In my business development role at BLAST, I’m constantly speaking with entrepreneurs and marketing executives about achieving their business goals by outsourcing their integrated communications. Many are hesitant to sign on with a PR agency because of bad experiences with sub-par firms in the past. I’ve heard the PR horror stories of companies and entrepreneurs being oversold by aggressive agencies, only to be under-delivered when it comes to solid, measurable results. It’s no wonder why decision makers are often hesitant to pull the trigger. However, when a company aligns themselves with the right service provider, PR and social media campaigns can impact brand awareness, boost Web traffic and sales.

If you’re currently weighing your marketing mix options and are considering PR and social media as a way to jump-start your sales, there are specific questions to ask a PR firm. Here’s a list of my top 5 questions to ask a PR agency before signing on the dotted line:

1. How quickly will your account team be executing your campaign?

Find out on what day of the campaign the team will actually begin speaking with the media about your brand and products, developing your social media presence, etc. The sooner these activities are underway, the sooner you will see tangible results, such as media coverage and Web traffic. Some agencies—including BLAST—will begin speaking to their press contacts on the first day of your campaign to get your product featured in the press, while others will spend the first 30-60 days creating a strategy and laying out a plan before picking up the phone to speak with an editor about your product. How long can you afford to wait before seeing results?

2. What is the experience level of the account team with whom you’ll be working?

You’ll want to work with professionals that understand how to strategize and plan for success from a big-picture perspective, as well as tackle the everyday tasks that are necessary to create PR results. They need to be able to effectively craft a message to get the media’s attention and should also have relationships with key members of the press in your industry. Make sure you get both.

Some agencies have interns handle account work. While some interns are professional enough to interface with both clients and the media, many of them are not. Most of our account reps have a minimum of two to four years’ professional experience and, when we decide an intern or new team member is ready to interact directly with the media, they’re being managed closely. Also, a word to the wise: middle and large agencies that tell you high level execs will be directly involved in the day-to-day media activities of your account are usually fibbing.

3. How many people will actively be working on your account?

While you probably don’t want to have only one person at your agency that is dedicated to your account, you should also be wary of the opposite— having the entire agency interacting with the media on your behalf. Too many hands in the pot is a recipe for disaster. It’s difficult for everyone at an agency to be an expert on all of the products and services the agency is representing. Their conversations with the media will be diluted and your brand will suffer. A team of two to four professionals can become experts on your brand and have intelligent conversations with the media on a daily basis, while also keeping the bigger picture—overall strategy and campaign results—in mind.

4. How often will you be updated on the status of your account—media exposure, improvement in search term rankings, increase in Twitter followers or YouTube subscribers, heavy referral link activity, etc?

You’ll want to make sure your marketing and sales team is able to align their efforts with current PR activities. Informally, we let clients now about sample/interview requests, upcoming media hits, significant social media activity, etc. as we find out about them day-to-day. We also provide clients with detailed and structured reports on a weekly, bi-weekly or monthly basis, depending on their preferences. Make sure that you are able to hold your PR firm accountable for their results; if they don’t provide regular updates, how will you be able to know what you are getting for your money?

5. What is the length of your contract?

While this is an obvious question to ask, it is important to consider contract length. Some agencies will only accept new clients who agree to a six or 12 month contract. While we aim to partner with clients for long-term relationships, we don’t require them to be contractually obligated for a long period of time up front. Our results speak for themselves and we want clients to continue to work with us because we are positively impacting their businesses. We don’t need to get them to sign a long-term contract to feel confident that they will continue to work with us.

I’ve spoken with many potential clients who have been duped by firms that churn out results for the first couple of months of their relationship, then slack off once the client feels comfortable. They may continue to provide visually-appealing reports as lip service, but the reports lack the real meat that will benefit your bottom line. Only when it is time to renegotiate the contract do they devote agency resources back to the campaign. Find a firm that will hit the ground running from outset, approaching your campaign as though they are running a marathon. PR isn’t a sprint and you want to have consistent results in the long-term.

These are just a few of my tips based on my experiences of securing new clients and previously handling account work at BLASTmedia. While every client has different PR needs, it’s important that you do your due diligence when selecting a PR firm. Would you add any questions to the list based on your experience?

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