Generating publicity can be done with the help of a PR agency or on your own.
Hiring a PR agency can provide you with professional and experienced support, access to media contacts, and a wider range of services such as media outreach, event planning, and crisis management. On the other hand, DIY public relations can be more cost-effective, allowing you to control the message and be more hands-on in the process.
Hence, choosing between a PR agency or an in-house team for public relations can be a difficult decision with seemingly equal pros and cons. Whether you work with a PR agency or go solo, the key is to have a clear and consistent message.
In this week’s edition of Let’s Talk, our experts delve into the world of publicity and weigh the benefits and drawbacks of two popular options: hiring a PR agency versus implementing in-house public relations.
Tune in as they delve into the world of publicity and compare the benefits and challenges of each option, guiding you to make the best choice for your business.
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Lisl Pietersz, Transition and Communication Coach, University of Sydney
“Generating publicity is essential for all businesses and non-profit organisations so that your customers and other stakeholders know who you are, together with what products and services you offer.
“In turn, building awareness enables you to drive sales, encourage uptake of your services, or fundraise, which contributes to building your organisation’s brand and reputation.
“While solopreneurs and small business owners can handle many aspects of generating publicity for themselves or their venture, at some stage, you are likely to need a PR pro to elevate your approach and outcomes.
“While you don’t necessarily need a PR or marketing agency, at the very least, you need a savvy PR or communications freelancer with a strong track record in promoting brands and services. This person should be able to confidently advise and deliver on the following:
- Clearly understand and articulate your publicity needs and give you practical feedback.
- Create and activate a holistic plan that includes a traditional and social media component, plus management of any issues that may arise. Ideally, the plan includes the creation of your personal leadership and/or organisation’s messaging.
- Explain how to best reach your target media, influencers, and other stakeholders.
- Outline how success will be measured.
- State their fee and anticipated expenses for the recommended strategy.
“When you are ready to appoint a PR pro, ask your network for suitable recommendations or contact peak body the Public Relations Institute of Australia for a list of agency suggestions. Also review freelance marketplaces like fivvr.com or freelancer.com.
“It takes time to build brand awareness and reputation. The key is to have a smart publicity plan, take action at the right time, and be consistent in your efforts.”
Alice Smith, Deputy Managing Director, Archetype
“Journalists love speaking to founders, so in one-off instances, a savvy business leader could certainly manage. But to generate consistent, quality coverage you will need a PR specialist. Start with an in-house communications lead, as this person plays a vital role in working with stakeholders to develop the company narrative.
“While this individual specialist will be able to handle some activities, at some point – Series C or D for most startups – there will be too much work for one person, and they will need support from someone who is speaking with media on a daily basis.
“There is a sweet spot on the Venn diagram of what companies want to talk about and what journalists want to talk about – this is where a PR agency can help you.
“With a broader media overview and a wider network, an agency looks beyond narrow target lists and thinks creatively on how to optimise your potential media moments. With a team of always-on consultants who work across a range of other clients, your agency can provide guidance on what works and what doesn’t, while identifying opportunities that wouldn’t be available to an in-house practitioner.
“The other critical area an agency can help with is issues or crisis management. As Warren Buffet famously quipped “it takes 20 years to build a reputation and five minutes to ruin it. If you think about that, you’ll do things differently.” Your ongoing agency team should be able to provide you with guidance to prevent a PR disaster, and for those unavoidable crises, it can draw upon seasoned media professionals to mitigate the reputational damage.”
Jörn Sanda, Business Communications Director, Big Smoke Media Group
“You can do it yourself. Just as you can do your own tax returns, run your own marketing campaigns and even represent yourself in court. Success with it is proportional to how experienced and skilled you are with the discipline. And the time you have available to dedicate yourself to it.
“Publicity takes skill and time. Not just the minutes spent with journalists telling your story, nor the hours needed to prepare for the interviews so that they result in the intended outcomes, but the days, weeks and even months required to establish decent working relationships with journalists to understand the diverse news cycles and angles that different publications favour.
