The PR Questions We Get Asked A Lot

Published by - 13/06/2017

The team at Arch visits a lot of events where we talk to business owners about what we do. We get asked a lot of questions and there are three that come up regularly…

What is PR?

The Charted Institute of Public Relations defines public relations as “the discipline which looks after reputation, with the aim of earning understanding and support and influencing opinion and behaviour. It is the planned and sustained effort to establish and maintain goodwill and mutual understanding between an organisation and its publics.”

And our strapline at Arch is ‘because reputation matters’.

So we use PR to build a positive reputation for our clients and their products and services. In other words, we work to get you noticed in the right way, so that people want what you have to offer.

To do this we tease out the stories that will interest and engage customers. We also make sure they are shared using the right channels. And we handle the difficult issues that come along to minimise any potential damage.

Isn’t it expensive and just for big businesses?

PR doesn’t need to be expensive and is definitely not the preserve of big business. We work with a wide range of clients and within different budgets.

We always aim to make the most of whatever we have to work with.  One story can be used in many ways:

  • In local and trade media
  • As a newsletter article
  • In a blog or online newsfeed
  • Across social media channels

To keep costs down, we can also train clients how to do their own PR – and be available to advise and help out when needed.

How will I know if it’s working?

Measuring the impact of PR has always been a slightly controversial issue. Traditionally, PR agencies have measured the column inches filled in newspapers and other publications and worked out what the cost would have been to buy that same space for advertising.

This has always been a crude and artificial measure, which the arrival of the internet and social media have made even less relevant.

So we don’t do that.

We do monitor the prominence and tone of the media coverage we achieve, while social media reach is easy to measure. More importantly, we judge our success by what our clients experience. Is their profile raised, or reputation enhanced, are more people talking about them, are they getting more contacts from potential customers?

If you want to find out more about how our PR skills, knowledge and experience can help your business or organisation please contact us.

You can also find more useful information on our FAQs page.