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How Much Does It Cost to Hire a PR Firm? Budget Planning Tips

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How Much Does it Cost to Hire PR Firm? PR Agency Pricing Guide & What to Expect

Looking for a straight-up breakdown of what PR agencies charge today? Here’s our current pricing overview.

Budgeting for PR can feel opaque. What affects price and how can you get a handle on how you can impact your PR budget before you ever even call a PR firm.

If you’ve ever typed “how much is PR” or “PR firm near me” into a search engine, you’re not alone. Businesses of all sizes—from startups to Fortune 500s—recognize the value of public relations in shaping reputation, generating visibility, and building trust. But before you hire a PR firm, it’s important to understand what impacts pricing, what services you’re really paying for, and how to find the right partner who can deliver measurable results.

This guide breaks down what affects PR pricing, how to find a PR firm that aligns with your goals, and what you can expect whether you’re hiring a PR agency near you or working with a remote team.

Get a PR ROI Assessment for Your Brand

Key Takeaways

  • Cost & Budget Alignment: PR agency fees typically range from $5,000 to over $28,000 per month, based on experience, scope, and market demands.

  • Transparency & Ethics: Always ask how fees are structured and watch out for unethical pay-to-play practices masked as legitimate coverage.

  • Experience Matters: A seasoned PR team offers strategic planning, better media relationships, and higher ROI through tailored outreach and messaging.

What Influences PR Firm Costs and What to Expect from a PR Agency

The cost of working with a PR firm varies widely. Your PR goals and company goals, the timeline, industry, and agency expertise all impact pricing.

1. Your Goals Should Drive Your Budget

Are you in growth mode? Launching a new product? Preparing for an IPO? Your goals should directly influence how much you invest in a PR agency.

Here’s a rough guide:

  • Basic maintenance & support: $5,000–$10,000/month

  • Fixed Scope PR Campaigns: $10,000-$15,000/month

  • Campaign-driven or proactive strategies: $13,000–$27,000/month

  • Pre-IPO, international, or complex messaging: $20,000+/month

💡 Pro Tip: If your goal is aggressive growth, don’t expect huge ROI from minimal investment. Match your PR budget with the scale of your ambition.

2. PR Fee Structures: Hourly, Retainer & Project-Based

PR agencies may charge by:

  • Retainer: A flat monthly fee for ongoing support

  • Hourly: Ideal for small projects or short-term consulting

  • Project-Based: Great for one-off launches or crisis situations

Ask for a sample quarterly PR plan if working on retainer. This helps set expectations for deliverables like press releases, thought leadership, or media outreach.

3. How to Choose the Best PR Agency Near You (Or Not)

If you’re searching for a PR firm near you, you’re likely interested in local media relationships, community events, or in-person collaboration. Local PR agencies often offer market-specific insights that national firms may lack.

However, for businesses with a national or international audience, geography matters less than expertise. Many companies benefit from PR firms that have national media connections and can operate virtually with equal effectiveness.

🌍 Whether local or remote, choose a PR agency that aligns with your industry, goals, and communication style.

Why Hire a PR Firm Instead of Managing PR In-House?

The answer to this question could be different for every company, depending on many of the questions to ask before hiring a PR firm listed here. Ideally, an in-house person would work symbiotically with an agency.

In-House PR Teams Are Better At:

  • Deeply understanding the brand, it’s history and internal priorities
  • Recognizing assets and opportunities early in the planning process
  • Identifying cross-functional opportunities for PR to support the organization as a whole

PR Agencies Are Better At:

  • Developing and maintaining media relationships
  • Strategic messaging that can see the “forest through the trees” and maintain a third-party perspective
  • Crisis management and urgent outreach opportunities such as newsjacking
  • Keeping the company in the media consistently

What to Ask Before Hiring a PR Firm

Ask these questions during your PR agency interviews:

How Much Is PR

Monthly fees may also be impacted by agency size and breadth or services offered as well as team experience.

