VIRTUAL AGENCY, REAL SUCCESS
Posted by Paul Allen on 8th September 2013 / 0 comments
Freelance PR is certainly not a new idea but the rise of the virtual PR agency over the past few years is an interesting development. PR consultants are setting up their own businesses and forming networks with senior freelance PR consultants and consultants from other marketing disciplines to deliver great PR campaigns for clients.
When Paul and I founded Rise PR in 2010 we discussed at length the type of PR agency we wanted to create. Did we want to launch a traditional PR agency with offices and a permanent team of staff on the pay role or would a virtual PR agency be a better approach?
As it turned out the decision was not too hard to make as creating a virtual PR agency was much more in line with the direction we wanted to take our careers at that point and fitted better with our lifestyle. There would be lower cost in terms of set up and greater flexibility in terms of our work / life balance.
VIRTUAL AGENCY, REAL CLIENTS
The important point here though is how a virtual PR agency can benefit clients, so here’s a few learnings we have noticed:
Value
Whether the financial climate is good or bad, clients always want to get the most from their budget. So to know that the money they spend with a virtual PR agency is spent buying consultancy time and not paying for fancy offices and all the things that go into them – big screens, fancy signs, football tables and beer taps must be hugely satisfying. Working with a virtual PR agency really does deliver great value for money.
PR for All
For so many small and medium sized businesses hiring a traditional PR agency is not a reality as they are priced out of the market. A virtual PR agency allows smaller businesses or those with a smaller marketing budget to access external PR consultancy.
Quality of Service
Another benefit of a virtual PR agency for clients is the quality of day to day consultancy. Usually the agency team in a traditional PR agency comprises a director or senior consultant and more junior team members who will be responsible for delivering the bulk of the PR activity. Whilst these junior consultants are doing a great job they won’t have the experience or business savvy that would be attractive and beneficial to many clients. In most cases freelance PR consultants who set up their own virtual PR agencies have many years of business experience behind them and have honed their skills working in varied and interesting organisations. Here at Rise PR, Paul and I who own the agency have 30 years PR experience between us and have worked at some of the best PR agencies in the UK including Hill & Knowlton, Bell Pottinger, Weber Shandwick and more.
Bespoke Team
Because of the way a virtual PR agency is set up, it can offer each and every client a team of consultants handpicked for them. Here at Rise PR if we can’t deliver all the services a potential client needs we won’t blag it and pretend we can, but we will look to our network and work alongside someone who has that particular knowledge or specialism. That can be sector experience or a different marketing discipline such as design or specialist copywriting.
BUSINESS IS BOOMING
In the three years since we set up Rise PR business is booming and our client portfolio is growing all the time. That’s the biggest indication for us the virtual PR agency model is delivering what many clients want and need.
If you want to find out more about how we work, drop us a line.
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