What is the role of a PR Agency?

    As Australia’s leading public relations and media training firm, at Adoni Media we’re often asked “what is the role of a PR agency?”, “what services does a PR agency provide?”, or “why do we need PR?”

    PR agencies play a crucial role in shaping and protecting a brand’s image and reputation.

    How do they do this? In this blog, you will learn everything you need to know about the role of a PR agency and the results you can expect.

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    What does a PR agency do?

    A Public Relations (PR) agency looks after the brand and reputation of clients through owned, earned, and paid communications. According to the Public Relations Institute of Australia (PRIA), Public Relations can be defined as, “the deliberate, planned and sustained effort to establish mutual understanding between an organisation and its publics”.

    At Adoni Media, our team delivers PR strategies and solutions to prepare, promote, and protect your brand and reputation.

    What services do PR agencies provide?

    1. Media Relations

    One of the best ways to build your reputation and get your name out there is through the media. PR agencies manage the relationship between the media and your business. In short, they work to get your brand name in the news so it becomes familiar and trusted by a wide audience. Tactics include media releases, video news releases, press conferences, reactive PR, and pitches.

    For example, Adoni Media earns valuable media coverage for The Salvation Army through localised media releases and pitches that highlight the charity’s fundraising events across Queensland.

    1. Crisis Management

    Preparation and time are critical in a crisis. Businesses must be able to respond quickly and communicate effectively to internal and external stakeholders. PR agencies can help you prepare by creating a crisis communication plan and policy.

    When the time does come, PR agencies have crisis communications specialists that activate to support management and internal communication teams. Adoni Media develops comprehensive issue and crisis communication plans so you know how and what to communicate with stakeholders and how to manage the media.

    For example, when Adoni client HelpStreet was in crisis and facing media scrutiny, our corporate communication specialists developed a communication response strategy to engage staff, stakeholders, and the media. Adoni Media’s advice and expertise enabled HelpStreet to manage the crisis, turn the narrative around, and repair reputational harm.

    1. Social Media

    Social Media gives businesses an opportunity to communicate and engage with their audience, so maintaining a positive brand and reputation online is key. Public Relations agencies can help manage your social media from strategy and messaging through to content creation and influencer management.

    For example, the government relations campaign ‘Save Aussie Supplements’ used a multi-platform social media strategy to raise awareness and mobilise consumers to fight against proposed changes to the sports supplement industry. High-profile athletes, influencers, and industry brands shared the campaign across Instagram and Facebook, leading to the hashtag #saveaussiesupplements trending.

    1. Speech Writing

    Any speech given on behalf of your company needs to reflect your brand in a positive light. This is where PR agencies can help. PR professionals are strategic communication experts and can support your team by writing speeches that effectively communicate your key messages and engage stakeholders, shareholders, and consumers.

    Speeches are also often held in a public setting so key messages and go-to responses should be prepared for questions the speaker is likely to be asked. Through Adoni Media’s media training sessions, we tailor and prepare key messages to suit key spokespeople and their business.

    1. Influencer outreach

    With the rise of social media has come the birth of the influencer. Social media influencers have strong digital followings that businesses can tap into to share their brand and help to raise awareness. PR is known for effectively managing relationships which is why PR professionals are experts at identifying and developing influencer engagement strategies that best target an organisation or person’s desired audience.

    For example, Adoni Media, successfully supported supplements brand, Kynd with an influencer campaign to announce best-selling author, mindset coach, and athlete, Turia Pitt as brand ambassador.

    1. Media Training

    With the demands of a 24-hour news cycle, company leaders and representatives need the interview and presentation skills to respond to and manage the media at a moment’s notice, for both proactive and reactive stories. Some PR agencies deliver practical media training to help prepare spokespeople to front the media.

    At Adoni Media, our trainers have been preparing industry leaders for more than a decade. Our trainers are former senior journalists who have asked the tough questions reporting for programs such as A Current Affair and media advisors who have worked within the Commonwealth Government preparing senior politicians to face journalists.

    For example, Adoni Media trained the CEO of WA’s much-loved food franchise Chicken Treat. The practical on-camera training supported the CEO in becoming a skilled spokesperson who has since been featured across leading news outlets, including 7 News and the Australian Financial Review.

    1. Content Writing

    Content writing is most commonly creating articles, blogs, how-to guides or written checklists of tips that come from a company. PR agencies can write these pieces on your business’s behalf to engage stakeholders, grow brand awareness, and support your SEO strategy.