  • Solopreneur or freelance PR consultant: ~$5,000/month

  • Boutique PR firm: $13,000–$27,000/month

  • Large or premium PR agency: $28,000+/month

Costs are largely driven by people—nearly 60% of agency costs go toward staffing. You’re paying for their time, judgment, relationships, and results.

Pay-to-Play vs. Placed Content: What’s the Difference?

Understanding the difference between ethical placed content and unethical pay-to-play is essential.

  • Placed Content is paid media (like sponsored posts or advertorials) disclosed transparently. It’s a legitimate marketing strategy.

  • Pay-to-Play involves undisclosed payments to journalists or media outlets. It’s unethical and can damage both brand trust and media credibility.

A credible PR agency will always disclose what’s earned media and what’s paid placement. If you’re unsure, ask.

The PR Cost Factors Within Your Control

1. Timeline

Need quick media coverage or crisis management? Urgent turnarounds cost more. PR is most cost-effective when it’s proactive and planned—not reactive.

2. Industry Complexity

Regulated industries like HealthTech, CleanTech, or Cannabis require extra care due to regulation, which can raise costs.

3. Scope of Work

Product launches, thought leadership programs, and international media campaigns all demand different levels of intensity—and investment.

4. Strategic Impact

PR Campaigns for IPO, or acquisitions, or mergers or venture funding are high stakes and may increase PR cost.

5. Stage of Growth

If you’re in hyper growth mode and need an agency to be very proactive and aggressive and available, that’s very different from a defined product launch project.

Why Experience Matters When Choosing a PR Firm

What are you really buying when you hire a PR agency?

  • Access to media and industry relationships

  • Expertise in message development and storytelling

  • Judgment to navigate crises or sensitive campaigns

  • Strategy to guide your visibility long-term

An experienced PR team knows what resonates with journalists, how to pitch stories that land, and how to ensure your message stands out in a crowded media landscape.

Whether your business needs a sharp press release or strategic long-term storytelling, experienced PR pros are masters at navigating nuance and driving visibility. Hiring seasoned professionals who understand the media landscape and possess strong communication skills can significantly enhance your PR outcomes.

Final Thoughts: Finding the Right PR Firm Near You (or Nationwide)

Investing in a PR firm isn’t just about cost—it’s about value. Whether you’re looking for a PR agency near you or a remote firm with national capabilities, find a team that understands your business and your goals.

Don’t be afraid to ask detailed questions. Knowing what questions to ask is as important as knowing what questions not to ask when hiring a PR agency. Your company’s reputation is on the line. Hiring the right PR partner will act as an extension of your team—and could become your most powerful growth asset.

💬 Need Help Choosing a PR Firm?

Whether you need local market expertise or national reach, Avaans Media can help you evaluate the best path forward. Contact us to learn more about our PR services tailored to your business goals.

 

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Should You Buy Guaranteed Media Coverage?

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Key Takeaways

  • No Guarantees in Earned Media: PR agencies that promise guaranteed media coverage compromise journalistic ethics, risking their relationships with journalists and potentially engaging in illegal practices. Authentic earned media coverage builds trust and credibility, which cannot be achieved through paid or guaranteed placements.
  • Differences Between Sponsored and Earned Coverage: Sponsored coverage, while legitimate, is fundamentally an advertisement and should be transparently labeled. Unlike earned media, which can have lasting visibility and trust, sponsored content typically has a limited lifespan and is often less authoritative in the eyes of consumers.
  • Strategic Use of Sponsored Coverage: Emerging and pre-IPO companies can benefit from sponsored coverage as a means of gaining exposure and social proof. A modern PR agency can help navigate the media landscape effectively, ensuring that sponsored content is used wisely and enhances the brand’s reputation rather than detracting from it.