“No matter how great a story, it’s only ever a media story when editors allow its publication. Good PR agencies know what it takes for which editors to give those permissions. And how to manage the story so that it’s published as good a story as possible.
“All while you’re doing what you’re best at – managing your business. While your accountant does your accounting, your marketer markets, and your lawyer takes care of your legal work.”
Tim Lele, General Manager of Public Relations, Keep Left
“As a homeowner who’s wasted more of my hard-earned on DIY at Bunnings than I care to reveal, I’m a big advocate for outsourcing to professionals. But it’s important business owners recognise that you can’t completely outsource PR and expect good results.
“The answer is you need both. It’s called “earned” media for a reason. You might not pay for it like advertising, but the investment comes from the time spokespeople and comms professionals invest. Earning media attention requires a combination of strategic creativity, media relationships and wordsmithing from an agency or media relations specialist with industry experience.
“The best results come when business leaders and subject matter experts put their energy and time into formulating the opinion, uncovering business stories, becoming genuine thought leaders and then working with an agency to deliver the messages in a way that journalists can digest and their audiences will choose to engage with.”
Adam Benson, CEO, The Recognition Group
“Publicity is essential to building an organisation’s brand and credibility with its target market. Many smaller and/or growing organisations look to save costs by doing their own public relations (PR). In the early stages of a PR push, it is possible for organisations to do many effective PR activities themselves. These can include:
- Writing and sending press releases to announce company news
- Creating thought leadership content to position the company as an expert
- Leveraging social media to create connections with potential customers
- Building direct relationships with key journalists
- Participating in industry events and conferences
“Certainly, as a starting point, these activities are achievable for an in-house PR or marketing officer. However, these things take time to gain traction, risk missing the mark due to lack of expertise, and can distract valuable in-house team members from their core roles. Working with a specialist B2B agency invariably delivers stronger results sooner. Agencies provide access to inside industry knowledge, pre-existing media relationships, a deep understanding of the media landscape, media training, and an entire team of experts. This approach maximises return on investment and delivers a bigger bang for buck due to a more streamlined and accurate approach.
“It’s important to look for an agency that can provide integrated marketing and PR services. An agency with all these resources in-house can deliver omnichannel marketing, a consistent brand strategy, cohesive messaging across all touchpoints, professional design and copywriting, and, above all, measurable and positive results. All without distracting internal team members from their day jobs.”
Jaime Nelson, Managing Director, Hotwire Australia
“If you are a business trying to break ground into a new market or category, and are gearing up for growth, investing in a PR agency is key. You need strategic partners who are storytellers and experts at crafting narratives about your business that get the media and your audiences engaged. The right PR agency knows how to create the right stories and, importantly, how to tell them in a way that resonates with your target audience to have a positive business impact. The most significant value a PR agency can provide is our relationships with media as this is essential in helping a business secure ongoing publicity.”
Bruce Macfarlane, Interim CEO and Director, Energy Action
“At Energy Action, we believe that success in business is not just about offering a top-notch service, but also about scaling your brand and creating an efficient sales process. As a B2B energy management company, we are proud to offer a valuable service to our customers, and we understand the importance of building a strong brand.
“When it comes to generating publicity, we’ve tried both PR agencies and DIY methods. We’ve found that our best approach is a mix of digital marketing and PR, leveraging our expertise in the energy industry to offer valuable commentary and insights to journalists.
“We’ve seen the most success by proactively reaching out to the media, offering our unique perspectives and data-driven insights, and building relationships with key publications such as ABC News, AFR, and The Guardian. We’ve found that when we partner with a PR agency, the results are not always as strong, as they often lack the depth of understanding of our business and industry that we have.
“However, it’s important to remember that PR alone won’t drive sales. To truly make an impact, you need to use those media placements to improve your credibility with prospects and boost your search engine optimization. At Energy Action, we understand that PR is just one part of a larger marketing strategy, and we strive to use all available tools to build and grow our brand.”
