Is a PR agency the right move for your beauty or fashion company right now?

As the founder of a PR agency, I speak to many brand founders and CMOs of beauty and fashion companies. They’re hoping to boost awareness and reputation with a targeted, right-fit PR approach.

PR can do SO many things to help grow a brand. From increased web traffic and interest from consumers, to opening doors to investors, retail opportunities, and coveted speaking gigs – it’s endless.

That said, not every brand is always at the level of needing external PR support.

How do you know if you should retain PR support right now – or hold off?

A PR Agency Is Appropriate for Your Fashion or Beauty Company Now If:

🙌🏼 You have a loyal group of customers, but want to reach more.

PR can help tremendously with getting your brand in front of new audiences. National earned media brings vast awareness to previously unseen brands. Press coverage also gets brands in front of new demographics and customer bases – an incredible growth tool!

🤝 Your fashion or beauty company has a liaison for the PR agency who can devote time to supporting our efforts

Generally a marketing team member, this person greatly improves a PR agency’s success. They’ll respond to our questions quickly and provide us with insights on the company. Also, this liaison is a true partner and champion of our work.

💡 Defined brand story, POV, and target audience

You should spell out who you are as a company and what sets you apart from the competition. Also be sure to have a clear idea of who you are trying to reach and your core audiences.

💰 Budget

Not only for the agency fees, but to enhance our work via activities to further grow your brand. This can look like event activations, paid influencer promotions, and celebrity sponsorships.

When should you hold off on PR?

Some brands have a great idea, but may need a bit more time. For example, if:

Your messaging is muddled…

You don’t have distribution…

You’re still working on defining your target customer…

Then take the time to address those challenges before onboarding PR support. Work to grow the brand via other methods. These can include your social media, organic influencer seeding, and strategic sampling for core customers to garner reviews and feedback.

If you’d like to develop better editorial relationships on behalf of your brand, feel free to email me at lindsey@vlivcommunications.com