Do you find yourself asking “What will I get for my money if I hire a PR agency?” You might even see offers for guaranteed media coverage. But should PR agencies guarantee media coverage? The reasons the answer is “no” might surprise you. Any PR agency that promises earned media coverage is putting their journalist contacts at risk for journalistic ethics violations. Guaranteed PR coverage is not only unethical, it can even be illegal. “Guaranteed” PR coverage rarely lives as long as earned media coverage. Finally, it doesn’t have the authority and trust that comes with credible earned media.

[3 minute read]

Pay-to-Play Earned Media is Unethical

Sadly, we’ve seen it all, including journalists fired for violating professional journalist ethics. Violations might include not disclosing a monetary relationship or other conflict or interest. Paying a journalist under the table to write about a company or a product is the signal of an inexperienced, desperate, or unethical PR agency. These agencies don’t garner favor by journalists who value their jobs, and getting a journalist fired isn’t the way to reinforce media relationships. And when you hire a PR agency that does this, you’re attaching your brand’s reputation to unethical and even illegal behavior. No matter how cheap guaranteed PR coverage is, the cost to your reputation will far outweigh any benefits.

There is such a thing as legitimate sponsored coverage. And while sponsored coverage LOOKS like an article, it’s actually an advertisement. Secured through a media outlet’s advertising team, never directly with a journalist, sponsored coverage is a legitimate form of advertising. The FCC always requires sponsored coverage to identify itself as paid. Even Google wants to know what links are sponsored, and not tagging them correctly is an SEO risk authoritative and important media outlets won’t risk. Press releases are a great example of paid or sponsored coverage. Paid placements have a role in a campaign, and any good PR agency can make recommendations about how to use these tools in your campaign.

Guaranteed Coverage Isn’t Usually Authoritative

Fast-growing brands and hyper-growth companies need PR primarily for exposure and trust that typically comes from earned media.

Today’s readers and content consumers are incredibly savvy. After thousands of hours of advertising exposure, most consumers can sniff out the difference between advertising articles and journalistic pieces. Like all advertisements, ethically secured readers’ and viewers’ trust earned coverage because journalists maintain independence.

We’ve seen self-proclaimed PR experts use their positions as media contributors to promote their clients; these same people are banned from esteemed outlets like Entrepreneur and Forbes.  Most times, the brands paying for this coverage did not know that what the “PR expert” was doing was unethical or illegal. No one wins in this situation, certainly not the brand that thought they paid a PR firm to secure high-value coverage. This is especially painful because once discovered by the media outlet, that content is often removed from their website and, therefore the internet; this rarely happens with earned media coverage which lasts as long as the website is up.

Sponsored or Paid Coverage Doesn’t Last as Long

While earned media takes strategy, expertise, and, yes, time, ethical sponsored or paid coverage doesn’t last as long as earned coverage. Sponsored and paid coverage, while it has its place, is like any other advertisement: it typically runs for a limited amount of time, and then it disappears. One of the underappreciated perks of earned media is its longevity.

There’s nothing wrong with sponsored or paid coverage. We’ve seen some really remarkable pieces of sponsored coverage that went beyond the advertisement and well into providing true value for readers. The Washington Post, the New York Times, all do spectacular special projects like this. The starting cost is usually in the $50,000+ range. Regular ad rates for a premium location like the (printed) back page hover around $30,000 per ad, volume discounts usually apply to annual contracts. But hey, you’re getting ad placement in one of the world’s most credible news outlets at least once for that price.

 

The Case for Sponsored or Paid Coverage

Many emerging industries or pre-IPO companies want exposure and they want social proof. The weird thing about exposure is the more you get, the more exposure you’ll get. This is where sponsored coverage comes into play – and it’s essential to understand its role. What you DO with sponsored coverage and how you create the content for sponsored coverage makes all the difference. Working with a modern PR agency can help you distinguish yourself in sponsored or branded coverage and also help you make the most of it. There’s a place for this kind of media in the ecosystem today; it’s important to use it wisely.

