Every company has faced the choice between training its own team and hiring a public relations agency. The first option looks attractive: doing things in-house could save the cost of an agency. But do you have what it takes to do it?
With growing digitalization, offering your products or services through traditional channels is no longer enough to reach your target audience. Intense activity on social media, the dominance of search engines such as Google and constant change in the digital world make it almost impossible to ignore this new reality.
Choosing “do it yourself”
Whatever your line of business, it might seem simple to hire or assign someone with the right profile to handle communications instead of hiring a public relations agency. This person should be able to build a communications and marketing strategy with knowledge of what are now called “traditional” media.
Among other things, they should be able to carry out market research, create content, run email marketing campaigns, design and send mass emails, understand design and printing, organize events, set up press offices and handle crises. All of this is part of the basic services a public relations agency offers.
What we should not forget is that times have changed. Today this person should also be able to create search engine optimization (SEO) strategies, measure results through web analytics, run paid campaigns on social media and search engines, manage the company’s social media and master the basics of web development.
You could hire a specialist for each need, but as we have seen, the list is long, so it would end up costing much more than hiring a public relations agency. Communications work should involve a group of people who each bring their expertise toward a common goal.
Why hire a public relations agency
A public relations agency does not just have one specialist for each of your company’s communications processes. It has a multidisciplinary team of experts with different points of view who, besides their specialized knowledge, will bring fresh ideas to your strategy.
Agencies’ fees vary, and everything depends on how ambitious your strategy is and the timeframe you choose for it. You should also be clear about the direction you want to take, since an agency specialized in a particular area will cost more.
You might think that a long-term strategy means higher spending. But it lets you invest a monthly fee that in no way compares with paying a series of professionals separately. In addition, the cost of licenses for the digital tools an agency uses is shared among all its clients, which considerably reduces your share.
Another point in the client’s favor is that many agencies charge according to the results they report. This model is a big challenge for an agency, but clients know they will pay for what they receive.
Having looked at what you would spend running your communications and marketing strategy yourself, it is time to compare it with what a public relations agency could do for you:
- You do not need to be an expert or be trained in anything except your own brand.
- Depending on which one you choose, an agency will be an expert in your market niche and in carrying out your marketing plans.
- You will have the backing of a team of experts in different areas, and you can hire only the services you really want or need.
- Your budget will stay under control with fixed fees and no employment commitments.
- You will avoid third-party contracts that bring administrative headaches.
- An agency is always up to date with new communication trends, so your brand will always stay current.
- You will receive monthly results reports that help you measure effectiveness.
Even if you found someone fully willing to develop all the skills needed to run your communications strategy, the learning curve suggests results would take a long time to appear and would cost more. However efficient this person might be, the number of tasks that need attention would inevitably overwhelm them. Let the experts do the work for you.
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Originally published in Spanish in November 2020: Beneficios de contratar una agencia de relaciones públicas.
