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You might expect me to simply make the case for public relations. After all, PR is in our company's name. I do believe every company, large or small, should have some kind of public relations effort. I don't believe every company should commit to a proactive one.

Here's why. Marketers have many ways to reach their audiences, and each has to decide on the mix that gets the best results for their company, independent of what everyone else in the market is doing. In some industries, there simply aren't enough PR opportunities to justify the investment.

Proactive PR puts your expertise in front of the industry on your schedule.

Defining PR

Before getting into when PR works and when it doesn't, here is how we define the terms, since "public relations" gets applied to a wide range of communications work:

• Public relations — The creation and maintenance of an organization's brand story through a proactive press effort, resulting in editorial coverage.
• Proactive PR — Developing and carrying out a plan for a defined audience through targeted media outlets, in support of overall marketing goals. Simply put, people are responsible for creating news and generating coverage.
• Reactive PR — The company doesn't create opportunities. It responds to requests or produces content when something happens inside the company, such as a press release announcing a staff change or answering an editor's questions.

How to determine the right PR approach for your business

1. Define your audience. Break out the types of people you want to reach, externally and internally.
2. Identify communication channels. Determine where each audience segment goes for industry information: trade media, websites, newsletters.
3. Research media properties. This is the most overlooked step. Receptiveness to manufacturer input varies widely by industry, so before committing to a proactive effort, confirm there are enough opportunities to warrant it.
   • Read the outlets. Look at the type and style of content each publishes. Do articles mention brand names or include manufacturer interviews? Who writes them: manufacturers, editors, agencies, freelancers? How many product and press releases run? If the answer is none, there is usually no point sending them.
   • Review media kits. Study the audience, look for editorial guidelines and check the editorial calendar for topics your company can speak to.
   • Talk to the outlet. Editors, publishers and media reps are happy to answer questions.
4. Gauge your organization's openness. With editorial, you have far less control over the message than with advertising. Internal stakeholders need to be comfortable with that. Some outlets will let you review an article before it runs; never expect it. If that makes you nervous, you may not be ready for a proactive PR effort.
5. Decide who will do the work. Proactive PR must be a committed effort. Like anything worth doing, don't start unless you allocate the resources and time to do it well.

If you work through these steps and decide a reactive approach fits your company better, make sure you are being proactive somewhere else in your marketing communications, most likely in content marketing through blogs or newsletters. Your key audiences are looking for industry information. If you aren't providing it, your competitors will be glad to.

Whatever you decide, have a PR plan and a process in place.