With the news agenda moving more quickly than ever and the rise of social media creating intense competition for attention, getting your business’ voice to stand out is more challenging than ever. So if you want to be seen as a leading authority in your industry, getting your messaging in the right place and reaching your target audience is key.
At The Marketing Pod, staff across our five centres of excellence are all experts in their specific field – and our PR team is no different. Our Podsters’ personalities are our secret sauce and our PR specialists have an extensive network of B2B trade journalists. This means our team is in a great position to get you noticed and start leading the conversation within your industry.
In fact, our efforts and passion have been recognised by the Chartered Institute of Public Relations (CIPR), who awarded us their PRide Midlands Award for PR Consultancy of the Year 2022.
In this interview, PR Specialists Sara Burgess and Claire Fitzegerald, tell us what makes PR at the Pod stand out and why it’s still such a powerful tool for marketers, even in the digital age.
Why is PR so important, why are you so passionate about it, why do you believe it's a force for good?
Sara Burgess: When I started in PR over 20 years (!) ago, it was very different – we still posted out press releases and social media hadn't hit the mainstream. Now, 'PR' goes far beyond traditional media relations – there is obviously still a huge role for it but it's been great to see PR expand to include other forms of content – social media, blogs, videos, podcasts, webinars etc. However, at the heart of everything is telling a good story and building trust – that hasn't changed.
Claire Fitzgerald: Word of mouth and recommendation is the best endorsement you can get for anything and by securing editorial coverage in the media, it provides written proof that it's not just the brand that thinks as they do, other people and organisations are engaging in a similar manner too. I have worked in PR for over 20 years and still get a bit giddy when I see a feature or a news article that I helped to shape and deliver. PR broadens horizons, manages perceptions and gets people thinking. It's also creatively challenging at times - and there's never a dull moment!
What makes PR at the Pod stand out?
Sara: Apart from being CIPR Midlands PR Agency of the Year? I would say it's our collective expertise and real skill at getting under the skin of technical topics and turning them into compelling stories. We are a pretty senior team and have worked across multiple sectors so can bring a real strategic level of thinking as well as delivering the work. We also have great contacts – journalists know they can rely on us to provide them with what they need.
PR skills aren't just limited to the 'specialist' PR team either – it spans content, account management, creative and digital. Everyone understands that it's our job to tell compelling stories about our clients and position them as experts in their fields.
Claire: For me personally, PR at the Pod is a whole new chapter! Everything we do is done with integrity, thought and collaboration with the client – exactly as it should be. Our team has many years combined experience in a wide variety of sectors and industries, sharing our combined knowledge is what gets the results. There are people here with such in-depth knowledge of the energy sector that if they don't know it, it's really not worth knowing.
How can PR still be a powerful force in the digital age?
Sara: PR and digital are intrinsically linked so it's undoubtedly still a force. Social media in particular has changed the dynamics, particularly in terms of reputation management – digital media means that things are often more immediate – you can monitor and respond to journalist requests, manage crises and create huge engagement via social. PR and SEO also now work much more closely together, while 'getting a backlink' isn't guaranteed with editorial coverage, when you do, it can really support the client's credibility and off-page SEO as it provides that third party endorsement you don't get from paid media.
Claire: The power of PR in the digital age lies in its immediacy – our job is to control the messaging, ensuring that nothing can be taken out of context (and managing the process if it is). It's the best weapon a brand can have at its disposal in a crisis, and I'm pretty sure most politicians would agree on that.
Why is PR a worthwhile investment?
Sara: I think the question is why wouldn't you do it? It is a powerful tool for building credibility and trust – not just in the media but across various channels. It can also help manage your reputation in a crisis. Additionally, you can do quite a lot with fairly modest budgets.
Claire: As I’ve already mentioned, PR is what shapes the messaging, giving a brand its own personality and voice through a third party filter (the media). It is a tangible way of earning trust with a target audience, helping the brand to sell its products and services and build a relationship with the media that goes a long way towards raising awareness of the brand/product/service.
To finish the interview, we asked our team to pick out a successful campaign they were particularly proud of. Perhaps an unfair question, our PR specialists have provided media relations support successfully to a number of clients over the years, so coming up with just one was tricky.
Claire pointed to a campaign for Peoplesafe, which sells lone worker devices to businesses to protect their workers. During the Covid pandemic, the need for these devices grew suddenly and rapidly, as people that may not previously been classed as lone workers became more vulnerable. Peoplesafe became keen to raise awareness of the importance of lone worker tech and make the case for it to be classed as an item of PPE. Our team ran a quant survey with Peoplesafe customers to gain insight, and partnered with SHP magazine to deliver a virtual round table to share the findings. All this data was used to compile a report, blog series, press release, features, an article, Podcast and social posts – generating high quality leads and wide coverage.
Sara wanted to give a mention to our integrated PR-led campaign for npower Business Solutions. With net zero a concern for businesses, we created a Knowledge Hub, offering businesses support with three areas of net zero they told us they needed help on: funding, incentives and on-site generation. As well as the portal, we provided PR content including editorial in trade titles, webinars and blogs.
If your business needs help with media relations – click here to contact our award-winning PR team, today.
