Ever wonder what you should look for when you hire a PR Agency? Here is a quick check list from Lucy Siegel of Bridge Global Strategies.

Here are 10 expectations you should have from any PR agency you hire:

• It has ethical owners and managers who expect ethical behavior from all employees.
• The agency gives you a realistic view of what can be accomplished with PR.
• It will tell you if your budget is impossibly low and will walk away if you really don’t have enough budget to afford the services.
• If you do hire the agency, it is able to stay within the agreed-upon budget.
• The agency has a track record of success for other clients. You should ask for case studies, and for references from clients.
• It has smart, experienced people who:
o Are capable of developing strategy,
o Can counsel you on key issues that affect the image of your
company and influence product sales – not just business
issues, but also social, political and environmental issues.
o Won’t be afraid to speak up to you and other top executives
if they disagree.
o Will tell you what they don’t know.
o Last but not least, write well.

A lot of start-ups aren’t sure what public relations will do for them. We’re often asked, “With budget limitations, why spend money on PR? Why not advertising, direct marketing or sales promotion?” What PR can accomplish depends on the circumstances as well as the work of the PR agency. Good agencies don’t over-promise what they can accomplish. You should be suspicious of any agency that promises you coverage in the Wall Street Journal, Business Week, the New York Times, on the “Today” show or on top blogs such as The Huffington Post, TechCrunch or Gizmodo.

Sometimes this kind of coverage is possible. It isn’t impossible for a PR agency to help launch a totally unknown start-up company and/or product and catapult it into the limelight in a short period of time, even on a relatively modest budget. But most of the time for start-ups this kind of prominence isn’t within each, at least not at first, for several reasons.

Don’t ignore public relations at launch time just because the outcomes aren’t certain. A company has only one opportunity to launch itself, which can be a good kick-start to building some long-term reputation and visibility. And that’s what really counts. Unless the company continues to make news after the launch, the media and the public will move on to something else. However, with hard work and creativity, over time, a PR agency can help build a steady stream of attention that can be sustained.

There are no guarantees in public relations. Anyone who tells you otherwise isn’t being straightforward. PR agencies work with “third parties” – the public, local communities, the media, online groups, etc. They excel at using the power of persuasion, but that’s the real power PR possesses, and persuasion is different from control. Advertising and direct marketing provide control. But PR provides credibility: it’s effective for the very reason that the message isn’t controlled, it is merely suggested. It’s a big boost to the company’s credibility if those independent third parties accept the message and choose to pass it along to others.

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