Five things you need to know about PR


PR, really, is in the business of persuasion. It is centered on convincing an audience that a product or service is worth trying. However, unlike advertising that aims to shout a ‘buy me now’ message as loud and clear as possible from the rooftops, PR takes a more subtle approach. That’s not to say it isn’t as effective as advertising, in fact it’s far more persuasive. Bill Gates is on record as saying that if he was down to his last dollar he would spend it on PR!

PR is about creating a narrative about a product that encourages customers to try it. In effect, it is about building a brand and must always be factual, informative and valued by the target audience.

  1. Choose an agency with relevant experience?

When looking for a PR agency it is always worth seeking those that have specific experience in your industry. There is no substitute for experience as it means your chosen PR agency will be able to talk knowledgeably about how your products and services can help customers.

A well placed mention of your product in the right press can do wonders for the number of visitors to your website and ultimately sales enquiries. A PR agency that has experience in, for example, the construction sector, will be able to secure press coverage online and offline through their value editorial contacts.

As a PR agency we specialise in the construction sector and can help you put together a PR strategy that delivers fast and sustainable results. We have many case studies on our website that show where we have done this. Take a look here.

  1. How is public relations different to advertising?

The main difference is that advertising is paid for and PR is earned. A subtle difference. It’s also worth bearing in mind too that advertising can be hugely expensive and once you stop paying you lose all the benefits.

PR is different. For starters, it needn’t be as expensive, and because it’s earned, by which we mean it’s an editor choice as to whether they include a mention in their newspaper or magazine, it stays in your customers’ ‘space’ for a very long time. For instance, if your PR agency manages to get a mention on a good industry website such as Building or Construction New, it generally stays on that website for months, perhaps for years. During that time it is working on your behalf, appearing in customer searches on line and directing people to your website.

Advertising, because it has a defined life, usually a month in a trade magazine, means it stops working after that time has elapsed because it removed from the website. That’s aside from the fact it is much more expensive.

  1. Make sure you set a clear PR strategy

A PR strategy, like most things in business, does not have to be complicated to be effective. In fact, a good PR agency should be able to distill a PR strategy down to a single, short sentence. It helps no end, of course, if the PR agency you choose to partner with specialises in the sector that you operate. For us its PR for construction and manufacturing.

The difficult bit, of course, is being able to create a simple strategy. We think we’re pretty good at it in the construction and manufacturing sector, and it also helps that we have experience of implementing these strategies and generating results.

  1. Don’t get taken in by SEO gimmicks

We’re often asked by clients about how they should go about improving their SEO. Often, they are blinded by SEO agencies that make them think they have a toolkit of techniques that can make them appear at the top of Google searches every time. It doesn’t work like that in real life and we have lost count of the times that our clients have said they spend a lot of SEO but are not sure what there SEO agency actually does.

We’re an honest and straight talking PR agency, which is why we have to say that the best SEO that you will ever do is good quality written content. Long gone are the days of black hat and other forms of shortcutting your way up a search ranking. Search engines are far too advanced for that, many using artificial intelligence, and so aren’t fooled by these any more. Our advice; stick to generating content – it’s interesting and useful for your customers, is liked by Google, and once it’s listed on an online site by a good PR partner, it stays around for a very long time.

If you’re not convinced, see the results for yourself. Search for ‘PR agency construction sector’, and you’ll see that we appear in either #1 or #2. No tricks, just good quality, consistently written content that helps you get to the top of the search engines.

  1. Work to a PR plan?

PR strategies, blogs, press releases, SEO and more all need to follow a planned approach. Talk to us today about how we present all these as a full year visual - allowing you to track and update activity by month. We use it for all our clients, because they like it so much!

If you are looking for a PR agency that specialises in the construction sector, call: 01709 300130, or email john@dragonflypr.co.uk

Call us on: 0114 349 5341