Advantages of Using External Public Relations Consultancy

When making a decision whether to use an external public relations consultancy or not, there are a number of factors that could influence this decision.

Although public relations can be managed in house, using a consultant can bring a great deal of experience to the business without the cost of a salary of a full time employee. A public relations consultancy can be hired by a company for less money than they would have to pay to employ a full time public relations expert to carry out the same work. It is also worth bearing in mind that some of the work that the public relations consultant will carry out can be promotional in nature and may take the place of some of the marketing which the company budgets for.

Managing public relations may appear to be a task that does not require constant effort but, in order to be effective, PR strategies need to be implemented by someone with experience and knowledge of the industry. A public relations consultancy will understand the best strategies for marketing your business and the most efficient way to implement these strategies. They may already have existing contacts that can assist with any communication that they carry out on behalf of the company.

PR communications may be more credible than traditional advertising as people often do not perceive them to be a marketing strategy paid for by the company. In order for this credibility to be achieved, the company will want to ensure that the communications are as professional as possible. Using an experienced public relations consultancy is an excellent way to achieve a high level of professionalism, with the correct objectives, messagng and outcomes.

When choosing a public relations consultancy it is important to remember that the consultant in charge of the account will need to have some degree of control over the content that is published about the company. Clear boundaries need to be set regarding which aspects of content the consultant can have free reign with and which need to have the approval of a manager within the company.

A company will need to weigh up the advantages and disadvantages of using external public relations consultancy, but it may difficult to hire someone to manage public relations in house with the high level of experience that a consultant would have for the same cost.