January 24, 2023

How Public Relations Companies in New York Can Optimize Your Business Strategy 

As a business owner in New York or elsewhere, you want to get your name out there. Your goal, of course, is to keep the customers you already have and attract new ones. Whether you’re a big company or a small one (with a small budget to match), it’s crucial to invest time and effort into public relations, as PR is the best way to establish your brand and set the narrative with customers, prospects, investors and even current and potential employees. The bottom line: Every company relies on its reputation, and building and managing those reputations is the core work of public relations. For this reason, public relations is a must-have component of any company’s overall marketing picture. 

Here are some ways public relations companies in New York can optimize your business strategy. 

PR builds credibility.

Maybe your market has significant competition. Maybe you’re a newcomer to your particular market. Public relations is a great way to educate your target audience and build peoples’ comfort with your brand. Paid advertising may be one component of your marketing strategy. But securing earned media opportunities via public relations holds more weight than anything. These earned media opportunities may include: 

• positive press from local and national outlets (print, digital, broadcast)
• securing good customer reviews 
• getting influencer endorsements on social media

Unlike with traditional advertising, earned media opportunities let others do the talking. They build trust and credibility like nothing else can, since the vetting comes from a neutral third party. In this way, earned media is the most legitimizing kind of marketing out there; it’s seen as more trustworthy and authentic than advertising, particularly amongst millennials, who tend to distrust traditional advertising methods. At the end of the day, all audiences crave genuine methods of advertising. 

PR builds authority. 

Having quotes, commentary or bylines on high quality, high authority sites will position you as a credible source of information. This pays dividends in two ways: 1) Customers, prospects and partners will trust your brand more, and 2) it sets you apart from your competition. These authority-building citations are likely to lead to more press mentions (see more on that below), which will help you be seen as a leader in your industry and may even position you to be considered for awards in your field.

PR boosts your visibility.

All your PR wins will end up on the Internet, and, for better or worse, the Internet doesn’t have a shelf-life. This means that a media “hit” (a press mention or byline in a high-quality publication, for example) lives on forever, and can be found by people who are searching. And this can snowball. When journalists are looking for experts, guess whose quotes they’ll find online? In this way, each PR hit multiplies and loops you even further into the conversations happening in your field. 

PR builds brand awareness.

Good PR increases new and prospective customer recognition of your brand, and this awareness is key for launching new products, maintaining interest in existing products, and, ultimately, driving sales.

PR helps you reach your audience more persuasively.

Part of PR is building relationships with influencers. This is such an effective tool for earning trust and shaping how people see your brand. When consumers see influencers whom they trust backing YOUR specific products or services, they are more likely to dip a toe in (and, in turn, share their own experience).

PR helps SEO and website traffic. 

It goes without saying that you want your business to be found easily and served up to as many sets of eyeballs as possible. Every time someone links to you online, it boosts your SEO rankings in Search Engine Results Pages (SERP). This means that when people search online for a service or product in your category, your business pops up closer to the top of the results page. This helps to bring more customers to your business. As more high authority sites link back to your website, your SEO ranking will improve, and as your SEO ranking improves, new business leads—and ultimately sales—will likely follow. 

PR can share your company’s contributions to society.

Consumers care about more than just a company’s product or service; they also make their decisions based on how they feel about a business. So companies who have socially conscious practices or a commitment to being environmentally responsible or who make contributions to social or humanitarian causes may have a leg up attracting and retaining customers. Same goes for companies who are known for treating employees fairly. Customers remain loyal to companies in part because of a company’s stances or initiatives. One of PR’s jobs is to publicize the positive things your company does in your community and the world. 

PR can help to handle—or avoid—problems.

At some point or another, your company may receive bad press. With a PR plan in place, you and your team are prepared and have a plan for when/ if that happens. This ensures that your response isn’t harried or reactive, but rather thoughtful and strategic. 

Top public relations companies in New York

These are just a few of the ways public relations companies in New York and elsewhere can optimize your business strategy. Every business can and should utilize PR to fit its unique goals. Horowitz Agency is highly rated as one of the top marketing and PR agencies in New York and the country. Our team boasts a deep bench of talent that allows us to craft individualized PR approaches uniquely catered to our clients’ needs. We can help your firm optimize business strategy and grow exponentially. Reach out to us to discuss whether your firm should consider onboarding a full-service PR agency.