Hiring a PR agency is an important step in any growing business and appointing the right PR agency is critical within the hyper-competitive beauty, aesthetics, and wellness industries. With the right PR support on your side, you can proactively manage or influence your brand reputation, increase brand awareness, and grow your product or service sales. In the world of PR, reputation is everything and drawing on an established beauty PR firm’s industry expertise and enviable relationship network can be a sound long-term investment for brands, clinics, and personal profiles.
In this article, our beauty PR experts will guide you through the key points of consideration before hiring a PR agency so you can make the right decision and place your brand in capable hands.
What does a PR agency do?
A beauty PR agency’s primary role is to manage and build a desirable brand reputation amongst key stakeholders including your target customers. PR firms focus on generating earned media, or earned content, which is any material written about a brand or business that hasn’t been paid for. They create PR strategies which deliver credible and influential third party endorsements and coverage among press, influencers, celebrities etc. to increase brand awareness and boost sales.
Collaborating with a PR agency
In short, working with a PR partner can save your business and your team time, money, and stress. As your business grows you may find that pitching, scheduling, and tracking performance of your press and social media coverage is moving lower down your “to do” list or evolving into to an overwhelming and time consuming task. By outsourcing to PR experts, brand owners can divert their valuable time and resources to building and growing their business whilst their brand reputation and awareness builds amongst their target customers.
In addition to delivering budget and time efficiencies, appointing a specialist beauty PR agency means your brand can instantly leverage their team’s influential and valuable network of journalists, influencers, celebrities, KOLs and more!
11 key beauty PR services
There are many ways in which PR agencies support new and growing brands within the beauty, aesthetics, and wellness industries – the trick is to clarify your goals and seek a bespoke solution of PR services to help you attain these. Whether you require creative flair and a VIP guestlist to create a memorable industry event, or your brand PR strategy needs a fresh approach to stimulate demand and help you stand out from the competition – an accomplished full service PR agency can add tangible value to your brand reputation and bottom line. Below are a list of popular and effective PR services used by beauty, aesthetics, and wellness brands.
- Brand PR strategy: From impactful launches to securing quality press coverage (online and in print), a tailored high-impact PR strategy is often the most in-demand service at every established PR agency.
- Corporate group PR strategy: A strong corporate profile is critical to cementing your place in a competitive market like beauty or aesthetics, an accomplished PR team creates corporate brand messages to support your overarching business and act as a framework for sub brands, products, and services.
- Reputation management: At the core of every great PR strategy is reputation management, your PR team will strive to build your desired brand reputation amongst the media and other channels such as Instagram where your target customers are likely to be influenced.
- Campaign management: If you want your product, brand, or news to make a big impact and gain quality coverage then you need to appoint a PR agency with a proven record for creating and delivering bespoke PR campaigns that deliver real results. From creating compelling press release to securing coverage in key media titles, these are all part of a good PR campaign management service.
- Influencer marketing and collaborations: An accomplished team has a wealth of A-list celebrity, VIP, and influencer connections which they will leverage as part of strategic approach for their clients. Always choose a PR partner who specialises in creating authentic and engaging influencer collaborations as they will drive the best results!
- Product launch strategy: The success of any new product launch hinges on differentiation and a proven robust approach to market entry led by an experienced, passionate team. A great PR agency will devise a product launch strategy that establishes your place of value in your industry.
- Brand development: Whether you are entering a new phase of growth or re-invigorating a brand that has run out of steam, a brand PR expert will have the expertise, passion, and impressive contacts network to get your brand into the zeitgeist and ahead of the competition.
- Event planning: Memorable events drive brand engagement and create buzz, creative PR agencies have the skills and the contacts to design and produce your dream event and guest list. Always ask for a case study of recent events to see exactly what a beauty PR firm is capable of!
- KOL Profile development: PR agencies which specialise in industries such as beauty, aesthetics and wellness also help individuals to build, establish and maintain leading reputations. The purpose of this PR service is for clients to be recognised as leaders in their field and underpin their business success.
- Brand ambassador management: The talent management team within a full-service PR agency is responsible for facilitating authentic and exciting brand collaborations between high-profile individuals such as industry experts or influencers and brands. The right brand collaboration can help boost brand profile, reputation, and value within the beauty, aesthetics and wellness space.
- Crisis management: Your brand is likely to experience a moment of crisis during their tenure within a PR agency, a good PR firm will proactively prepare a crisis communication plan just in case that time comes to ensure your brand can handle it professionally and minimise damage to your reputation.
How to hire a PR agency in 5 steps
When you decide that your brand could benefit from the external PR expertise don’t delay in beginning your search to hire a PR agency as the process – when done thoroughly – typically takes a couple of months. Here are five key steps to follow when hiring a PR agency in the beauty, aesthetics and wellness industry:
- Research beauty PR agencies: The best places to begin your search is often within your own network so ask around amongst your peers, colleagues and Linked In connections for personal recommendations regarding beauty PR expertise. Google is also a convenient research hub as you’ll find pr firms near you and the UK leading agencies. Try to attain a clear picture of relevant PR work conducted, the results achieved and their style of service – look out for specialist expertise and case studies within your industry.
- Prepare a clear brief: A good PR agency brief can be as simple as a list of bullet points. Start by outlining what you’re looking to achieve from your PR, over what timeframe, and for what budget. The purpose of a brief is to form the basis of a meaningful discussion when you meet for the first time so remember to share it in advance of your discovery meeting.
- Schedule a discovery meeting: Make a shortlist of 2-4 PR agencies you’d like to meet andclear time in your diary to attend meetings with them, ideally you will do this face-to-face so you can assess the chemistry between all parties. Remember to prepare questions so you and your team can get as much from the meeting as possible. If the team answer your brief and leave you feeling inspired, you may have found a winner!
- Set expectations: When you have chosen the PR agency you wish to partner with its important that you clearly articulate your goals and objectives with them – these will act as both parties benchmark and focus going forwards. Ensure that you define SMART goals and work with your PR firm to find meaningful ways to measure them.
- Onboard your new PR agency: The final step with your beauty PR firm is to work through the onboarding process with them and finalise how the relationship will work day-to-day and at a strategic level. For example, who will be your key contact? How often will we meet? How will we track and share results? etc. Don’t forget to clarify the pricing and billing structure too!
Tip: Check the Public Relations Guilds and Professional Bodies for accredited agencies. The Chartered Institute of PR, or the Public Relations Communications Association list out accredited suppliers based on industry sector. All members must adhere to codes of conduct and standards of services – a reassurance well worth having!
Key signs you’re hiring a good PR agency
With any new relationship you may have doubts especially as you are investing hard earned budget into growing your brand! In our experience you know you’re PR agency is a good match for your business when you feel great chemistry, they’ve presented at least one idea you’re very excited about and you believe they will become an extension to your team not just another supplier.
Choose an Award-Winning beauty PR agency
At Kendrick PR, we thrive on creating winning formulas of strategic and tactical support for premium beauty brands, aesthetic clinics, practitioners and entrepreneurs. We lead with our values: passion, professionalism, and authenticity!
Founded in 2015 by award-winning communications expert Julia Kendrick, Kendrick PR are an experienced and passionate team who thrive on creating tangible success for every client. Since launch, we have delivered outstanding results for some of the industry’s most innovative brands and exciting entrepreneurs, such as ALLÉL, Debbie Thomas, The Private Clinic, Oxygenetix and Medik8 – and we’d love to support your brand. Please do get in touch to book your complimentary discovery call with our expert team.