7 Tips to Help You Choose a Toronto PR Agency

Public Relations

7 Tips to Help You Choose a Toronto PR Agency

Posted August 7, 2017 by admin

A PR agency can help your Toronto company effectively maintain its image and build its reputation throughout the marketplace. A key challenge many organizations have in terms of public relations is they encounter events that they cannot control. They find that their team is too focused on their current working projects to take a hands-on approach to resolving PR challenges. And so many are now turning to dedicated PR agency experts across Toronto in order to more effectively communicate with their brand audience. In this latest post, our trusted marketing team will highlight 7 tips for choosing the right Toronto PR agency.

1. Choose the Right Size

The size of the PR agency you select can make all the difference in terms of their lasting value to your organization. But just because an agency is small doesn’t mean they don’t offer the right service for your company. It’s important to consider both small and large agencies and make sure that they follow through with the services required after the initial consultation.Large companies are known for promising lasting performance and immediate value within their consultations and then leaving inexperienced professionals to handle the agency work. While some small companies might have the most experienced staff members taking on your project, helping your company achieve its ideal reputation

2. Select a Team with Proven Market Experience

Does the PR agency understand your marketplace and the requirements of communication with those in the industry? When choosing your Toronto PR agency make sure that the firm is able to show proven results for their work. During consultations, ask their team for examples on how they used a client’s resources effectively to build their reputation over time.
The client should be able to show some knowledge of your industry and the trends in your field. This foundational understanding will help them move forward in building attuned and responsive PR campaigns for your company.

3. Consider Full Capabilities

PR in the modern marketplace goes beyond simple brand reputation management. It isn’t a matter of completing press releases and responding to negative press any more. There are far more moving pieces in the contemporary public relations field. Companies must be able to help their clients address their full range of demands. And this means that the Toronto PR agency you select must be able to offer social media management services, online profile management strategies, and more as part of their work.Reputation management in the online marketplace means responding at a moment’s notice to negative attention online. By working with experienced online professionals, you can ensure that any negativity surrounding your brand is quickly mitigated. PR agency professionals can now help to control the flow of online conversations and keep your brand in a positive light and in clear focus within their work.

4. Review Your Budget in Advance

As with any business project, your budget will play an important role in the type and scope of service you receive. One of the most important concepts to understand though is that the size of your budget is not as important as the objectives and the capabilities the company requires to meet these objectives.
One critical consideration is budget flexibility. The budget should be clear from the starting point within your work with the PR agency, but you should have some flexibility for scaling the budget up as your campaign needs change. This will allow you to capitalize on opportunities that arise on short notice and to maximize the ROI from your investment in PR agency services.

 

5. Ask Who Will be Running Your Campaign

When choosing your PR agency, you might do all the research required and find a quality company with experience in the marketplace. The company can then show you the results they’ve achieved and explain how they’ve achieved those results. But you must find out who will be running your PR campaigns before you sign the documentation.
Make sure the most qualified professional is running the PR strategy and that the team leader has the experience to respond adeptly should your needs change over time. This level of experience at the helm will be crucial to campaign success moving forward.

6. Discuss Industry Connections

Working with a PR agency can help your organization to effectively manage its reputation and make strides forward in terms of its online marketing. But oftentimes PR companies succeed based on their marketplace network. Does the company have access to trusted journalists? Are they connected with the leading specialists in marketing?
Asking these important questions before working with an agency can ensure the ideal specialist is chosen for each campaign. Make sure that the team you’re working with has the resources to enact effective strategies in the long-term.

7. Make Sure You Have Good Rapport

If in the first meeting with your PR agency, there are disagreements on strategy, then make sure you consult with the rest of your team about moving forward with the company. Any disagreements can stall your marketing projects and can limit the progress of your campaigns. It’s imperative your team has a good rapport with those on the PR company’s staff.
Building an understanding between the two teams can help to eliminate long-standing business challenges and can ensure that each member is working towards the same end goal.

In Summary

So now that you have a better understanding on what it takes to ensure success in choosing a local Toronto PR agency, let’s look at a summary of our guidance:

• Make sure the company has all the capabilities you require, well in advance of your decision
• Choose a flexible budget to ensure scalable campaign growth
• Learn more on the company and who will be running the campaign before deciding
• Determine the level of connections the company has within the industry before making that final choice

Working with a respect Toronto PR agency can help your company maximize its visibility in the marketplace and respond adeptly to any negative press surrounding your brand. In this area of 24/7 online marketing and customer focus, maintaining the control over the online conversation is critical. Your local Toronto PR agency should be able to build a campaign that speaks to your market audiences and helps to maximize the value of your brand while meeting your marketing objectives over the coming years.
It’s time to speak with one of the leading PR agencies serving the Toronto marketplace. To learn more on Adkote and our work in the field, contact us today!