Importance of Trusting Your PR Team

 By Chan Desai, Account Strategist — Otter PR 

When you’re looking to hire a public relations team, there are bound to be certain expectations you’ll have when it comes to the results they generate for you. Perhaps you’re a startup seeking to gain engagement on a larger scale, or you’ve run into a need for reputation management. 

Whatever your need for PR may entail, the trust you place in your PR team should be the cornerstone of your relationship with them. Here is a deeper dive into why trust is so important between client and PR team, and how to best foster trust as a public relations professional. 

Treat the agency as you would your own employees

When hiring for your organization, you wouldn’t haphazardly hire just anyone. The recruitment process for a PR agency should be considered just as carefully as you would a new hire. 

The best agency-client relationships work because the PR agency is treated like an extension of your internal team. When considering a PR team, look at their qualifications, team organization, and whether they’re a culture fit with your own company. By treating any PR team that you bring on as an extension of your existing team, you’ll be more likely to reach your goals successfully.

Trust your agency counsel

Agency-client relationships that get off on the wrong foot can quickly devolve into a manager-subordinate relationship, which often presents a lose-lose scenario in most cases. 

Remember: You hired the agency for a reason — that reason generally being that your PR team has relevant experience, demonstrated expertise, and a commitment to helping you meet your goals. 

They are ready to leap into action for you. Placing trust in their guidance and believing in their capabilities will help foster the strongest relationship possible.

Invest time and effort into the team

One of the most common complaints clients have against PR teams is that they don’t understand their client’s business. However, this can be more a symptom of missing information — not an unwillingness to learn. 

To help your PR team understand your business fully, you need to invest time into the onboarding process. Does your PR team have access to all of your spokespeople and experts? Do they have context and explanations of topics and themes that may be complex? Is there a clear understanding on both sides of the process and sign-off protocol? Does your PR team have historical references and understand how that history shaped your business? 

All of these factors help your PR team fully understand your needs, your goals, and your company story.

Communicate in an organized way

Clear and organized communication is a vital part of the PR relationship, especially in this day and age of social media, text speak, and so many communication options. Clear communication helps maintain a healthy working relationship and keeps outcomes in view. 

On the other hand, over-communication can leave your PR team stuck in the weeds. Under-communication leaves them in the dark. Clients should strive to strike a reasonable balance between the two to achieve effective communication. 

Commit to decisions

If goalposts are constantly changing, it can be nearly impossible to measure success. In any startup environment, you’re going to pivot on a regular basis as you grow and figure out your business trajectory. 

However, change for change’s sake is rarely productive and doesn’t do your goals justice. If you’re a new player, PR can be a long game. Give your strategy and your PR team room to breathe and a chance to commit to your decisions, allowing seeds of inspiration time to bloom. 

Bringing on a public relations team can be the best way to light a fire of growth and brand recognition for a company. By keeping communication and goals in mind, you can foster a productive and ultimately successful PR relationship.