I run a UK based jewellery company specialising in bridal jewellery. We have a turnover of circa £4m per annum. We advertise using Adwords, Youtube, and run active facebook campaign. However, we don't do any proper PR activity, so it is an obvious gap in our marketing strategy. I realise I could engage a PR agency, or I could advertise in the PR press and look to employ our own PR person. However, I am not clear on what my PR 'objectives' should be. I also don't know what a good result would look like, or how much I realistically need to budget for. So far, I have been skeptical of the value of PR. Realistically, we are not Coca-Cola or Panasonic, and I am not sure I have the appetite to afford the size of campaign to try to build a large scale 'brand'. Hence to date, I have focused on direct response marketing with adwords etc. Some possible avenues which might work and which I would include in the PR category is; * Celebrity endorsements * Featured products in bridal magazines * Press releases (I realise these don't generally work) * Events * Local awareness campaign in local papers As you can see, I am bit confused on the best way forward. So I am looking for an expert in PR, who I can pay to give me some guidance on this topic. Once I find a PR expert I can trust, I would like to discuss with the the following questions; i) Can PR generate a measurable increase in sales for our business type and niche? ii) What is the minimum amount I should budget to test if it works? iii) Should I employ somebody or use an agency? iv) What is the right PR strategy I should set from the start Thanks for reading!
Congratulations on the success of your business
- With a turnover like that you should have a strong brand presence.
PR/Social Media is what you need
but this is totally dependent on your target market -
who they are and more importantly where they are -
for example if your customers are young and trendy - i would suggest contacting the top youtube influences in beauty and make up - these people have millions of followers and most of them cant wait to receive something free for an endorsement and what you have is much better than any free product out there - free jewellery would be much cheaper than hiring a PR firm -
most marketing companies outsource thier design overseas - so it might feel like your paying top dollar but in most cases you are paying thousands of dollars for someone that is getting paid $10 an hour with low skills.
So be very careful who you give your business to - if your market is a older age group - then youtube would be a waste and a complete disaster - facebook,instagram would be better
each social network has an entirely different audience. Adwords and paid services are good, especially when you know your market.
Based of the little bit of info i would suggest you build up your Brand - the name and expertise - do you have a useful blog - do more than sell jewelry - be the trusted source of all jewelry information
Answered 9 years ago
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