 

Today’s modern PR firms are savvy in today’s media landscape, including traditional, paid, and digital mediums. We take our professional PR ethics very seriously, including guaranteed media coverage. Hire a PR firm you can trust and trust your PR firm.

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Why is PR Worth It?

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Key Takeaways

  • Enhanced Visibility and Credibility: A good PR team can significantly increase a business’s visibility and brand recognition through strategic media placements and storytelling. This free media exposure helps build trust with potential customers, ultimately driving growth and sales.
  • Crisis Management and Reputation Building: PR professionals are skilled in managing both positive messaging and crisis situations. Effective crisis management can mitigate damage to a brand and turn challenges into opportunities for human connection and trust-building.
  • Expertise and Networking: PR firms often employ former journalists with valuable industry contacts and insights. Their experience enables them to craft compelling narratives and strategically pitch stories to media outlets, increasing the likelihood of gaining favorable coverage.

You don’t need to be an influencer or celebrity to make public relations work for you. Having a good PR team on your side can help a business increase its visibility, brand recognition, and bolster its reputation in the community. These things can eventually translate into more customers and a bigger slice of the proverbial pie.

However, hiring a PR team isn’t free. A PR agency is an investment. Before deciding if hiring a PR firm is the right move for you, consider what makes a PR team an asset. Then ask yourself if a PR team is worth it for your business. Having a clear vision of your short- and long-term objectives and goals will help you understand the desired direction of your business. When looking towards the future, you may be surprised at how much value the right agency can add to your image and your bottom line.

What is PR?

Public relations agencies are businesses that specialize in helping their clients craft and distribute information about their business or industry. However, this information is not distributed in the form of paid ads or commercials. It is essentially “free” media that doesn’t cost a company anything to circulate. Free media can include local news stories, national news stories, newspaper articles, or magazine articles. Stories can also be distributed via the Internet or certain social media outlets. This type of media allows customers to see information or stories about a business without the filter of product sales.

The goal of PR is to put the right message in front of the right people. By generating favorable media coverage, a PR firm can help a client cement their image in the minds of potential customers. A good PR strategy can build brand recognition and customer loyalty, adding value to a client’s business.

Why is PR Worth It?

Numerous factors can make PR worth the price of a good agency. However, what makes a PR firm is worth its weight depends on the client’s needs, goals, and overall objectives. You get from PR what you help put in. Outlining your values ahead of time and communicating your needs with a PR firm helps them understand what you want to get out of the relationship. From there, a PR team can craft a unique strategy that can help you reach your objectives and allow them to target the audience you hope to capture.

An important way that PR can help bolster a client’s business is through brand recognition and credibility. PR professionals understand which media outlets can help build credibility while simultaneously increasing their visibility in the community. A solid PR firm will then be able to pitch story ideas and distribute press releases to the outlets that may help give their client the clout they need.

For good or bad, a strong public relations team can use the power of words to change the hearts and minds of people. Placement of positive stories and positive messages about a client can help build trust and loyalty. When something traumatic or negative happens, a strategic PR firm may also attempt to mitigate potential damage to a brand or turn the incident into a humanizing moment. Crisis management is just as important to a brand as positive story placement. A solid PR firm should have experience with both skills.

Skilled Professionals Who Know the Business

Many businesses handle PR internally. This strategy may work for certain industries. However, if you are considering what makes a PR firm worth hiring, consider the skilled professionals they hire to fill their firms. Many current public relations specialists are former journalists. This is important to note because former journalists have inside information about the business. They tend to have a wealth of contacts in the media industry and know how to get a media outlet’s attention. From drafting compelling press releases that don’t end up in the trash bin, to reaching out to community contacts, they know how to leverage their contacts for the client’s benefit.

News stories come from a variety of different sources. Because of the saturation of information, it’s not enough to simply email a press release or event notice to someone these days. It takes carefully crafted communication, outreach, and tenacity to pitch stories and get them placed in the right outlets at the right times. Good PR professionals are transparent, proactive, and passionate about what they do. They want your continued business and will go the extra mile to make sure that you see the value they add to your business.

