Hire a PR firm with experience in your industry

3 tips to be certain your PR agency knows your field and can deliver success

An experienced PR team is always a great choice.

Why would you risk hiring a public relations firm that hasn’t achieved results within your company’s industry? Before hiring a PR firm, do your due diligence to ensure you’re hiring a firm that fits your needs and wants – one that can create a successful PR campaign in your industry. Hiring an inexperienced PR agency is mistake #6 in Axia Public Relations’ list of 15 mistakes companies make when hiring a PR firm. Check out our three areas of importance to ensure you hire an experienced PR firm that will bring you success.

Case studies
Ask to see case studies related to your industry. How has the PR firm demonstrated success in the past? Think of it this way: Would you purchase a used car without seeing the CarFax? Why hire a PR firm that can’t show you its successes?

Account team
Find out who will be on your account to ensure those PR representatives have knowledge in your industry. While there’s a learning curve when onboarding a PR firm, you don’t want to bother putting the training wheels on if the firm and the members of your account team don’t have industry knowledge.

Social media
Looking to hire a firm for help with social media efforts? Check out the agency’s own social sites and pages to see how successful and active it is. Keep in mind that choosing quality posts over quantity of posts on social media increases overall engagement. This means that just because you don’t see a plethora of posts doesn’t mean the quality isn’t there. A PR firm’s social media engagement is a good barometer of how successful it will be for your company.

While success means something different for each PR campaign and for each company, it’s important to find a firm that has previously demonstrated similar experiences and results to what you desire. If your current PR firm doesn’t have the experience to gain the results you want, it may be time to move on. Download Axia Public Relations’ complimentary e-book How to Fire Your PR Firm and learn the right way to part ways and start fresh with a firm that can bring you success.

Marjorie Comer is an award-winning PR professional. She graduated from Rockhurst University with a Bachelor of Arts in communication and loves to cheer for her hometown Kansas City Royals. Marjorie has worked for Axia Public Relations since October 2011. Follow her on Twitter @Marjorie_Comer. Learn more about Marjorie Comer.