What exactly Is PR?
What exactly is PR? We hear about it all the time, but do we really know what it means? Everybody seems to have their own definition of the term, but let’s simplify it: PR stands for Public Relations. Another way that I like to look at it is ‘relating yourself to the public.’ How does the public see you? What do they say about you? Do they like you? Do they understand you? If you run your own business or personal brand, it’s important to know the answers to these questions. If the public doesn’t like you, or even know about you, it’s bad for business.
Good PR gets you in front of your target audience
When somebody invests into PR with my agency, what we do is get them in front of the public. Depending on what their desired outcome is, they may get onto TV, get interviewed on a podcast, get published in an article, or become a best-selling author. All of these are a way to establish a positive image in front of the public, and building a personal brand is all about getting in front of more people.
Here’s how we do it at Ace of Spades Agency:
Morning Show TV Interviews
Podcast Interviews
Article Publications
Best-Seller Books
Personal Brand Consulting
Social Media Verification (the blue tick)
PR is not only for elites, celebrities or famous individuals
A critical point to remember about PR is that it is not free, but it is also not reserved for a select few. Many people have this misunderstanding that PR is set apart for only special people who get lucky and get noticed by a major news outlet. While this does occasionally happen every once in a while, stories like this make account for a minority in the public relations world. Waiting for PR to come to you is a very lazy approach to building your personal brand and building your business. In 2022 it’s important to be intentional if you want to grow and build authority online. Being that the PR space has become a saturated giant, passively waiting for someone to notice you while all your competitors around you invest into their brand image, is not a wise choice.
IF YOU’RE NOT FAMOUS, WHAT KIND OF PR SHOULD YOU GET?
You don’t need to be a celebrity to get PR. Even though famous people are the ones with the most popular publicity, starter entrepreneurs and businesses will still benefit greatly from it. The type of PR you choose to invest in depends on your goals and your starting position. Here are a few things to factor in when thinking about your next PR move:
Are you a new or established business?
Are you a small or large company?
Have you had previous PR work done for you or your brand?
Do you want to grow above your competitors or just enough to stand out?
What kind of industry are you in?
All of these are questions that are important to address when it comes to choosing your next PR moves. A small business that has never been in the PR space before would benefit from starting on smaller platforms like small podcasts or press platforms, but a well established company with a big vision might benefit more from morning TV show interviews, TedX talks, or high tier press.
ARE YOU GUARANTEED TO MAKE MONEY BACK AFTER YOU INVEST INTO PR?
The great thing about PR is that it does not function the same way as Facebook or Google ads do. Paid advertisements are designed to bring you a direct return on investment through sales, but that’s usually where it ends. It’s great because you’re making money, but once you stop paying for the ads, the sales also stop.
PR is different because you are paying for infinite credibility and authority. While it’s difficult to measure sales that are made directly as a result of a PR piece, the long standing effect is priceless. If you invest with an agency like ours or similar, PR pieces are left on the internet forever. Someone may find current articles of yours twenty years from now and choose you to do business with specifically because of those articles. Your TV interviews and podcast interviews will continue to build your image because the pieces will always be relevant to who you are as an authority figure. So while PR cannot be measured in a way to guarantee that you make a specific amount of money back, it is guaranteed to be a benefit for an immeasurable amount of time depending on how you choose to leverage it.
PR is simple to obtain
In the end, PR is simple: it’s relating yourself to the public. It’s being intentional about getting yourself and your brand seen and known. You want people to know you, like you, and trust you, so that in the end they do business with you, and PR is a major component in making that happen. If you’re ready to amplify your brand by investing into your public image, book a call with us here and let’s get you started!