    For example, Adoni Media’s team of experienced journalists supported the launch and growth of House Call Doctor and 13 Doctor by crafting content articles and blogs. This helped build the brand’s online profile, drive traffic to the website, and improve SEO performance.

    1. Corporate Communication

    Corporate Communication includes all strategy and content created specifically to speak to your staff and company stakeholders. While some companies rely on in-house corporate affairs specialists, others turn to PR agencies to support their communication goals.

    For example, Adoni Media delivers corporate communication solutions for PR Client Senex Energy. With the support of Adoni’s video production expertise, Senex uses video to speak directly to its shareholders, stakeholders, and community groups for ASX reports and business milestones.

    Why hire a PR agency?

    Businesses and individuals should hire a public relations agency when they want to prepare, promote, and protect their brand. Hiring a PR agency is key to getting your story told and building your business’s profile.

    Hiring a PR agency should also be considered when an in-house communications team can no longer handle the workload or they don’t have contacts within the media. PR agencies often work alongside in-house comms teams to give extra support, allowing businesses to achieve their communication goals.

    Hiring a PR agency gives your business access to communications expertise, creativity, and knowledge. A (good) PR agency has longstanding experience in public relations and communications strategy and execution to deliver result-driven solutions.

    How to hire a PR agency

    Now that you’ve decided it’s time to hire a PR agency, you’re likely asking yourself “where do I even start?”.

    It’s important to research potential agencies and make sure they specialise in your industry and perform the services you need. You can learn about an agency’s previous work through case studies and reviews.

    Adoni Media is an award-winning Public Relations agency, that works with a range of ASX-listed corporates, private companies, government, and leading charities. Our Founder and Managing Director Leisa Goddard believes client feedback and results should be the key criteria for businesses when choosing a PR Agency.

    “We work to become an extension of our client’s team and that means taking the time to understand their business which builds trust and confidence,” Ms Goddard said.

    “I have always believed word-of-mouth referrals are the most powerful, and they have helped drive our continued growth and success since 2012,” she said.

    What results can you expect from PR?

    Different PR tactics and campaigns yield different results. Typical results you can expect from PR include elevated brand awareness, increased trust and credibility, strong relationships, and a positive brand image.

    How to measure PR success

    Public Relations is a great way for businesses to boost brand awareness and build and maintain a positive public image, but how can you tell if your PR efforts are working?

    There isn’t a single dedicated method to calculate the success of a PR campaign. Some results of PR are difficult to quantify and can’t be easily measured. However, measuring the success of a PR campaign is important and shouldn’t be overlooked.

    There are some commonly used metrics used by agencies and businesses alike to measure the success of a PR campaign. These include the number of media stories achieved, audience reach, the value which is calculated using Advertising Space Rate (ASR) of earned media stories, and social media engagement and mentions.

    What is media monitoring?

    The most common way PR agencies track results is through media monitoring. Media monitoring can be done manually and through automated services that track all publicly available news stories and social media posts.

    Amount of coverage

    Most media monitoring sites give a total number of stories achieved across television, print, digital and radio media markets across the campaign period. Before launching a campaign, your business may set a benchmark for how many pieces they hope to generate but unlike with advertising or marketing, with PR, there is never a guarantee.

    Audience

    The total audience figure refers to how many people saw, read, or listened to your earned media coverage. Getting coverage in well-known media publications (also known as mainstream media) widens your brand’s reach to a broader audience. Comparatively, getting your story picked up in a niche or industry specific media outlet can be a smart way to guarantee your target customers or competitors see your brand.

    ASR

    ASR or Advertising Space Rate measures the value of editorial coverage gained through Public Relations. ASR looks at a media outlet and the amount of airtime or print space a story takes. It allocates a value based on what a company would have to spend to achieve that same “space” through advertising.

    Engagement

    A PR campaign’s success may also be measured by the reach and engagement across the brand’s social media pages. The number of likes, follows, and shares achieved across the campaign can be compared to previous months to show growth in engagement.

    Mentions

    Brand “mentions” refers to the number of times your company’s name or hashtag has been mentioned on social media across the campaign period. An increase in brand mentions across a PR campaign is typically a good thing. The sentiment and content of these comments, though, should be monitored. Positive comments strengthen and promote your brand reputation while negative ones can damage and should be addressed.

    Are you looking for a PR Agency and would like to take advantage of Adoni Media’s PR expertise?