Each week PR In Canada and Profectio receive emails from readers who are looking to gain more knowledge about public relations and how to use PR to help grow their business. Recently a reader wrote in looking to understand the difference between using a newswire service versus hiring a public relations agency.
“What is the difference between using a newswire versus hiring a public relations agency?”
For our latest edition of Industry Opinion we turned to two of our community members to help answer the question:
[one_half_first] Darian Kovacs – Principal at Jelly Marketing[/one_half_first][one_half_last]David Tremblay – Vice President of NATA PR[/one_half_last]
Scenario – Your brand has grown a lot over the last year, the company has hired a number of people and your products are flying off the shelves. The CEO woke up and saw a competitor on the local television breakfast show and says “we need to get some PR.” The CEO was given a contact at a Newswire service suggesting they can help.
What is the difference between a company using a Newswire service vs. hiring a public relations (PR) agency?
Darian – The newswire service guarantees placement on syndicated website and collects direct analytics about interest. The immediate response from the media can be measured and shows instant results.
David – Journalists, bloggers and influencers receive hundreds of press releases and emails every day. It’s essential to stand out from the crowd so that they open and read YOUR email.
Media are more likely to open an email from a contact they know – PR Manager / Director – than an email from a digital marketing platform, which will seem more like spam or junk mail.
An well-organized PR agency can also help the brand target the right audience / media from their contact database.
Working with an agency helps the brand avoid importunate contacts to whom the news would not be of interest.
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Should a company use a Newswire service or hire a PR agency?
Darian – Often PR agencies get better rates on distribution services, really, a newswire is a paid channel, you need a PR agency to help you build an effective message and a wire service to help the message spread.
David – The brand should definitely hire a full-service PR agency first. Together, they will be able to develop a strategy and then evaluate if posting the press release on the Newswire service is worth the investment.
Creating an extensive PR / communication / influencer strategy (with a PR agency) is definitely the first step to a GREAT PR campaign.
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