Sure, an effective public relations program integrating feature articles, press releases, videos and other content delivers quantifiable returns as sales leads, clicks and social media engagement. But its more powerful abilities have a hard time fitting into a metric that can be neatly measured like clicks. For example:
Captures share of mind – do people think of you when they need your product or service – or a competitor?
Builds name brand recognition – are people familiar with your company name so they answer the phone?
Buzz – do people think your company is on the move, seemingly everywhere?
Supports retention – do your sales people see and feel the marketing support?
Invites recruiting – do people feel inspired to come work for you?
Positions for leadership – do customers, prospects and colleagues see your executives as expert authorities in their fields?
These and other abilities matter because they influence whether a prospect clicks, meets with a sales rep, accepts or turns away a meeting with a competitor, and ultimately whether he/she buys. In the same way, your public relations program impacts whether existing customers become repeat customers and helps reinforce their smart decisions to buy from your company. I harp on this only because it works. From the practice what you preach file, enjoy some recent highlights where epr President Paul Entin contributed expert commentary:
Merging publicity with online content marketing from DigiLab
Combine email with direct mail for bigger results in e-commerce from Internet Retailer
Business plans? I highly recommend from NY Times
See what NY Times reporter left out here.
Obamacare from CNBC
Branding at Squaw Valley from Sierra Sun, Lake Tahoe
Use professional photography when buying logo products from Promotional Products Business, PPAI
B2B Websites: What manufacturers are missing from CMS Wire
Expert Email Marketing Tips from U.S. Chamber of Commerce
See case studies in public relations here.
