Wazzup Pilipinas!
Choosing the best press release distribution service is a lot tricky given that there is a lot of options to choose from. Many PR agencies offer competitive price and quality distribution.
When you say distribution service, they don’t just offer distribution. Today, companies offer integrated solutions that boost a brand’s awareness, growth, credibility, and establishing themselves as industry experts.
If you are in the middle of making a decision, you may find it tough to decide with lots of options available. Here are important factors that you need to consider:
The PR Team
You need to weigh the team who will be handling your PR campaign. Sometimes, the person who will be talking to you is not the one who will be pitching your story. There is also a different person who will handle your account.
You need to be certain with the people you’re working with. It’s important to search for a team who can have a good relationship with you. Look for rapport.
It’s important that you are able to express your ideas or suggestions and not only one way. Communication must be open. They must be ready to accept your recommendations or what you want for your campaign.
Ask them who will be your point of contact or who will handle your campaign. Meet with them in person to discuss the nature of your business and goals. You may invite them to your office to discuss important matters about your business.
If you want to have social media integration, show your social media account. You may also show them your past successful campaigns if you chose a different PR agency in the past.
Size.
Sometimes, we tend to think that big ideas and big companies always work best. While this may be the case sometimes, this is not true at all times.
There are cases that big companies pursue the services of popular press release distribution sites because they are well known in this field. However, they ended up disappointed for several reasons.
Several large companies shifted to small and medium-sized press release services after they had unsatisfied results. The results were caused by changes in staff restructuring by older PR companies. The transition from traditional to modern strategy affected how these agencies work.
They suffered due to the digital transformation trends happening in the PR market in the recent decade. In fact, it is more challenging for these PR giants to adjust to the new modern PR tactics than the smaller ones.
When picking a press release service, don’t judge it based on its size. Sometimes, it’s the small and medium-sized agencies that can help grow your business.
Track records.
Before you book your press release distribution with any distribution platform, make sure that you know how they performed in recent years or decades. Can they prove to you how they worked?
Can they show you links to their published releases? Do they have positive reviews from review sites? Checking these things is important before you agree with their service.
It’s really important to choose a platform that already has experience and caliber in their field. Although it’s not bad to choose a new one, there are certain criteria that only the experienced services can offer.
Be it in other areas, choosing something that has proven track of records always produce better results. It’s because they know what it takes. If they have experience, they can apply their expertise in your own campaign.
Just imagine choosing a new agency over an expert PR company. Although track record is not the only basis, it’s different when you choose a PR service that is expert in your industry.
You no longer have to worry. You can sleep and wake up knowing that your campaign is in good hands.
Capabilities.
Another important factor worth considering is the service’s capabilities. What can a service do aside from distribution of releases?
Take for instance Newswire. It is a press release service that has several offerings under its hood. Apart from distribution, they offer media database, media monitoring, media outreach, newsroom, and PR Strategy.
When you hire a PR agency that can do a number of services, you can save a huge amount of money in the long run. Let’s say you need writing service and distribution, instead of getting it from different agencies, Newswire can provide it as a package.
You can save more when you get a package of writing and distribution rather than paying for it separately. Moreover, if you need other services, you don’t have to book another PR service.
You can save not only money but a significant amount of time. The best PR firm is the one that can offer traditional marketing, social media, and digital media.
Usually, new agencies are more aggressive in providing this kind of service. They tend to provide more offerings than older firms.
Specialization.
Yes, right. Choose a PR service that offers specialization. Although the majority of press release platforms target almost all types of industries, it’s different if you hire a platform that specializes in your area.
If you are in the technology industry, get a PR agency that has worked with several technology companies. When you choose a PR firm that specialization, it’s very likely that they’ll deliver excellent results.
If you’re in doubt, don’t hesitate to ask for recommendations. Third-party recommendations weigh more.
Results-focused.
Choose a company that concentrates on delivering PR results. Don’t rush them. Allow time for your campaign to gain momentum.
Set your target goal and set the key performance indicators (KPIs). Try to discuss it with the PR company, so they know your expectations. It also helps them to work harder and strive to reach your goals.
If you paid for annual distribution, meet with them on a monthly basis to review the results of the present month. It will serve as a basis for your next campaign. You can identify the strong and weak points.
For the next company activities, ensure to discuss it fully so that they have the idea on how they will craft the release and distribute it. Communication must be open during this stage.
If a PR agency volunteers to do the discussion with you regularly, don’t hesitate. It just means that they are a result-oriented agency. This type of PR company appreciates suggestions and recommendations and would consider it as an opportunity to grow their business too.
Your sales and marketing targets must be aligned. Your goal must be clear with them so they know how they will execute your campaign.
Flexibility.
When shopping for the best PR platform to hire, compare first. Know which among your options can provide the most flexibility.
Are they willing to bend over their standards just to serve you? Or are they firm with their rules and can’t accept recommendations coming from you?
Test the flexibility of these PR companies. For instance, if their pricing is too high for you, are you walking out because they don’t have a lower plan that you can afford? Is there a PR agency that offers a customized plan?
Work with a company that can offer flexibility in order to serve their clients. There are some PR platforms that can do that. They can customize a plan based on their client’s budget.
Give them an opportunity to provide your requests. They must be able to compromise with you.
Again, communication is the key. Talk with them to discuss your company’s information, goals, and the results that you want to achieve.
Long-term relationship potential.
Although it is quite impossible to tell early on, you can sense which PR agency has the potential to develop a long-term relationship with you. The basis would be common grounds.
Do you see or feel a rapport with them? Can they understand what you’re saying or not? Do they care about your business?
Give and take is essential for a relationship to grow. If you just decided to choose an agency without considering this factor, you may end up working together for two years and just left because they changed their rules. The relationship suffered.
Choose a company that continues to grow with you. It can be a company that keeps on improving to offer more quality features and services to its clients.
The best PR provider is the one that can help you grow your network. They must be able to introduce you to other potential businesses and media.
Affordability.
While pricing must not be the top priority when considering a PR service, it is still significant. Of course, you need to choose a company that provides cost-effective pricing.
What if you want their service but you can’t afford their plans? Aside from the services they offer, consider the time they spent to conduct your campaign, their people, resources, strategies, etc.
Price comes with quality most of the time. The reason why they are more expensive is that they offer more quality results.
Whenever you make a decision and considering the cost, find out what quality they offer that you will not find in other PR companies? Although you’re going to pay more, the results are all worth it.
Ross is known as the Pambansang Blogger ng Pilipinas - An Information and Communication Technology (ICT) Professional by profession and a Social Media Evangelist by heart.
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