The following article has been written to give answers to several of the most frequently asked questions that businesses new to PR raise as they prepare a marketing plan.

As full service Public Relations consulting firm to multi-national corporations we are generally asked – how much will ‘it’ cost? Sadly there’s no easy answer as the two main goals are usually to raise awareness of the brand and to raise sales. As there is usually a virtually limitless number of these objectives and often a challenge in measuring them – especially for small-medium size businesses – there is subsequently no totally exact figure for a PR budget.

Another question asked of us is: as a advertising company: what do you think is the best value tactic for our marketing spend? For clients on a tight budget, it’s important to get the basics right. Often the 1st item to address is a strong Search Engine Optimisation strategy. Sadly many web site developers think almost purely in terms of aesthetics, not in terms of improving Google’s ability to find your site. Even a basal Search Engine Optimization revision of the web site can yield enhanced higher website traffic. Every advance toward the number 1 search engine ranking will yield a noticeable increase in your websites impressions. Research estimates find that 4 out of ten internet surfers will click on the top Google listing with only 1 out of 10 clicking on the second.

The one thing that generally trips up  enterprises embarking on a effectual public relations campaign is the absence of transparent strategic planning. At Impact PR we advise you to start at the end objective and work backwards from there. Ask yourself how will we get to the final goal? Is the funding sufficient to help us attain the necessary result? This recommendation applies to any advertising campaign strategy – large, medium or small.

The next issue is whether the marketing strategy should use advertising or public relations or both? As a general rule public relations works particularly well if there’s a significant news angle – this can best be described as something particularly unique about the product or service. For example an online shopping website which gives all its profits to charity. Other factors which may influence a campaign’s success is how well the product is matched to the personal needs of the target media. Eg a new camera seems to go very well when the target audience is female aged 20-30 – primarily because they can intimately relate to the product.

Advertising might be implemented when the goal is more short term in nature or when the outcome requires high repetition to be achieved. Google adwords are very useful if budget is small and/or if the product is in well known category – ie consumers know to search for it. For brand new products in new categories, public relations/other forms of advertising can be a better way to improve awareness.