How Else Can PR Benefit a Business?

Contrary to popular belief, PR is more than just submitting press releases and sending out event invites. At its core, public relations is about good storytelling. It is about crafting compelling and engaging messages that linger with an audience and spur them into action. A skilled PR firm should have experience handling different tasks as well as monitoring and responding to new and emerging trends within a client’s specific industry. Generally, a solid public relations firm will understand how to handle the following:

  • Crafting press releases
  • Following up with media outlets
  • Writing pitches
  • Speech writing
  • Copywriting
  • Blog writing
  • Event planning
  • Strategic crisis management
  • Market research
  • Community engagement

With these elements in play, a PR firm can contribute to the success of a business by:

  • Increasing credibility
  • Increasing brand recognition
  • Enhancing a business’s public presence
  • Enhancing a business’s online presence
  • Generating positive word of mouth
  • Handling crisis situations
  • Building community and customer relationships

What do these contributions all translate into? For many businesses, they translate into increased growth and sales. New customers are drawn to the business while existing customers develop brand loyalty and keep coming back as repeat customers.

If you are looking to grow your business or remain competitive in a thriving marketplace, you may want to consider the benefits of hiring a PR agency. Spending money on a firm today may add tremendous value to your company tomorrow.

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Why Should Psychedelic Companies Invest in PR Now?

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Key Takeaways

  • Growing Market Potential: The psychedelic market is expected to grow significantly, with estimates suggesting it could reach $6.9 billion by 2027. As public perception shifts and research reveals potential therapeutic benefits, now is the ideal time for psychedelic companies to establish themselves through strategic PR.
  • Importance of Changing Narratives: PR can play a crucial role in normalizing the conversation around psychedelics, helping to shift the stigma associated with these substances. A well-crafted psychedelics PR campaign can enhance credibility, influence policy discussions, and promote the positive aspects of psychedelics as legitimate medical treatments.
  • Proactive PR Strategies: Companies in the psychedelic space need to engage in proactive PR efforts to build brand recognition, establish authority, and create a loyal customer base. By partnering with experienced PR professionals early on, these companies can shape their image and position themselves as leaders in a rapidly evolving industry.

If the legalization of marijuana in a growing number of states has taught us anything, there will likely be an emerging market for other products like psychedelics, as interest grows in their recreational and medicinal benefits. The stigma around using psychedelics, while still present, is starting to shift. The potentially beneficial and pharmaceutical uses for magic mushrooms and other substances are increasingly evident, and the market will likely follow.

Some estimates indicate that the market for psychedelic drugs could grow into a $6.9 billion industry by the year 2027. As psychedelics continue to gain mainstream acceptance, psychedelic companies are still in their marketing and PR infancy. Getting in on the ground floor means investing in a PR campaign today that could solidify your status as a psychedelic authority and leader in the industry in the future as it grows.

The psychedelic industry is a sophisticated enterprise that still suffers from stereotypes and misinformation. It’s much more than mushrooms, black lights, and velvet posters. A strategic PR campaign can help transform this image. It can also lend credibility to what should be considered the next big untapped drug market brimming with potential. As companies continue to grow and gain access to more capital, the opportunity for an IPO, or initial public offering, emerges. A strategic PR campaign can help push these companies into the big leagues.

Why Do Psychedelic Companies Need to Think About PR Now?

The legalization of marijuana has spurred new ways of thinking about old drugs. Psychedelics are getting a fresh look from both the public and private sectors. Researchers are uncovering promising data about the potential for these drugs to treat mental disorders such as depression, PTSD, and anxiety and writing books about psychedelics with great frequency. With greater mainstream acceptance comes more pressure on government entities to decriminalize psychedelics and cannabis, both on state and federal levels.