Marietta Delvecchio, Senior Account Director, Media + Capital Partners
“Public Relations is a conduit profession that connects businesses with journalists – busy people who delete most of the hundreds of emails they receive daily if their attention is not caught quickly or if the pitch is not right for them.
“PR professionals generally speak two languages. The language of what’s important to your business and the language of what’s important to the media. This is a critical skill that is rarely found in someone who has no experience in either PR or media.
“A PR agency generally has a team of professionals, often former journalists – as is our case at Media+Capital Partners – who know exactly what the media is looking for in a story and how to pitch it in a way that appeals to the journalist. They have great relationships with some of the country’s top journalists and can develop your business’s relationships with them too.
“Even if you’re a big enough business with a budget for an in-house PR manager, but especially if you don’t, having an agency at your disposal ensures efficiency, speed and collective expertise when reacting to media enquiries, pitching proactive stories, and most importantly, when responding to a PR crisis. Because sometimes, the response to a PR disaster does more damage to a reputation than the PR disaster incident itself and you want a team of PR professionals in your corner to prevent that happening.”
Luke Rust, CEO, Outbound
“PR has been the cornerstone of Outbound’s publicity push as a scaling business – and quite simply, we wouldn’t have the brand recognition that we now enjoy without it.
“We had a choice on startup: do we go down the social media path, the paid advertising path or the PR path!
“Ultimately, we invested our limited budget in PR as we felt genuine editorial coverage, if it landed, would achieve a far greater level of engagement, and credibility, among potential users of Outbound, and properties looking to sign on with us.
“And the result has been in excess of 60 unique media hits in the space of 12 months (in the biggest media outlets in the country), which have directly generated leads.
“As for whether I could’ve done it myself? Absolutely not. I come from a marketing background myself but I believe it’s that external, third party set of eyes that can visualise our “story” as consumable media to an audience – I’m too close to my own company; so while I might have ideas, it takes a professional publicist to essentially ‘broker’ a deal with a journalist.
“Plus, I simply don’t have the network of contacts to achieve any sort of widespread media coverage – which is the goal.”
Brook McCarthy, Business coach and owner, Hustle & Heart
“Securing publicity can be a turning point for so many businesses, leading to a massive increase in reach, visibility and inquiries, as well as being excellent at building authority and credibility. When I worked in Public Relations in the 90s and early 2000s, PR people were the gatekeepers to the media and there’s still excellent value to be had engaging a great PR person or agency. However, the costs can be prohibitive for small business and, due in large part to the advent of social media, publicity is more accessible than ever.
“I teach my clients how to attract publicity using a skilful combination of Google search engine optimisation, social media networking, and business blogging or podcasting. I’ve been featured in national magazines, mainstream news media, other people’s podcasts, and innumerable websites, and very rarely pitched. I’ve never sent a media release – instead, journalists and editors find me through Google or in Facebook groups.
“The new world of influence isn’t sending mass media releases and wishing and praying it works. It’s saying something worth listening to, and doing something worth talking about. It’s building your own reputation as a leader and expert in your field so the media comes to you.”
Amanda Lacey, Founder and Director, POPCOM Communications
“You can absolutely do it yourself, the same as you can do your own bookkeeping, marketing and most other tasks when it comes to building a business. The key to great PR is having a brand identity, plan and good contacts, and consistently putting yourself forward in the right places.
“The best place to start is by creating a storyline and brand narrative. Include your values and mission from the beginning, which will help you a position where you want to be. Then you need to develop a communications plan and strategy that includes how you will distribute your message and when.”
Renae Smith, Founder and Director, The Atticism
“With marketing budgets shrinking, many business owners are questioning whether they need a PR agency. This usually occurs because on the surface, PR seems quite easy. Writing a press release and then sending it to every journalist’s you can find. Right?
Wrong. That isn’t what PR is – having a good pitch document isn’t enough.
