As a Las Vegas PR professional for more than 16 years, I am often asked the question, “What is public relations and how can it help me promote my business?” Although most people have heard of public relations, and know it somehow relates to marketing, many businesses are generally unaware of how a local PR firm can support marketing efforts and drive sales.
Public relations includes a multitude of practice areas, all aimed at building exposure among your company’s target market, in an effort to increase awareness of your products or services and ultimately boost your profits.
Traditional public relations
First, it’s important to point out the difference between advertising, marketing and public relations. Marketing includes developing ways to entice consumers to buy your product or service. Advertising is creating messages and buying space to place those messages so people will see them and be enticed to buy your product or service, such as in magazines, on websites, TV and radio commercials, billboards and signs. Public relations includes media relations – where we create messages about products and services and pitch them to journalists, reporters, television and radio producers to write articles and run news coverage. This is unbuyable space, also known as “earned media.” It’s important that a PR agency’s tactics work in tandem with marketing strategies, as the messaging that your public relations agency develops needs to remain consistent with the company’s branding.
Other functions of public relations
In addition to media relations, PR also includes writing press releases and company statements, drafting company blogs and promotional copy, creating speaking engagement opportunities, social media, identifying brand influencers, special events, grassroots marketing efforts, developing marketing and promotional partnerships, and crisis communications, just to name a few!
How PR can help your company
Working with a PR company can help you stand out among your competitors. Companies that rely on advertising and marketing efforts alone aren’t telling consumers and potential clients the full story behind who they are. Hiring a public relations company allows you to tell your story authentically, and helps to build your public image so that you can further explain why your products and services are important, how you fill a need, and what sets you apart.
Contact Gina Yager Creative for more information on public relations in Las Vegas.