brand, getting your name out to your target audience can be daunting. But it can also provide an infinite amount of resources and opportunities to cement your business. If you’re ready, working with a PR and communications firm can give you access to valuable tools, media placements, and years of experience. But how do you know if you’re ready to hire a PR agency? There are several tell-tale signs to help you figure out if your brand is ready to take the plunge – read more in our public relations checklist below.
1. The budget exists
If you don’t have the funds to invest in an agency, you might not be ready for PR. Allocating a budget for PR is often the biggest barrier that companies face, especially startups. If the budget does exist, getting assistance from a PR and communications firm can help your business (and its visibility) grow exponentially.
2. You’re juggling too much
If you’re spreading yourself thin between content management, press releases, and outreach efforts, burnout is headed your way soon. Though it might be necessary to keep the business alive, this isn’t a sustainable way to do things. If you’re spreading yourself thin across all areas of your company, it’s time to put things in the hands of a PR agency that can handle those tasks with ease so you can put your focus where it matters.
3. You understand that patience is key
Public relations is often a long game, and strategies take time to build momentum. Don’t expect to be in top-tier publications and go viral overnight. PR and communications agencies like ours work hard and invest energy to generate a following for your brand, and it’ll take time for growth and results to happen naturally. In the long run, being patient is essential if your goal is to become an authority in your industry and have the best ROI possible.
4. You’ve figured out your target market
Niche marketing is key, especially for sexual wellness brands. While we can help you with our experienced sexual wellness PR professionals, it’s much more efficient to identify your target audience before meeting with us. Apart from ensuring better results, knowing your niche can help guide your business to thrive and figure out important steps in creating a marketing strategy, like tailored messaging, marketing on the proper channels, and reaching the right people.
5. You want better communication with the media
Facilitating broad and effective communication with media, influencers, and more is nearly impossible without the help of PR agencies. Agencies like Little Leaf already have a multitude of resources and connections in these areas and can pitch stories, secure coverage via targeted media lists, and more. If you want to show up in more media outlets and podcasts or get nominated for awards, this part of our public relations checklist is essential.
6. Your digital footprint and assets are established
While we can help your business flourish, PR agencies need a foundation with which to work. That means a user-friendly, updated website that functions, existing social media accounts, and up-to-date headshots that can be sent out for press use. After all, you don’t want to lose potential customers (or coverage) over something as trivial as your website or accounts not being up to date.
7. You’re fully prepared for an influx in traffic
After several months of PR agencies putting in work, brands will start to see the success that comes from increased media placements and being on the radar of journalists and hence, more of the public. However, with this growth and recognition, there’s a flip side – you’ll need to keep up on your end and ensure your business is up to scale. This means having the funds, staff, operational logistics, inventory, and everything else in place. Especially if you do go viral tomorrow – it’s rare, but it happens, so being prepared is paramount!
8. You have clear goals in mind
We can help you and offer support, but what exactly do you want help with? Having set objectives in mind (i.e., securing more influencer or celebrity partnerships, better SEO results, attracting more investors, showing up in more top-tier media publications) can help us figure out strategies. Having these goals in place and checking them off the public relations checklist is important for that first consultation meeting you have with a PR agency, as they will set the foundation and inform communications and planning down the line. When we know your goals, we can hit them better and deliver that ROI you’re looking for.
Partnering with a PR agency isn’t an impulse move by any means. If you’ve reflected and have considered the points in our PR checklist above, be sure to check out our list of services and reach out to nina@littleleaf.agency to learn more.