“Remember – Journalists receive hundreds of pitches every week! A good PR agency can advise on different strategies to help your messaging cut through the competitive noise. A good agency has relationships with journalists – they know how they prefer to be pitched (and a large portion of them actually HATE press releases), what topics they’re working on, their individual preferences for topics, and much, much more.
“On top of that, PR is much more than just press relations. These days there is a lot more to manage when it comes to a company’s communication needs. A healthy PR plan will consider all four types of media – earned (PR), owned (blogs, websites etc), shared (social media) and paid (advertorial).
“A comprehensive audit of all of your activity will give you the best results – and that takes skills required by professionally trained and experienced communications experts.”
Nic Hayes, Managing Director, Media Stable
“Generating publicity isn’t rocket science but it’s amazing how many PR agencies fail to even scratch the ‘publicity surface’.
“Publicity is never about you or your product, it’s all about the audience of that media. If you can master the art of storytelling and pitching to a media’s audience, you’re on your way to generating meaningful publicity. Of course, you’ll need help and support, you need relationships, connections, and guidance from those that know.
“Generating real publicity is an investment, not an expense.
“A connected PR professional can be invaluable for telling your story or positioning your expertise. Quality communicators with connections certainly come at a price, and you need to do your research on engaging the right PR. If budget is a concern, the platform I represent works with small to large businesses that want to engage with media for a fraction of the cost. The media engagement managers at Media Stable are journalists and producers themselves so they prepare, write, and pitch to the media and intrinsically understand the way media wants stories delivered.
“Good communications should always be in the hands of those with strong media relationships and a successful record.”
Kathryn Van Kuyk, Co-founder and Co-CEO, Media-Wize
“The collapse in the number of Australian journalists means those that remain are saturated with hundreds of pitches a day. At best, they may only choose a handful to write about. While it’s possible to generate your own publicity, getting past the journalist’s delete key and making the cut is harder than ever.
“Expert PR assistance covers more than generating coverage. It ensures your brand is protected from a potential crisis and poorly thought out ideas and messaging. Effective PR helps you find the stories that are likely to be of greatest interest and packages those stories to maximise chances of success. PRs can help prepare spokespeople for interviews, coach you on what questions to expect and ensure that your content reaches the right audience.
“There are some common pitfalls that businesses attempting to do their own PR fall into. This includes having unrealistic expectations, viewing journalists as a sales channel, writing copy that is overly promotional, failing to read the publications they are targeting and failing to build accurate media lists that reach the right journalists.”
Oisin O’Callaghan, Director, Watterson
“It’s not just about whether you can do it yourself, it’s whether you understand PR’s nuances, relationships with media you’re targeting, and time. Some of the main ‘products’ you buy from an agency are; capacity to write, development of effective messaging, tailored pitching, advice, and reporting. Going it alone will consume more of your time than that of an experienced communications consultancy, and risks missing the mark with media and other stakeholders you want to reach. You’ll need to research, build and nurture relationships, know what makes them tick and their pet peeves, develop quality content, and more. That should all be bread and butter for the right agency partner.
“I’ve found most business and marketing leaders who try to manage their own communications programs see limited results and end up onboarding an agency or appropriate hire. It can often be useful to start with a project, such as an investment round or major customer deal – something you know should yield strong publicity – and find a good consultancy to partner with you on that campaign. Not all consultancies take on projects, but many will relish the opportunity to show what they can do and hope to build a long-term partnership.”
Mel Greig, PR and Media Manager, BRANDiT Agency
“You can absolutely do your own PR, but will you see the same results as engaging an expert?
“In order to do your own PR, you still need to learn the foundations of how Public Relations and the Media Industry works.
- Do you know how to brainstorm your ideas and content?
- Do you know how to create your own angles and headlines?
- Do you understand how to pitch to the media?
- Do you have contacts to pitch to the media?
