Looking for a new PR Company

Basically I am looking into parting ways with our current PR company for various reasons so I thought I would post a thread to see if anyone had any suggestions. I find this is the best way to find the good ones as they all spin their accomplishments.

The requirements are:
Must be UK/Ireland Based
Specialize in the Health Industry

I have a lot of my promotional material that I have fuill rights to of course so I am looking for a PR company with some pretty strong contacts, not to write Releases.

Cheers

 

The new company I work for is pretty huge.

There might be a department here... I could ask around if you like.

 

Thanks SEBasic. Is it one big PR company or is it just that they have a PR department.

You can PM me if you don't want to post details

 

On it's way...

 

Thanks for that SE.

Keep the suggestions coming

 

yfs, sorry I'm not aware of any PR companies, but without hijacking your thread, what are your experiences working with PR companies, is it cost effective?

I'm at a stage where I think for my primary business I need to raise it's profile, and I guess this is something that a PR company could help with?

Any advice would be appreciated.

 

I think its crucial if you sell products. It can be very costly to advertise in magazines in Newspapers so many times by properly distributing a Press Release (In the correct fashion, not the 95% of crap Press Releases people submit online), can mean free advertising. And because it is worked into the content people respond better than traditional advertising.

If your PR company has good contacts in your field in can be very cost effective.

 

You might try posting or searching threads on http://london.craigslist.org/. They have job, resume, and service boards for: belfast, birmingham, cardiff, dublin, edinburgh, glasgow, london, manchester.


WWW...I've always done my own pr, and as a result sometimes for my clients as well (although my slant is Internet marketing). It's fairly easy to get mentioned in local papers and publications. National mags are harder but not impossible...sometimes it just takes being consistent and understanding of what can make a good story. The benefit of using an agency is they "shop" you to their contacts. That can often speed the process along, but not always.

It's always best to use someone who specializes in the market/industry you want to target.

 

yfs and dreamshop, thanks for the advice.

Like yfs mentioned I too have sent pretty naff press releases, and whilst they have given me a few backlinks they haven't raise the profile of the business. I suppose it's sitting down and thinking of a story that reporters are going to find interesting, which is my problem! lol

Cheers

 

There are two different ways I approach things. If I'm targeting local papers (which can sometimes generate a lot of traffic), I try to write a release that can be used as is. Usually something that reads like a short snappy story. It's usually better to focus on the 'human' side of things, such as how your bio and how you started your business, or maybe ways your business connects to the community (ever do any volunteering? donations? ect). If you just want to promote a product you need to tie it into a holiday and then outline why it's unique/different/yadda yadda.

You also want to have some kind of press kit....it doesn't have to be fancy though. Maybe three pages of info and some photos. One about your business and the industry in general, one about yourself and anything unique you can pull together, and then something like a pitch page.

A pitch page is what I call a list of story tie-ins. These are maybe different products or services you offer and how they might relate to bigger story themes. It could be about a unique project you worked on, or some new products you offer that would be great for weddings, or how you overcame some obstacles, etc.

Sometimes all it takes is getting people to think of you in a certain light. If you know the editorial calendar (upcoming article list) of a publication then you can slant your releases or pitches to those articles. Most publications have websites with their calendars listed, or you can call and ask for a media kit which usually includes advertising rates and calendar.

The first step is generally emailing or calling to ASK what their submission policies are. I use this chance to quickly introduce myself, then go from there.


THe whole idea is to make it personal....give your business personality, and try to make personal connections with writers and/or editors.

I know...easier said than done.

 

If you're running a small business selling any sort of service/product, then PR is quite essential.

It would be great if your partner (or you) is good at marketing and PR work, but most entrepreneurs find it better to simply outsource that part -- and it's quite important.

 

Lol, just as I was ready to go in another direction they got me a feature in a very well known national magazine. Guess I will stay put for a little while

Maybe they are an avid DP reader.

 

How do you track ROI?

 

Mainly through our shopping cart which asked people how they heard about us along with a pulldown. It isn't 100% accurate but nearly every person (about 95%) does use it.

We keep track of our logs to seperate out the SE traffic which gives us decent approximate numbers.

The majority of people finding us through a feature like this either enter the url directly or enter the keyword phrase and the name of the magazine.

A feature in a national magazine ALWAYS results in a boost that is far higher than our investment. The fact that our ROI numbers aren't exact hasn't dettered us yet.