Comments on: Why Hire a PR Firm?

By: TravisV

TravisV — Mon, 01 Sep 2008 19:37:47 +0000

I think the best argument against PR firms is that you are usually paying for about 25% of one mid level and one junior staffer’s time on your account – and then the occasional cameo by one of the PR firm’s founders. That’s the experience of the overwhelming number of vendors that work with PR firms, despite *every* PR firm’s solemn promise in the pitch process that they do not do this.

So hiring a single smart person to do your PR in house and having 100% of their time seems to make a heck of a lot more sense in most cases. Not only do you get the full immersion of that person and their intimate knowledge with your product set, but they sit on every single call and experience every facet of that company’s PR (and can tweak and grow accordingly), as opposed to these inconsistent levels of participation by third parties.

I think the counter argument is that PR firms bring the advantage of existing relationships to the table, and can often get the superior results by virtue of having gone through it time and again. Definitely something to be said for working with someone who’s launched many similar companies in the past.

But I think that “relationships” are severely overstated notions in PR – and that it’s almost always the quality of the story (versus the person telling it).

Of course, there are infinite variables that change the equation. I think that smaller IT vendors should hire an in-house person. I think larger, more established IT vendors get a lot more utility out of PR firms because they have a lot more to lose (in crisis communications) and a lot more sophisticated requirements.

Just my two bits …

By: Kerry Dye

Kerry Dye — Fri, 15 Aug 2008 16:47:22 +0000

As a professional SEO, I work in concert with companies’ PR firms to get their content to work harder for them, whether the PR firm ‘does’ digital or not. Together we get better results and more sales/visibility for the customer.

By: Justin Levy

Justin Levy — Thu, 14 Aug 2008 20:26:59 +0000

Todd,
I think this is a great response to the past few days activities in the blogosphere.

PR firms will always be a valuable entity and will be needed. PR firms will need to re-tool the ways which they distribute their clients’ messages (i.e. social media PR). Inevitably there will be some agencies that won’t make this change but those that do will continue to be successful and serve their clients well.

Like Mike said in the video, while a lot of it can be done by an individual or company, it’s great to have a PR team that helps to share those ideas with, develop content, develop networks or break into networks that you otherwise couldn’t get into, etc.

Keep up the great work!

-Justin Levy

By: Romain

Romain — Thu, 14 Aug 2008 15:38:40 +0000

What I’m expecting from PR?
1. To help me grow my network, providing me with interesting people to meet within my business area (and others if relevant)
2. To help me manage my public relationships, advising me on where and who I should meet
3. To be a connection facilitator
4. Monitoring my brand reputation and keep teasing people to make them want to know more about my company

If it’s about sending press release, I do not need them. That’s just not what I need (I’m working in a Web 2.0 company). I don’t care about sending press releases, I want to meet journalists/ bloggers or have a call with them to connect with them.

By: Erin Smith

Erin Smith — Thu, 14 Aug 2008 15:34:56 +0000

I agree with Mike that a good PR firm will be creative in finding the “story within the story”. They will also have a more keen awareness of topics that are old news to potential media targets – let’s face it, we sometimes need people to tell us that our ideas are stale! There is talent and diligence behind both capabilities.

By: Jeff

Jeff — Thu, 14 Aug 2008 14:09:33 +0000

Bravo, Todd. Smart response to the anti-PR sentiment out there. I think Jen’s point of an “outside perspective” is very valid. Clients are too close to their business and need outside counsel to help them see things from different angles.

By: Confluence: Marketing

Confluence: Marketing — Thu, 14 Aug 2008 05:46:53 +0000

HubSpot.tv Scripts

Episode #3 (August 22nd 2008) \\ \\ \\ Episode #2 (August 14th 2008) # Introductions Karen Rubin and MIke Volpe from HubSpot # Stephanie Meyer Twilight Series ## Using the internet for marketing a book series # Role of PR in a Social Media…

By: Marcel LeBrun

Marcel LeBrun — Thu, 14 Aug 2008 02:01:00 +0000

Todd,
Great post & smart response to the Arrington post… saw your comment there too.
Marcel

By: Mike Volpe - HubSpot

Mike Volpe - HubSpot — Wed, 13 Aug 2008 22:43:37 +0000

Cool video! (If I do say so myself.)

As you know, this has been a big debate at HubSpot. When I think about it, there are five ways a PR firm can provide value in today’s world in general (not all companies are social media savvy).

1) Research – find good blogs, awards, conferences, dig up info
2) Training – teach people about PR in a social media world
3) Create Content – story ideas, writing, video, audio
4) Pitching / Relationship – maybe more relevant to old media, but it does still work
5) Monitoring – make sure you comment on the right blogs and don’t miss any news

If people want to know more about my thoughts, read this article -the Value of a PR Firm in a Social Media World.

By: Jen Zingsheim

Jen Zingsheim — Wed, 13 Aug 2008 20:35:33 +0000

Todd, thanks for posting this…these anti-PR memes are depressing when they pop up. I think one of the factors that I would add to this–and Mike I think kind of touched around the edges of it–is that an outside PR firm can also offer a different perspective. It’s always good to have at least one other party there to listen to a plan or idea, especially one that is independent of the company.

I compare it to people who own nothing but company stock in their retirement plans–employees are too close to the product/firm to see, perhaps, some of its warts and issues. Diversify!

Jen