“Public Relations is very different to Advertising, you can pay to secure a media article through advertising but with PR you are taking the gamble and you might get lucky with hitting the viral jackpot or securing a TV interview.
“The most important thing you need to know about trying to generate your own PR is the why… Why would the media run my story for free? What do they get out of it? Unless it’s an exclusive, community story, awareness piece or something unique and different they will be unlikely to run your story.”
Kate Engler, Founder, Meet The Press Masterclass
“Yes, you CAN do it yourself absolutely! However, the #1 trip hazard for businesses who DO attempt their own PR is that they pitch to the journos like they would usually pitch to potential clients. Nothing will have you fail faster!
“You see the journo isn’t so much interested in your ‘thing’, but rather what is NEWSWORTHY about your thing or what ISSUES your thing solves. They have readers, listeners and viewers to capture, keep and, in some ways, ‘entertain’. (Not with jazz hands ‘entertainment’, with meaty, newsworthy content- that’s where you come in!).
“So, it’s always about finding the story BEHIND your thing if you want to embark on DIY PR.
“The other tip for businesses wanting to undertake your own PR is to consume the media you wish to target. Understand what that outlet/program is covering – this will do 2 things:
- It will help you avoid pitching a ‘do-over’ (a story the media recently ran)
And - It will help you make your pitch more relevant to the target media AND their audience.
“With a little guidance, support and a great system, any business can tackle their own PR – we see it every day and it’s thrilling!
Odette Barry, Publicist and PR Mentor, Founder of Hack Your Own PR, Odette & Co
“This is one of the most common questions I get asked in my business. When should you outsource your PR versus when should you put in the hard yards, learn a new skill and pitch your own stories?
“There is no doubt in my mind that a publicist with 10-15 years of experience plus will do a far better job than you will DIY, even after learning under my esteemed guidance in Hack Your Own PR.
“Yes, after completing Hack Your Own PR, you will walk away with incredible PR skills, confidence to pitch your stories, and new relationships with top-tier media outlets and journalists, but you can’t buy 10 years of industry experience in a 2-month course. That’s just a fact.
“But, if you’re in the early stages of your business or simply don’t have access to the kind of funding that comes with hiring a publicist (in the vicinity of $15k for 3 months), learning how to Hack Your Own PR is a game changer that will allow you to secure meaningful media coverage without the price tag.
“My students have won their own coverage in…The Guardian, Good Weekend, Entrepreneur, The Age, Gourmet Traveller, Country Style, Mamamia, Forbes, Women’s Agenda, The Project, The Daily Mail, Delicious, Russh, 9Honey, Channel 10, Broadsheet, The Australian, Smart Company, ABC, Body + Soul and Pedestrian …just to name a few.
“If you are deeply passionate about your industry, are an open book and keen to share, you’re off to a flying start when it comes to DIY PR. And then, if you have an ability to research, are interested in reading about your industry and can write a half decent email – you’re more than half way there.”
Fiona Hamann, Founder and Principal, Hamann Communication
“Many companies can handle their own simple standalone local/community PR. It can also be a far more economical solution if the job is small. Local PR activities might include:
- Engaging on social media and local community pages
- Market stalls
- Local sports team sponsorship
- Community business award wins
- Contacting the local paper with a local story
“I would always recommend a PR professional where you need a more complex or creative communication strategy or want to target a new, wider stakeholder group and more diverse or extensive media databases (and measure how many eyeballs you hit).
“Engaging a professional is also a good idea where you don’t have the expertise or skills (such as writing, media relations, social media, blogs etc.) It is also helpful if you don’t have the budget for a full-time employee but can afford a few hours a week.
“Professional PR is vital if you don’t have industry or geographical knowledge. For example, companies may be scaling up, launching a new product, targeting a new market segment or launching internationally.
“And a PR Pro absolutely should be non-negotiable for crisis communication – The reputational and financial risks are too significant to gamble with a DIY job.”
