How to become your own press agency

Have you ever thought of carrying out your own brand diffusion strategy? Do you have doubts about how to do it? Don’t worry! We bring you the answers. 🙂

But first let’s do a review: we already told you what it is and why it is (very) important to spread it. We also tell you which are the best channels or means to publicize your brand and what fundamentals you have to put together to spread it. Now is the icing on the cake!

Usually they are the calls press agencies those in charge of coordinating brand or product dissemination strategies (and charging for it, of course).

So, as we know that no one knows your brand better than you, why not become your own press agency?

To find out if this is possible, we interviewed Victoria BlazevićSpecialist in from Tiendacloud. Look what he told us!

What is a press agency and what does it do?

In Argentina we speak of press agencies to refer to public relations agencies since, press agencies themselves, are those organizations that are dedicated to collecting news and selling or distributing it in various media such as newspapers, magazines, TV channels and even websites.

A public relations agency, on the other hand, is an organization that fulfills a fundamental role in publicizing a brand, product or service.

From my point of view, its main function is get people talking about the brand and thus generate more knowledge about it (the famous word of mouth). At the same time, it aims improve your ranking in the market.

It is dedicated not only to think and develop traditional communication strategiessuch as interviews or editorial content for different media, but must also strive to carry out disruptive strategies as events or actions focused on generate more visibility of the company in the environment where it seeks to impact, always looking out for the one for which it is working.

Is it important for a fashion brand to work with a press agency? Why?

I think that beyond working or not with a press agency, it is very important that a fashion brand make its own press efforts.

Depending on its size and the objectives it intends to pursue, it will be necessary to hire an agency or carry out this task on your own.

Undoubtedly, working with a press agency will allow you to meet certain objectives that perhaps one person alone could not achieve.

By this I mean the press management experience: an agency of this type has the capacity to select the most suitable contacts for certain projects, understand the codes of the item ylAchieve effective communication between the brand and the people in the target audience who make consumption decisions (stakeholders).

Another reason why I think it is important for one to work with a press agency is because the products and brands in this category stand out especially for the image they convey.

In fashion, a brand not only represents a product but also represents its forms of use, functionalities, style and even a trendand to work precisely on this image and communicate it correctly, a press agency is a great ally.

Can a fashion brand do the same work that the press agency does? What are the strategies to achieve it?

Yes, a fashion brand can do the work of a press agency but, as I mentioned before, it may not be able to do it in the same way.

In some cases, in which there is a team member trained or interested in specializing in the press, it is often convenient that this same person carry out press efforts as you know the brand very well and you can probably communicate it better than someone outside.

In other cases, where the brand does not have internal resources, it is very convenient to hire an agency to delegate this task.

There is even a highly recommended third scenario which is have a person specialized in the press who works within the company and, in turn, hire a press agency to enhance efforts.

Currently, this is how many fashion, service, technology and other brands are managed.

If a company wants to be its own press agency, it is important that it train in the areathat evaluate the ways of acting of the competition and that study different ways of doing press.

Some strategies to achieve the work of a press agency are:

• Organize launch events and/or communication of news.
• Make shipments of personalized gifts whose image is aligned with that of the brand.
• Carry out disruptive actions or activations that generate an impact in the media and therefore, spread the brand.
• Participate in raffles with other complementary brands or with influencers.
• Be part of industry events to be present among the competition and position yourself in the market.
• Define a “brand ambassador” profile. This can be a single person or more, but ultimately it is the one who represents the image of the brand and whose style and form of communication and dress are consistent with what you want to communicate.
  It is worth making an agreement with these brand ambassadors through a swap or some other strategy, as long as it is very well planned and both parties are 100% aligned.

What points must be taken into account before launching to be your own press agency?

1) First of all, it is essential know your brand very well and be clear what would you like to communicate or highlight through the press efforts you make. These are often very different from marketing objectives, for example.

2) It is also essential to plan these press efforts so that they are aligned with both marketing and sales, that is, plan actions that are consistent and complementary to those of other areas of the business so that they bear more fruit.

For example, if from the commercial aspect you are looking to achieve a significant sales target on a special date, it makes sense to plan a press action for the previous days.

3) Also, keep in mind that any press action will represent the company as a wholefor better or worse.

Thinking about this, it is important to consider all the possible effects that an action or press effort can have, since this way it will be easier to control those unexpected results and even define possible action plans.

In short, you have to be prepared to put out fires and seize opportunities at the same time.

4) Trial and error: no one is born knowing and it is precisely by trying new things that new strategies can be devised.

What are the advantages and disadvantages of being “your own press agency”?

I consider that the advantages of being your own press agency are:

• You know your product/service better than anyone and, therefore, you can further highlight the strengths and the added value it has.
• you can also easily plan goals that you have proposed for your company, nobody has more visibility of the business than you.
• If you are the owner or founder of the brand, it is likely that some press efforts that are carried out require your participation, such as interviews or notes related to the business and, in this sense, you have the advantage of being able to manage this type of actions on your own.
• In addition to being able to manage certain types of press actions, being the owner of the company generates a lot of empathy when making a gift or being present at an event, that is, whoever represents the brand will not be a delegate, but rather its creator.

On the other hand, some of the disadvantages are:

• Being your own press agency can lead you, in some cases, to lose the objectivity of the actions you take. Something that may make a lot of sense to you (because of the knowledge and/or love you have for your business) may not make sense to you. stakeholders and thus result in a frustrated action.
• Being your own agency can also lead you to do not ask for or want to receive the necessary advice. Unless you have worked in the press before, you may not have the necessary experience to plan certain actions for which a second opinion could help you.
• In the world of business/entrepreneurs, it is known that there is not enough time, therefore, in some cases it can be counterproductive to manage your press efforts yourself, since these require consistency, continuity and mainly availabilitysomething that often cannot be achieved.

What advice can you give to fashion businesses that want to develop their brand awareness (or want to improve their current awareness)?

1) I strongly recommend having presence in the that are aligned with the brand (for example, in the case of fashion, it is essential to have an account since this social network is based on lifestyle and image) and where your audience is also present.

Today are the protagonists of the press efforts not only because of its great use, but also allow different types of content to be displayed and convey a sense of trust and increased credibility.

2) It is important take care and cure the content that is published. In many cases these are marketing tasks, but they impact the image of a brand, which is why it is important to monitor it as well.

3) Communicate clear messages consistent with the brand it is also a task that is aligned with the press efforts and where it is necessary to focus to achieve the desired objectives.

4) It is essential meet consumers or to be able to generate press actions that are well received by them and not invest efforts in actions that do not bear fruit.

5) I also recommend that if a brand is going to do a press action, it canface the consequences or repercussion of the action.

This means that, for example, if a fashion e-commerce company plans an action that can lead to a greater number of sales or inquiries, count on the or so that the buyers’ experience is positive.

Otherwise, the effect will be doubly negative: customer expectations are not met and what we call “bad press” can be generated.

6) Finally, seek advice whenever necessary, stay informed and observe trends both international and local to be able to devise new and attractive proposals.

For example, one piece of advice that I always give is that, when making a gift or presenting to a influencer or famous it is nice not only to give them the product/gift with a handwritten note (it generates much more impact than a printed note) but also, in that note, take the opportunity to refer to some aspect of their life to generate greater empathy.

This is possible if one has a minimum knowledge of his life, something that social networks allow us to do very easily.

Let’s do it!

Did you see what good advice Victoria shared with us? Don’t waste any more time and become your own agency…