It’s a question we publicists get often … What does a successful PR campaign look like? Public relations empowers you to create mutually beneficial relationships with your key stakeholders. It also allows you to better connect with people both inside and outside your organization and prepare for communication crises, should they happen. 

These benefits are certainly admirable, but in times like these it’s important for companies to ensure their investments are worthwhile in a measurable, concrete way. Business leaders often view public relations as a luxury rather than a strategic asset to drive growth. However, if done right, PR can and does benefit the bottom line. 

1. Media hits build trust for years to come

Once you’ve secured media coverage from trusted sources in your industry, those hits can be remarketed on your own website. First, you can build out a press section (here’s ours, for example) on your site featuring all the coverage you receive over time. Putting your thought leadership and expertise neatly on display on your owned channels is a great way to develop credibility with your audience. 

You can also place the outlet’s logo on your home page, emphasizing that you’ve been featured in top-tier publications. Visitors will recognize and trust these names, even if they’ve never heard of your brand before. This builds credibility as well. Even better, after you’ve been featured, you can use these logos on your site and other marketing materials forever. As a bonus, these hits will appear on search engine results pages, which boosts SEO. 

2. You can use PR visibility to grow an audience

Additionally, PR gives you the platform to organically grow an audience for your brand. Plugging your website or social media at the end of an interview directs interested viewers to your content. If compelled by your message, they’ll want to follow your channels and keep up to date with your expertise. 

To further capitalize on this visibility, you can also invest in building a quiz to create an interactive experience and collect viewers’ emails. Building and maintaining this audience is key to earning trust and ultimately generating sales. If you can establish a genuine connection with your audience and maintain it over time, that’s an invaluable resource. A robust email list is another thing you can keep forever, and it is especially important during times of crisis like we’ve seen in the last year. 

3. Converting leads

With a customized media relations strategy, you’ll be earning hits with outlets your target audience is following. You never know who will listen to your podcast interview, read your contributed article, or see you commenting on industry news. Sometimes, the interview itself can pique the interest of the right person who needs your business. PR is certainly a long game with the foremost goal of fostering meaningful relationships with your audience. However, it’s not entirely unheard of for a media hit to make that instant sales connection. It’s another added benefit of building thought leadership in the media. 

Thought leadership in and of itself is valuable to audiences. In fact, 96% of B2B buyers want content with more input from industry thought leaders (Demand Gen Report). PR is vital for businesses looking to stand out from the competition and gain the attention of potential buyers.