Tahlia Crinis, The Boss, Boss Media PR
“In short, no you do not need a PR agency, you can absolutely do it yourself. PR is not rocket science, but generating great results does take time, creativity, and a certain level of expertise. The fundamentals of PR are fairly simple, but it often takes more than a carefully-crafted press release (and if you ask me, press releases are outdated and aren’t always the right approach).
“Sure, there are those examples where sending out one email or DM to a journalist has seemingly created a viral story, but these are lightning in bottle moments. There are also examples where naive business owners hound media to the point where it feels like stalking. Both can be potential outcomes when communicating with media, so just make sure you don’t fall into the latter. Reaching out to a journalist with a half-baked idea or poorly written pitch isn’t going to put you in good stead.
“PR is a long game, there’s an art to it and putting in the work can be a god-damned hustle. So yes, you can certainly do it yourself, but do you have the time?”
Julie Wright, Director, Anchor & Co Communications
“In 2023, earning publicity for your brand, business or product is about so much more than getting a story in the paper. PR agencies are a one stop shop for creative, content, social media, brand building and the traditional stuff like media relations too. You wouldn’t tinker with an engine if you didn’t know what you were doing, so why take the same risk with promoting your business?
“Chances are, you’re an expert in your business area, not in web development, photography, social media and building an online or media presence. Taking a DIY approach can often lead to messy content and imagery, an inconsistent social media schedule (or worse, no schedule at all), or a website that is hard to navigate. Do any of these sound familiar?
“Engaging a PR agency means you’re gaining an expert set of hands in all of these things. They get your story up to scratch, and in line with the tone and style you’re looking to project. If you’re looking for higher engagement through social media or publicity, then they will know exactly what your audience is looking for, while having the tools and contacts to get you where you and your business needs to be.”
Sebastien Meunier, Tech and start-ups PR Freelance, Seb Meunier
“PR can be powerful in shaping a company’s reputation. It is unique in that contrary to other communications tools and channels, it isn’t the organisation promoting itself, but a third-party with a high level of authority (the journalist) covering it, which can really boost a brand’s credibility, and contribute to every stage of the sales funnel.
“For organisations that don’t have experience in PR, I highly recommend hiring an agency or freelance. There are specific codes in working with journalists, and it is easy to make mistakes that could damage an organisation’s relationship with the media. An agency or consultant will know these best practices, have existing relationships with reporters, and make the right recommendations to maximise the chances of coverage.
“Most agencies won’t work under certain budget levels or will require a minimum length of engagement, and working with consultants can be a more flexible option for organisations with more ad-hoc and sporadic PR needs. Another approach is to recruit a PR specialist internally. Some companies choose this approach and it can be successful, but it is only relevant if the organisation has enough budget, and news to justify full-time PR support.”
Louise Nealon, Founder, Louise Nealon PR
“Hell yes, at least for the strategic bit! While it’s true that the media can prefer to speak directly to business owners and leaders rather than through PR agencies, you can use us to help you create a smart plan that will focus your time and energy on the channels that will work best for you, rather than a scatter gun approach that doesn’t get you any results.
“A PR agency is great for helping you identify your real point of difference, pick the best media/digital/social channels to speak to your targets and help you create easily digestible ideas and content. Then, if you want to run with it yourself, you can approach the media or self-publish with confidence that you are saying something of value and concentrating your time and efforts with the right people.
“Like a personal trainer, or a business coach, our experience gives you the knowledge and the best tools to do the work that will deliver results. And once you get started and prove yourself as valuable to media and users on other digital or social channels, they will start coming to you for comment which is the best definition of success!”
Jemimah Ashleigh, Founder, The Visibility Lab
“PR agencies are no longer necessary to generate publicity. Sites like Sourcebottle and HARO (Help a Reporter Out) have made it easier than ever for journalists and experts to connect. This coupled with a strong PR strategy encompassing awards, social media and speaking opportunities – create strong opportunities for media opportunities and overall publicity. When done well, this would take businesses approximately 20 minutes per day.”
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