The best time for psychedelic companies to capitalize on changing consumer sentiment is right now. Much of the emerging psychedelic industry is still in its infancy. When a substance is still considered illegal in much of the country, a stigma will obviously exist. The status of mushrooms and some psychedelics as Schedule 1 drugs also create major hurdles for companies when it comes to marketing. Changing the tide of both patient and political bias needs to happen now.

A strategic PR campaign can aid psychedelic companies in normalizing the conversation about psychedelics and help establish them as respected industry leaders. Changing the narrative on psychedelics doesn’t happen overnight. It takes a concerted effort to get the attention of policymakers and patients alike. PR professionals are uniquely positioned to help psychedelic companies leverage media coverage for a positive effect.

What is PR?

PR professionals specialize in helping companies get free media placement. Free media is media that does not require the company to pay for its distribution. Examples of this type of media include local news outlets, national news outlets, magazines, newspapers, and websites.

PR agencies tend to employ former journalists who have extensive contacts in the media industry. These professionals also know what it takes to pitch a story and what outlets are looking for in the source material.

What Can PR Do for Companies in the Psychedelic Industry?

The possibilities are almost limitless when it comes to what PR can do for the psychedelic industry. PR is a valuable tool in helping change the narrative about psychedelics. A PR agency can help a business craft a compelling and strategic messaged aimed at consumers or policymakers. The firm can then take that message to media sources for potential coverage. These outlets can distribute the story and help boost a company’s brand recognition within the psychedelic industry. Since this media coverage is not paid for, like commercials and ads, it also helps increase a company’s credibility.

Media coverage can also help shape future policies. It is essential to steer the conversation about psychedelics away from the negative and stigmatic image of drugs and towards more beneficial and informative coverage. Experienced PR agencies are experts at communicating. They understand crisis management and how to take potentially negative information and transform it into teaching moments. Although the conversation about marijuana and psychedelics is evolving, there is still work to be done when it comes to helping the industry shed problematic stereotypes.

It is also crucial to note that while change may seem slow to come, the needle is moving in a more accepting direction. It is easier to establish yourself as a reputable psychedelic company now and get in on the ground floor than it is to claw your way to the top of a crowded marketplace. Getting involved with a PR firm early gives you a head start when it comes to brand recognition, building credibility in the industry, and developing a loyal following and potential customer base. Your company can emerge as an industry leader just as other companies are attempting to jump on the bandwagon. Investing in PR today is investing in the future reputation of your business.

If these factors aren’t enough, consider what else a reputable PR firm can do for you:

  • Craft a brand story
  • Help establish you as a psychedelic industry leader
  • Generate visibility and brand recognition
  • Pitch stories that can help influence the public and policymakers
  • Help change the narrative surrounding psychedelic drugs
  • Target your key audience
  • Build brand loyalty
  • Build community relationships

Good public relations teams don’t sit back and wait for you to have news. They help strategize ways to make news. PR should not be passive. PR should be proactive in any market and help companies make their mark and shape the industry. A company’s needs for positive PR in the psychedelic industry are no different.

Whether you are a public or private psychedelic company, now is the time to start thinking about your image. With the help of an experienced PR team, you have the power to build your brand and mold the future of the psychedelic industry. The psychedelic business could quickly become the next big industry to experience hyper-growth. Getting started with PR early means you will have a strategic advantage over the competitors that wait to enter the market.

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Creating a Customer Focused Communication Strategy

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Key Takeaways

  • Shift Your Focus: Reframe your communication strategy to prioritize the audience’s needs and interests over self-promotion. By emphasizing “making it about them,” you can foster genuine relationships and enhance engagement.
  • Emotional Connection: Aim to evoke feelings in your audience, whether it’s inspiration, curiosity, or even discomfort. People remember how they feel, so creating emotionally resonant content can significantly increase the impact of your messaging.
  • Long-Term Strategy: Understand that effective communication and branding require sustained effort and strategic planning. Avoid quick-fix approaches focused on vanity metrics; instead, invest in building meaningful connections that can evolve over time.

The Communication Strategy Everyone Will Thank You For.

