4 Ways PR Agencies Can Help a Company Thrive

Okay, so you’ve got a crisis in the office. Or you see your placement in the Google search results slowly slipping. Or you notice your online branding is chaotic and incoherent. What do you do? Luckily, these are all issues that a public relations (PR) agency might be able to help you with. Because PR agencies have such wide-ranging job duties, though, it’s useful to compile a concise list of the different jobs they can perform for you. If you’d like to learn a little more about how they can help, read on below.

1. Crisis Communication

Possibly the first thing people think of when they hear the words “public relations,” crisis communication is often one of the most visible signs of PR work. Crisis communication support can occur before or after a crisis actually occurs, and, broadly, occurs when firms guide clients through sensitive issues like workplace discrimination accusations, executive misconduct, data breaches, or lawsuits. PR agencies can help protect a client’s reputations, minimize long-term harm, and provide ongoing strategic counsel.

2. Brand Messaging

A boutique PR agency can also help a company organize and construct their brand so it remains useful to the company and cohesive over the long term. They can define and target audiences, boil down a company’s identity to a concise message, and help leaders communicate these messages to a target audience. Cohesive brand messaging is useful because it’s often the first thing people think of when they recognize a company name — and every company, of course, wants to shape those thoughts in a way that benefits them.

3. Media Placement

How do companies get featured in magazines, newspapers, and radio interviews? While the process can feel opaque and nebulous, a PR agency can help train employees for media appearances, write press releases, and connect companies with news outlets. These are all incredibly useful for company image and are a subtle form of advertising.

4. Training

More broadly, PR agencies can often conduct small- or large-scale trainings for a company to educate their employees about many of the issues discussed above. A PR agency can train employees to handle crisis communications, social media strategy, brand messaging, SEO, and even media interviews.

With a PR agency by your side, your company can develop the confidence and grace to move through the corporate world, despite the inevitable barriers and stumbles that will occur. This list is by no means exhaustive — but hopefully helps you understand just a small slice of the potential uses of a PR agency.