There are several benefits to having your PR agency on retainer. While project work can fill some gaps and help you reach short-term goals, there’s nothing like having a team of PR professionals at the ready whenever you need them! Here are eight reasons to have your PR agency on retainer:
- A Partnership – When you sign with a PR agency on retainer, they become part of your team. They’ll be working behind the scenes, keeping their eyes open for new public relations opportunities. They’re invested in your success.
- Short-notice service – Need something fast? No problem! When you have your PR agency on retainer you can simply call them up and ask for their assistance. There’s no contract signing or negotiation, and no need to ramp up because they already know about your business.
- Constantly communicating – If you’ve got PR goals (and you should), you’ll most likely want to have consistent communication across your owned channels as well as in the media. A retainer allows your PR agency to communicate on your behalf constantly and evenly with a steady stream of social media, blogs, articles, press releases and media outreach. This will also enable them to forge relationships with key media players increasing the likelihood that your company will receive coverage.
- Strategic approach – On a retainer, your PR agency can take a more strategic look at your brand and develop an ongoing PR program that is designed to meet a variety of goals. Being on retainer also allows the team to take a more holistic look at your business, allowing them to set a variety of benchmarks and stretch goals and making a concurrent plan to meet each one.
- Meet long-term goals – Since it’s a long-term relationship, the agency can build connections with media contacts specifically for your company and become a valuable resource in getting coverage and placements for your brand. This might mean increasing followers or engagement on social media, securing a certain number of media placements or even establishing a thought leadership program for your C-suite executives.
- Know your business – On retainer, your PR team will get to know your business and your industry, being sure to stay on top of the latest news coming out of your business landscape. This will help them jump in whenever you need them and even come to you with ideas.
- Access to multiple services and tools – A PR agency will have a host of employees all skilled at numerous aspects of PR. Some may be masters of pitching media, some may have social in their blood and others may excel at hunting out innovative opportunities. Either way, you’re getting access to these professionals, plus the costly tools that PR agencies use to gather data and insights.
- Best value – The bottom line is that being on retainer is the best value. Instead of a narrow, project-focused relationship, being on retainer allows your PR agency to loop in every specialist on the team, respond quickly to client needs and develop a long-term partnership where both parties are invested in the success of the business.
In this together
Having your PR agency on retainer can provide your company with variety of benefits that will help you maintain a strong strategy and consistent push throughout the year. It’s the best value and provides you with an entire team of PR professionals to help you get results.