Whether you’re trying to reach a new audience, you have some big news to share, or you’re trying to gain credibility in your field, hiring a publicist is essential to your company or brand’s success. When you’re ready to make this kind of investment, it is incredibly important that you recognize what a good publicist can and cannot do for you.
There are multiple different types of publicists who specialize in unique areas of PR work. Some publicists focus on areas such as media relations, crisis management, community relations, political affairs, public affairs, social media, or strategic communications. Although each individual deals with different sectors of a company, their primary focus is the same: to help you and your brand succeed.
What Can a Publicist Do?
Publicists have all kinds of responsibilities to handle within a business. As the main goal of PR work is to manage the public perception of your brand or business, a publicist will formulate and engage in various strategies to help you and your company put your best foot forward.
- Increase Credibility and Authority
One of the most important tasks of a publicist is to help you gain credibility and respect with your audience, which usually includes clients and potential customers. They can do this by searching for and securing opportunities to gain public attention, such as news stories, blog reviews, or other offers. These opportunities can then be added to your personal website to catch the attention of potential investors and clients. This is especially important for individuals looking to build their personal brand.
- Increase Sales
Superior PR can help you increase your sales both directly and indirectly! Think of it this way, when somebody reads something good written about your company online, they are more likely to go out and buy your product or service. On the other hand, your sales will also increase because good PR helps you to stand out from the competition. A great publicist can make your company shine in the eyes of your target audience. The extra attention is sure to attract increased leads and contacts as well.
- Improve Brand Recognition
This one pretty much speaks for itself: as your sales and credibility increase, your brand recognition is sure to follow! It’s simple. The more people who hear about your brand, the more clients, leads, and contacts you will gain.
- Shape Public Perception of Your Brand
What do you want people to think about when they hear your name? What message are you hoping to express with your brand? How does your audience perceive your brand? Are you exciting and trendy? Classy and elegant? Good PR is the key to managing a company’s reputation. Whether you’re worried about the general perception of your brand or you need to increase your positive recognition, a publicist can get the job done. They can even help you establish a positive reputation, especially if your brand is relatively unknown or just starting up!
- Engage Your Customers or Clients in Real Time
One of the strengths of a great publicist is their ability to stay on top of the current trends. They can always let you know what people are saying about you.
- Help You Figure Out How Your Publicity and Marketing Fit Together
Let’s say, for example, your company hit a recent lull in the number of people signing up for a membership. You’re also having trouble reaching new customers because your weekly newsletter is only sent to paying members. Issues such as these can easily be solved by your publicist. They can help you devise strategies to gain new customers by making your brand seem more enticing to potential customers.
- Advise You on How to Improve Your Public Image
Your publicist should act as a second pair of eyes, another looking glass through which you can see yourself and your brand. They can tell you what works and what doesn’t work for gaining positive recognition and publicity. Your publicist may look at what you can do to increase your credibility in some area, or they might review your history of public interaction and perception to tell you why your reputation is tainted. In all, it is their main goal to help you build and maintain your reputation in the public eye.
What a Publicist Cannot Do
As with any profession, there are some limitations to what a publicist can do. It is their duty to maintain good, ethical relations with both media contacts and clients, but to do this, they must follow specific rules and protocols. It is not within a publicist’s capabilities or duties to do the following.
- Guarantee You Coverage in a Specific News Outlet
It is especially important to remember that your publicist cannot promise you coverage in a specific news outlet. No matter how great the relationship the publicist may have with an outlet, there is always a chance that the outlet will say “no” to running a story.
- Guarantee Your Story Front-Page News or Make Your Story More Valuable than I Really is
Everybody is always competing for that front-page spot, but very few stories are significant enough to make the entire population stop and pay attention. It’s simply not possible to guarantee that you have the most interesting or exciting story, especially in a world churning with news, highlighting the most significant stories while others are swept under the rug. Major stories being shared now, even as I write this blog, will be old news by the time you’re reading this. It’s just the way of life, old memories are wiped from our minds to make room for “the next big thing.”
It’s important to keep in mind that publicists learn a lot about how to connect with your target audience through which publications accept and decline your stories. Your publicist can utilize these patterns to save you time and money by advertising to the people who are most likely to listen!
- “Gloss Over” What You Do or Cover Up Your Mistakes or Indiscretions
Publicists never intend to utilize deception or mistruths when connecting with their contacts. They should not be expected to mislead journalists with dishonesty about your methods, culture, or practices. You can always expect your publicist to deal with journalists and contacts with complete transparency to make sure you, your investors, and your audience are always on the same page.
- Promise Increased Sales
Remember when I said there are no guarantees? The same can be said for promising increased sales. It’s impossible to know exactly how your marketing and PR strategies will be perceived; however, a good publicist can gauge the current trends and atmosphere to produce positive results from campaigns.
- Force an Outlet to Include or Add Backlinks to your Story
They can always ask, but ultimately, this is up to the outlet!
- Force an Outlet to Change a Story About You or Consider Your Approval
Although your publicist can help you gain connections with outlets, they cannot control them and their policies. If an outlet declines your request for changes after a story has been run, there is nothing your publicist can do to change this. On this same note, the outlet has no requirement to ask you for your approval on a story before it runs. The outlet can offer to let you fact-check the article, but even in this instance, you cannot request any major changes—just affirm or deny that the information is factual.
Now that we’ve covered all of the things a publicist can and cannot do, you’re ready to make the investment! Work together with your publicist to increase your brand awareness and boost your reputation, but always remember, there are limitations to the miracles these professionals can produce!
