• What many businesses don't realise is just how effective PR is. While it may be tempting to pour money into advertising alone, you should definitely consider allocating some of your budget to PR.
• PR content is multi-purpose, builds validity around your brand and is a subtle form of marketing that is digestible for your audience.
• Keep reading to learn more about the benefits of PR and why your business needs it.

Public relations (PR) is arguably one of the most effective aspects of any small businesses marketing strategy yet it’s the most neglected.

Why? Because people are unaware of how powerful it is and don’t realise how much PR has to do with the articles and news they consume every single day.

Considering how valuable and cost-effective (often free- if you work your butt off) PR is, it’s downright confusing why more small businesses haven’t jumped on board.

When business owners think about their business marketing and advertising strategy they tend to throw their money to where they think they’ll get more bang for the buck.

Think sponsorships, billboards and radio ads. These outdated (and yes still somewhat effective apparently) tactics are expensive and you can do so much more with that allocation of funds.

So now what?

First things first: STOP SPENDING YOUR ENTIRE BUDGET ON ADVERTISING!

Now, where were we? Just in case you’re feeling a little lost, why don’t we start with what PR actually is.

What is public relations?

In its most basic definition; public relations (PR) is the way businesses communicate with the public and media. Someone who is a specialist in PR contacts the media either directly or indirectly on your behalf with the aim to share your story and create a relationship with the audience.

Whether your story is about a new product, an innovation award you just won, or how you’re helping the local community - it’s all about making you look good in the eyes of the reader and building a connection with them.

What are the benefits of public relations?

Here are just a few reasons why implementing PR will be so freaking worth it:

1. PR content is multi-purpose 
2. Increased return on investment (ROI)
3. It builds validity around your service or product     
4. It's a subtle form of marketing     
5. It can help you build backlinks 

1. PR content is multi-purpose 

The content created by your PR specialist can be shared on social media in an attempt to portray your business as an expert in your industry, reach new audiences and increase your visibility in an often crowded marketplace. Simples.

2. Increased return on investment (ROI)

When you think about where you are spending your marketing dollars, consider how effective those branded USBs and the promotional lollies are. If you could even dedicate HALF of that promotions budget to funding a PR consultant you will see 13230% more tangible results (you can’t argue with numbers).

3. It builds validity around your service or product     

It can be darn hard for your team to pitch to prospects without something cool to get the conversation going. Being able to share an article about your company on a credible third party news site is definitely a conversation starter for your sales team and instantly builds validity around your service or product.

4. It's a subtle form of marketing     

PR is the marketing consumers don’t realise is marketing. This means it’s more successful. It’s natural information digesting (not so technical term). It’s often hard to measure, but people are beginning to tune out of blatant advertising now.

Write something moving, get it in front of the right people and build a connection with the readers. What good is a marketing strategy that no one listens to or sees?

5. It can help you build backlinks 

Most importantly there’s our friend Google. Without getting too heavy on the technical side of things,  you need credible websites backing your website up. How does this work? Think of it as other websites giving your website a testimonial to Google.  

If a long-existing website with lots of traffic and lots of new content writes (and links to) your businesses website you build credibility as a service provider in Googles eyes. The more websites you have talking about you and linking directly to you, the higher your search engine ranking will be.

To get in front of these credible websites you need an effective PR strategy and someone who can make it happen.

Summary 

PR is an art and it often gets lost between the big show of advertising and the broadness of marketing in the world of business. Before you sign off on your next marketing campaign budget, you need to make sure there is an allocation for PR. If not, you’ll be left behind with MSN, Myspace and other companies who didn’t adapt.