Hiring a public relations (PR) firm can help your business get noticed, tell your story, and connect with the right audience. Whether you’re a small business owner or part of a large enterprise, partnering with a PR agency is a smart move. If you’ve never worked with one before, here’s a simple breakdown of what to expect.
1. Getting to Know You
First, the PR firm will schedule a meeting to learn about your business. DO NOT SKIP THIS STEP. In order to assess compatibility you need to meet. You’ll talk about your goals, challenges, and what kind of attention or support you’re looking for—like getting media coverage, launching a new product, or improving your reputation. This step helps build a strong foundation and ensures everyone is aligned from the desired level of support, to budget.
2. Proposal & Game Plan
After that first conversation, you’ll get a proposal outlining what the agency can do, how they’ll do it, and what it will cost. Remember, if you didn’t ask for something, it won’t be included in the proposal. Working collaboratively with your agency from the start is conducive to a good long-term working relationship. This is why we always advise being upfront and transparent about the budget because without a realistic gauge, the proposal will be disappointing.
Once you agree to move forward, the team creates a plan with clear steps to help meet your goals. This plan may also include key milestones, timelines, and metrics to track success.
3. Onboarding & Sharing Materials
Next, they’ll ask for a longer download conversation where you will go into a more in-depth conversation about the company. You should expect to discuss current initiatives, marketing efforts, past/present partnerships, key stakeholders, target audiences, goals, and challenges.
They will also ask for the logo, background info, previous communications assets, photos, marketing materials and anything else they need to talk about your business in the right way.
4. Taking Action
Now it’s time for the PR firm to get to work—reaching out to journalists, writing press releases, finding speaking opportunities, or helping create content that gets attention. You’ll get regular updates so you know what’s happening and how it’s going. (This list will vary depending on your strategy.)
5. Teamwork all the Way
PR is a two-way street. If you are going into a partnership with the intention of not being involved, save your money because that approach guarantees lackluster results. Working with an agency means you will make the internal team available to participate and provide constant feedback.
Also, setting little traps for your PR agency where you don’t give all the information and testing them to see if they can still perform or what they’ll do is a path to disappointment. Don’t withhold marketing materials, upcoming announcements or spokespeople. The more that is shared, the better the results.
Your agency will need your input to approve things, answer questions, and provide corporate updates. The more you stay in touch, the better the results. Sometimes PR moves fast, and timely responses can make or break an opportunity.
6. Results & Next Steps
Your agency will create reports showing what they’ve done—like media coverage, website visits, or reach—and what’s next. A good PR firm will keep improving the plan as they go, based on what’s working best. Giving specific feedback will help your agency get closer and closer to where you want to be.
Let’s Talk it Out
At 1903 PR, we make it easy to work together. Whether you’re just starting out or managing a large brand, we’re here to help you share your story, grow your audience, and build lasting impact. We treat every client relationship as a partnership—your success is our success.
