Vitis PR is a PR agency specialising in technology for both business to business and consumer technology companies.
Here, our team looks at some key questions to consider when looking for a PR agency specialising in technology:
- Who exactly will be working on your account? Often the senior executives of a PR agency will come to meet you and pitch, but it is often unlikely that they will be pitching your stories to journalists or other influencers. Of course the MD of a large agency probably won't be spending all his/her time on your account, but if you are meeting with that person, insist that they clarify what role they will be playing on the your PR activity and ask him/her to let you meet or talk to the actual people who will handle your account.
- Do they know your target media/analysts? Getting into a local newspaper with a team charity run may be great for staff morale, but you probably want to reach a wider audience. Does the agency know the trade media? Do they read and place stories in the enterprise tech titles that your customers read or can they demonstrate ability to reach the leading industry analysts? Do they know the difference between B2B tech and consumer tech publications sold in WH Smiths or TV/radio shows that talk technology or feature gadgets? If they don't know your industry, you may end up bearing the costs of them learning about it.
- Can they make sense of what you do and convey it clearly to another person? Technology journalists, analysts and bloggers come in all shapes and sizes, so your agency should understand what you do and be able to 'sell' your product or service into the appropriate audience. A consumer technology product that is relatively new may appeal to a wide audience and will need to be explained clearly and often simply to get into national none tech media. Whereas an enterprise technology product or service may require a more in-depth understanding of the underlying software or processes. Also, good tech PR specialists can work with technology companies to convey their messages without the use of jargon.
- What's their technology pedigree? Are they taking your work just to bolster their revenue or are they passionate about technology? A good track record with case studies, references and sample results should show if they are serious about technology.
- Are they embracing new technology themselves? Where's their blog, do they optimise their client releases, can they work with your SEO team to bring traffic to your site?
- Do they measure results? A decent PR firm will tell you what you can expect ahead of time, and then clearly measure against those metrics. Remember not all your news is going to be in Computing or Computeractive or even the FT Digital Business, so an agency should be honest with you about the results you can expect. A release about a new partnership may be good for SEO, even if it's not newsworthy enough to make the pages of your top tier publications or websites.
- Do you like the people? You may have to work with them on a daily basis....so this is a pretty straightforward one.
- Do they offer you a fresh perspective on which events are newsworthy or important? Can they spot a story or create one from what you have.
- Check how they bill. Will you be charged for hours or on a fixed fee for the work to be done. Good PR agencies will be able to estimate how long it takes to complete a job. Will they work on projects or do they only work on a retainer basis? Do they mark up expenses?
- Did they ask any questions? PR agencies should elicit as much information from you as possible before writing delivering a strategy for you.
If you would like to find out more about how we can help your company, then please contact us.