We’re inundated with messages every day. As communicators, it’s up to us to have  some empathy for our audience, whether that audience is the press, an employee, a customer, or an investor.

Yet, this single communications strategy I’m about to share with you is so simple, so basic, you’ll wonder why you’re not doing it already.

Before we go any further, let me ask you, which would you rather be:

A product or a movement
A cause or a movement?
An idea or a movement?

If you don’t care, I’ll save you-you can stop reading right now.
If you want to be a movement, it’s time to re-frame your thinking.
If you’re going to have a movement that matters, you’re going to need people to get on your side.
PEOPLE.
Not Twitter accounts, not Instagram followers, not Facebook likes.
These are vanity metrics that provide little insight into the passion and interest people have in your brand, product, or personality.

Are You Really Ready?

If you’re ready, you’ll re-frame your thinking.
If you re-frame your thinking, it will change everything.

So get ready…
The world is crowded now with communicators, marketers, messengers, and “me, me, me.”
Some days it’s soul-sucking.
It’s why everyone who uses social networking says brands ruin everything.
And yet…people WANT to receive messages, they just want messages tailored to them.
One of the reasons digital marketing is so powerful is that it creates a give and take in the relationship.
It provides an opportunity for the customer, the reader to think about their favorite subject for a moment: them.
But here’s the rub:
It takes strategy, focus and creativity to create content that your consumer wants to see.

So, please.
As you review your communication goals and communication strategy, stop for one moment and think about the reader, whether they’re a customer, a client, an investor, or an internal employee.
Make it about them.
That single phrase is the one thing so many brand communicators ignore.
Why? Because it takes serious work to “Make it about them.”
It means getting serious about audience identification.
It means getting serious about your brand, it’s voice and how it relates to the audience.
It means diving in on messaging and strategic choices in advertising.
It means actually creating a relationship and even (GASP) an in-person relationship with your customer or client.
It means, communication and branding for the long haul,  not some flash-in-the-pan-make-it-go-viral-I-need-some-vanity-numbers-now kind of campaign.

And while we’re thinking about it, let’s consider language and what it says about our strategy.
If you’re saying you’ll “use influencers,” do you think you’re thinking about it from the “All About Them” standpoint?
If you’re talking about how you’ll “promote”  your message, event, or idea, does that sound like you’re getting ready to make it interesting to others?
If you’re talking to a PR agency, a strategist or a social media consultant who is using words like “promote” and “use” you really must ask yourself if you’ll have an opportunity for a customer relationship.

I still see and hear this language every day on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, everywhere.
It’s gotten to where my eyes glaze over.
Guess what?  So does everyone else’s.

Let’s step it up, together.
We can do this.
We can make what you have to say interesting and relevant to the right people at the right time.

Now What?

Here’s my communication strategy challenge to you.
Go check your last 10 social posts.
See how many times you used the words “we, us, or I.”

How much of your content was about the consumer?
How much of your content was strategically shared to reinforce or create relationships?
Is there anything there that would make someone curious?
Is there anything at ALL that makes people feel ANYTHING?

How do YOU make people feel?
If you make them feel ANYTHING you’re miles ahead.
If you make them feel stronger, smarter, special, you’re really hitting on something.
If you made them terrified, scared, outraged, you’re really hitting on something.

People rarely forget how you made them feel.
But YOU’RE utterly forgettable when you make them feel nothing.
Digital branding and marketing is a long game, with peaks at appropriate times.
But always it surrounds emotion.

Regardless of the movement you’re trying to start, start with the idea that “you” are not necessarily interesting.
What’s interesting to people is what they do with “you.”
How you make them laugh or think.
How you make their lives easier, better, or richer.

Here’s another reason to re-frame your thinking: it takes discipline and thought to create content that makes people pause.
That’s why so few marketers do it.
So while everyone else is “zigging” go ahead and “zag.” and watch how it changes the way people respond to your brand or product.

That is all.

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