Spin Control: Get a Grip on Your Company's PR Efforts

I spent a lot of time during the past several years on both sides of the PR playing field, both as a PR client and as a blogger receiving pitches from PR firms. And I can tell you that a lot of PR firms have developed some really bad habits.

Here are the worst offenses I see PR firms commit, time and time again, along with some constructive advice on what to look for if your small business considers hiring a PR firm.

PR Firms Behaving Badly

Pitching clients to the wrong people: When a journalist, blogger, or other media outlet writes an article, they often turn to a PR firm to find specific, expert sources on a topic. It drives then crazy when they ask for a source -- and instead they get a PR pitch in that has nothing to do with what they are writing about.

This makes the PR firm's clients look bad, and it's a huge waste of money. The problem is exacerbated by the fact that your PR firm often doesn't know enough about your business to even be able to answer a specific query on your behalf.

Counting any PR as good PR: There is an almost infinite number of blogs, podcasts, and other media venues available online. They're often desperate for content and eager to work with PR firms and their clients.

The problem is that the vast majority of these venues have very small audiences. If your PR firm focuses on them, you're not likely to get good value for your money.

I'm not saying that appearing on those types of media lacks any value. But if you are paying four figures each month for something that you could do yourself, you need to question whether your PR firm is really delivering what you need.

Treating a PR campaign like a shotgun: Blasting the world with traditional press releases might work for a big public company, but it's useless for a small business. Most media venues don't want to report on you; instead, they want to cite you as an expert source for their other stories. In the process, being cited as an expert source makes you more visible and allows you to promote your product or service.

That's why an effective small-business PR strategy involves going deep instead of going wide. You want to pick your PR targets carefully, rather than treating your PR campaign like a shotgun blast. The problem is that the "shotgun" approach is exactly what many PR firms have been trained to do for decades.

How to Hire a PR Firm

Now you know how a PR campaign can go wrong. So, how do your pick a PR firm that knows how to avoid these problems? Here are my suggestions:

Ask about a PR firm's media relationships: Solid, relevant, long-term media relationships beat a fantastic pitch any day. Make sure your PR firm has the right types of relationships to promote your small business effectively.

Focus on what you want the PR firm to do: Be as specific as possible in directing your PR efforts. Do you want your PR folks to focus on certain media or certain publications? Or maybe you don't want them to contact bloggers unless they blog for major sites (be clear on which ones). Setting these limits in advance will hone your efforts and make the best use of your money.

Focus on what you consider good use of your money: If you are just starting out, getting any kind of exposure can be valuable. But if you already have a decent level of exposure, working with small-time blogs or Internet radio sites may not be a good bang for your buck. (You might be better off doing that kind of promotion yourself -- or maybe not at all.)

Set specific PR performance goals: PR people hate to promise anything specific, but be clear about expectations up front and see if your PR team considers them reasonable. Revisit your goals over time to make sure that you are getting what your PR firm promised to deliver.

You might also consider hiring a pay-for-performance firm that only gets paid when they land specific types of media exposure or promotions for your company. If you do the latter, however, also be clear on what media venues you consider appropriate.

Follow up on the relationships you make: Once the door is open to work with a reporter or news outlet, nurture that relationship, and those contacts will turn to you again and again. You can even take control of this follow-up yourself once the relationship is initiated.

Do you have other offenses that you see PR firms making? How about other strategies to get the most from your PR team? Share your thoughts below.