Written by PAN Communciations 

As an emerging growth company, you are most likely strapped for skillsets and in-house resources. This makes it a challenge to keep marketing and public relations efforts consistent and strategic. Emerging growth businesses are looking for alternative options either outsourcing these efforts to freelancers or relying on integrated agencies. There are several benefits to working with an integrated agency they provide a fresh perspective; they come with a strategic mindset; they bring a team with experience and different talent assets; and they collaborate with your company to determine communication strategies and goals.

So, what does working with an integrated marketing and PR agency look like? A successful partnership should help you accomplish the following:
 

1. Manage social campaigns that resonate.
Social channels are growing platforms where you can gauge how well your message is being absorbed and how audiences are reacting. This, of course, has its challenges: Identifying your target audience and creating tailored content to connect with them is the foundation of a solid social content strategy. This is where an integrated agency truly becomes valuable. These professionals are natural storytellers and have a keen eye for the topics, trends and conversations that resonate. Storytelling is half the equation here. The other half comes down to knowing who your audience is and what they need. Integrated agencies develop buyer personas through research, surveys and in-depth conversations to truly understand your target audience. With this data in hand, your integrated agency can more easily create engaging, data-driven content geared directly towards your customer and extend marketing messages beyond traditional channels and into social media channels.

For more information on social media integration check out, How to Utilize Social Media Integration Across Your PR Strategies.

2. Successfully integrate PR with inbound marketing.
The key to engaging with prospective customers comes down to storytelling that connects with your audience at an emotional level. Inbound marketing is all about telling the right story, with the right message, to the right channel, at the right time. An integrated agency can leverage inbound marketing tactics to optimize the reach of your companys message. Work with your agency to determine what will resonate with your future customer, and then think about where your prospects are spending their time so that youre delivering that message on the right platform. The first touchpoint in the customers journey is imperative, as it sets the stage for future engagement. Including your agency in inbound marketing plans can help accelerate your prospects journey through the sales funnel and create opportunities for brand advocacy post-sale.

To learn about this integrated approach further download PANs eBook, Why PR Is a Critical Piece to Your Inbound Marketing Strategy.

3. Leverage PR and inbound marketing with creative design.
Did you know that when people hear information, theyre likely to remember only 10% of that information three days later? However, if a relevant image is paired with that same information, people retain 65% of the information three days later Theres no question that visuals hold extreme power when it comes to communicating your companys message. Integrated agencies have dedicated teams that infuse creative into all communication efforts. Whether its creating an infographic to go with a recent research report, designing catchy social shareables, capitalizing on the latest video trend or creating a flawless eBook they have you covered. Its seamless and fluid to have your PR, inbound marketing and creative teams all working together to develop campaigns that align with and communicate your brands value.

Interested in learning more about integrating creative designs into your communication strategy? Check out, What Powers Your Content? Visuals from Creative Services.

4. Provide measurement and analytics that deliver ROI.
If youre currently working with a PR agency, you might be seeing coverage reports alongside a few briefing highlights and stats. But what does that information really tell you? Can you determine ROI from this report? Integrated agencies can go much further when it comes to analytics and measurement. They can dive into Google Analytics and determine how much referral traffic stemmed from a media hit; they can give you a Share of Voice analysis to see how you stack up against your competitors on social; they can offer insight into who is downloading your assets. On top of this you dont need to piece together five different reports to determine your overall ROI. Everything is in one place alongside an analysis and recommendations for your next quarter or your next campaign.

5. Launch an influencer relations program. Influencer marketing is no longer a fading trend. Its a must-have in 2018. However, as an emerging growth company you might not be able to justify this investment. Integrated agencies are ideal to work with in this scenario. Not only are they already nurturing relationships with media and analysts, they understand the impact that influencers have. A recent study found that influencer marketing generates 11 times the ROI of traditional digital marketing. You simply cant afford to not capitalize on this marketing approach. Integrated agencies can do this for you organically without handing over a fistful of cash to the closest influencer.

Macro influencers typically have millions of social followers and require a large sum of cash, whereas micro influencers typically have between 1,000 and 100,000 followers and have quickly become a powerful channel for targeted marketing. Micro influencers perform the bulk of successful influencer marketing and integrated agencies know how to capitalize on this approach. Theyll then go on to foster these relationships organically, come up with creative ideas to work with those influencers and then set goals so you can easily track your ROI.

For more insight into influencer relations, read Influencer Relations: Its All About the Personal Touch and How to Build a B2B Influencer Relations Program.

As you can see, working with an integrated agency might be the best option if you have a limited budget. Not only can you pick and choose what service packages you want, but your integrated agency should be able to advise you and be flexible throughout each campaign.

Interested in learning more about an integrated approach to PR and marketing? Check out these other blogs:

• How to Measure and Justify the Cost of Integrated Marketing & PR

• 5 Steps to Capitalize on Your Buyer Personas & Audience Insights

• An Emerging Growth Solution: Integrated Marketing & PR