Month: September 2022

How Good Client Relations can Elevate any PR Campaign

Posted on by Mark Macias

By Mark Macias

No one wants to believe you’re a bad client, but in business let’s be honest: strong personalities exist and will frequently clash.

And that’s okay. Be who you are, but when it comes to managing PR and outsourced agencies, be aware of the image it projects.

In my early entrepreneurial years, I didn’t factor personality conflicts into my budgets. When clients asked how I determined cost, I was transparent. We look at the resources and time needed to succeed and the complexity of the campaign. That still holds true.

But during COVID, a new variable factored into the budget formula: client relations.

If you’re a publicist or agency, these observations will help you better vet clients. And if you’re a client looking to hire the best PR or marketing consultants, perhaps a personal reflection might help you forge better partnerships.

Observation One: You Think the Work is Easy

Over the summer, I was speaking with the founder of a B2C startup who graduated from Wharton and spent some time inside the media as an associate producer. She approached us about launching her publicity campaign after a mutual acquaintance told her about my experience. The initial consultation started great, but alarm bells rang early.

Continue reading “How Good Client Relations can Elevate any PR Campaign” →

Tech Publication Grit Daily Asks MACIAS PR for Advice for Startups

Posted on by Mark Macias

The popular tech publication, Grit Daily, recently turned to MACIAS PR for PR advice. Their editors said they wanted to help their readers, entrepreneurs and startups who were struggling to find the best PR agency for their business.

You can read that full Q&A here.

If you’re short on time, here are two questions that our founder, Mark Macias, answered about finding the best PR agency for your business.

What should you look for when hiring a publicist?

MARK MACIAS: I’ve found the best publicists have a deeper understanding of how the media works from the inside. They have an intuition that spots trends and news stories before others.

A great publicist also understands the nuances of the media – because messaging is always a subtle sell around news. Experienced editors and journalists can spot an advertisement within seconds of hearing a pitch, and if it remotely sounds like a commercial, they won’t run it. The best publicity campaigns are able to weave themselves into the news fabric or pop culture.

Intuition is another overlooked factor. Journalism is usually centered around human behavior. It’s about connecting the invisible dots around people to form a story. And that’s not reading tea leaves. Intuition is a component of behavioral science.

How much should a startup pay for PR?

MARK MACIAS: Prices and approaches vary by firm, but it helps to understand how the payment plan works. You can pay by the hour, by the media placement or under a retainer.

I’m a firm believer that nothing is free in life, so if a publicist claims you only pay if they make a placement, I’d ask a lot of questions. It costs time and money to generate organic (earned) media. And a press release does not fall under that definition. It takes time to write a successful pitch and find the right reporters, and resources to secure the story. If someone offers to do work for free, I would question their experience and PR understanding.

Paying a lawyer, consultant or publicist by the hour scares me. If a story isn’t catching on, it’s easy to add more time – and under this payment plan, hours add up quickly. Personally, I prefer retainers because the cost won’t fluctuate, even when unexpected issues arise. And if the firm or consultant is reputable or cares about your business, they will likely add extra hours to ensure they meet your expectations, regardless of what happens.

MACIAS PR has a free PR calculator to help you get a real idea of how much PR would cost for your business. Click here to go to that calculator.