PR (public relations) means building relationships between a company and its stakeholders. It is reflected in articles published in the media, expert interviews and news.
In practice, however, media coverage is just the beginning.
From a company's perspective, what is more important is what visibility does or produces. When a company appears in the media in the right way, people better understand what the company does and why its solution is important. At the same time, trust in the company increases. When a journalist writes about the company, the message is perceived differently than in an advertisement.
Good PR makes buying easier.
At Promoted, we believe that PR works best when it supports a company's sales. Its job is to help customers understand why they should buy from this particular company.
Examples of PR in practice
In practice, PR is often seen as articles published in journalistic media, in which the company's expertise helps explain a current phenomenon.
For example, like this:
- A company expert comments on a change in an industry or a new trend in the media. The journalist uses the expert's perspective in a story that explains the phenomenon to a wider audience.
- A company publishes data or observations about its own operations. The journalist uses them as the basis for a news story and explains what the figures reveal about developments in the industry.
- The reporter interviews a company expert about, for example, technology, the market, or consumer behavior. The company's perspective helps the reader understand the topic better.
- The company's views appear in the media as expert comments in an article discussing a current phenomenon.
- In such situations, the company does not pay for visibility. The journalist chooses the perspective based on journalistic criteria because it helps to make the story interesting and informative.
Promoted's job is often to identify precisely these kinds of perspectives within a company: observations, data, or expertise that can help a journalist report on an important phenomenon.
What does a PR agency do?
The task of a PR agency, such as Promoted, is to help a company identify the views and phenomena that are of interest to the media.
In a PR agency, this is done by PR specialists. Their job is to find perspectives on a company's operations and expertise that are of interest to the media, and help journalists build stories around them.
A PR specialist practically works on three things:
- identifying topics of interest
- formatting the message to make it understandable for the journalist
- finding and contacting the right journalists and media
A lot of information, data, and understanding is generated in the everyday lives of companies that could be interesting from a journalistic perspective. The company's own people just look at it too closely and don't always notice it themselves.
How does PR facilitate sales?
In most companies, the biggest challenge in sales is not the product or service.
The challenge is often that the customer doesn't understand yet.
The customer may not know the company, understand the solution, trust the new supplier, or see the problem as important enough. PR can help with this.
When a company appears in the media as an expert or solution provider, a complex issue becomes understandable. At the same time, the company gains credibility in a way that its own marketing often cannot.
This also makes the salesperson's job easier. The conversation no longer starts from scratch.
What is the difference between PR and marketing?
PR is often confused with marketing and advertising.
However, they have different roles.
Marketing operates through the company's own channels and paid media. Its task is to repeat the message and guide the customer to the purchase path.
PR works through journalistic media. Its strength is credibility.
When a company talks about itself in an advertisement, the reader knows that the message is paid for. When a journalist writes about the company, the message is perceived as independent.
In Finland, there is still a lot of trust in the media. Therefore, journalistic visibility often has a stronger impact than paid advertising.
How is PR different from communications?
PR is part of corporate communications, but its role is different. Corporate communications covers all company communications in its own channels and to stakeholders: for example, websites, newsletters, employee communications and investor relations. PR focuses particularly on relations with journalistic media. Its aim is to present the company's expertise and views in the media in a way that increases credibility and helps the public understand the company's operations.
How does PR work as part of the sales funnel?
At Promoted, we often talk about PR that supports sales.
That means that a media hit is not an endpoint. It's part of the purchase path.
A typical path might look like this:
- the media arouses interest
- the reader seeks more information
- company websites deepen understanding
- the sales conversation begins
When PR and the company's own channels work together, the media can bring new customers to the top of the sales funnel.
How can the effects of PR be measured?
The effects of PR are visible in many ways.
They can be measured, for example:
- in website traffic
- in company name search volumes
- in contacts
- in media reach
Many influences are also visible in everyday life.
Salespeople often happily recount situations where a customer says:
“I read about you.”
Then trust will have been built even before the first meeting and we can get to the point more quickly.
Why is it worth doing PR constantly?
A single media hit can bring instant visibility.
Continuous PR builds a company's position in the longer term.
When a company appears repeatedly in the media as an expert, its role in the industry is strengthened. At the same time, it is easier for customers to see the company as a reliable partner.
That's why PR works best as part of a company's strategy.
What is PR not?
PR is not paid visibility in media inserts or native advertising.
PR also does not mean that the company finishes writing the story and the media publishes it.
Journalistic media operates on its own terms. The journalist decides what to write about and from what perspective.
This is what makes PR credible.
PR as part of company growth
Well-done PR is not just about visibility. Its job is to make buying easier.
When a company is known for the right things and its expertise is visible in the media, it is easier for customers to trust it.
That's why we at Promoted believe that PR is a tool for company growth.
Frequently asked questions about PR
What does PR mean?
PR means building and maintaining relationships between a company and its audiences.
What does a PR agency do?
A PR agency helps a company get its expertise out in the media.
Why is PR important for a company? PR builds trust and makes a company's solutions easier to understand.
