PR Agencies basically act as your representative when dealing with external media. Their job is to make sure that your company and products are mentioned in the media and other important outlets (eg. tradeshows, conferences) for getting information about your company to potential customers. The best way of thinking about it is to treat them as the facilitator and the linkage between your marketing department and the external world.

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PR Agencies basically act as your representative when dealing with external media. Their job is to make sure that your company and products are mentioned in the media and other important outlets (eg. tradeshows, conferences) for getting information about your company to potential customers. The best way of thinking about it is to treat them as the facilitator and the linkage between your marketing department and the external world.

As for what they do exactly, the criticism of PR Agencies is that what they seem to do on a day to day basis is just meeting people and networking. While this is true, it's actually a very important function for PR agents. The value that they bring is their ability to make contacts with key people who can influence your customers. The more people they know and the more opportunities they have for meeting and enticing media people to write about your company, the greater exposure for your company.

PR Agencies also help you on the strategy front such as a launch strategy or crisis strategy. They have a lot of experience in dealing with the media and public perception so they can formulate strategies and prepare your key executives when they have to deal with the public and media.

When it comes to selecting a PR agency, it's pretty hard. You have two choices. You could go with a top name PR agency in your particular area or you could go with a smaller independent agency which could be one person.

The advantage of going with a bigger name is that they'll have the network and contacts to get you meetings with the key media people. The disadvantage is that because they have a lot of clients, you might not get enough attention from the key partners of the firm. They'll also charge some pretty heft rates.

If you go with a smaller PR agency, you might not get the broad exposure since they're going to have limited contacts and capabilities. However, if you get someone who used to be at a larger PR firm and still has the contacts, it could work out well for smaller companies. After all, are you really ready for massive exposure on the Wall Street Journal, CNN, and ABC/CBS/NBC evening news? Chances are, you'll have better luck in getting customers by limited your exposure to the key trade journals and prominent blogs.

When it comes to finding PR agencies, the best thing to do is to ask around. Talk to friends who are at large companies in the same space as your company. Also, talk to other entrepreneurs to get leads on the cost effective smaller firms.

Another great way of finding PR firms is to look at the Contact Us or Press pages of companies that you think are doing a great job at PR. These pages will list the contact info for their PR agent, especially if they're a smaller company. You can then contact them, set up a meeting and take it from there.

Corporations using marketing public relations (MPR) to convey information about the products they manufacture or services they provide to potential customers in order to support their direct sales efforts. Typically, they support sales in the short to long term, establishing and burnishing the corporation's branding for a strong, ongoing market.
http://www.axicom.com
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Corporations using marketing public relations (MPR) to convey information about the products they manufacture or services they provide to potential customers in order to support their direct sales efforts. Typically, they support sales in the short to long term, establishing and burnishing the corporation's branding for a strong, ongoing market.
http://www.axicom.com
If you need help overseas.
GCI Group is one of the global leaders in our industry and a wholly-owned partner company of Grey Global Group, the sixth largest communications company in the world. Http://GCIgroup.com
http://www.nmmarketingbiz.com
Here's another.
Airfoil PR Southfield, MI
Provider of High Tech PR and marketing services for high technology companies.
The only thing to do is to talk to several and pick. You do have to sift out the firms specializing in causes or entertainers or politicians. A firm specializing in foreign markets might make you some real money.
http://www.associatedcontent.c...
Here's a link with tips that answer some of your questions.
http://www.pr.com/business-dir...
And another link with some of the firms I saw.

Public relations (PR) Public Relations- a promotion intended to create goodwill for a person or institutions image. [1] [Public Relations] is separate to Marketing.

Publicity according to etymonline.com is defined as - 1791, "condition of being public," from Fr. publicité (1694), from M.L. publicitatem (nom. publicitas), from L. publicus (see public). Sense of "making so...

Public relations (PR) Public Relations- a promotion intended to create goodwill for a person or institutions image. [1] [Public Relations] is separate to Marketing.

Publicity according to etymonline.com is defined as - 1791, "condition of being public," from Fr. publicité (1694), from M.L. publicitatem (nom. publicitas), from L. publicus (see public). Sense of "making something known, advertising" is from 1826. Publicity stunt first recorded 1926. Publicize first recorded 1928. Publicist (1792) is from Fr., originally "writer on current topics;" meaning "press agent" is from 1930. http://www.etymonline.com/inde...

The term Public Relations was first used by the US President Thomas Jefferson during his address to Congress in 1807. [2]

One of the earliest definitions of PR was created by Edward Bernays. According to him, "Public Relations is a management function which tabulates public attitudes, defines the policies, procedures and interest of an organization followed by executing a program of action to earn public understanding and acceptance."

Examples/users of public relations include:

Corporations using marketing public relations (MPR) to convey information about the products they manufacture or services they provide to potential customers in order to support their direct sales efforts. Typically, they support sales in the short to long term, establishing and burnishing the corporation's branding for a strong, ongoing market.
Corporations using public relations as a vehicle to reach legislators and other politicians, in seeking favorable tax, regulatory, and other treatment. Moreover, they may use public relations to portray themselves as enlightened employers, in support of human-resources recruiting programs.
Non-profit organizations, including schools and universities, hospitals, and human and social service agencies: such organizations may make use of public relations in support of awareness programs, fund-raising programs, staff recruiting, and to increase patronage of their services.
Politicians aiming to attract votes and/or raise money. When such campaigns are successful at the ballot box, this helps in promoting and defending their service in office, with an eye to the next election or, at a career’s end, to their legacy.
Today "Public Relations is a set of management, supervisory, and technical functions that foster an organization's ability to strategically listen to, appreciate, and respond to those persons whose mutually beneficial relationships with the organization are necessary if it is to achieve its missions and values." (Robert L. Heath, Encyclopedia of Public Relations).

Essentially it is a management function that focuses on two-way communication and fostering of mutually beneficial relationships between an organization and its publics.

There is a school of public relations that holds that it is about relationship management. Phillips, explored this concept in his paper "Towards relationship management: Public relations at the core of organisational development" paper in 2006 which lists a range of academics and practitioners who support this view

For the best Public Relation Agencies check this forum,
http://aboutpublicrelations.ne...