7 Reasons Your PR Efforts Are Falling Flat (and How to Revive Them)

A well-researched PR campaign can generate leads, take your business to new places, and tap into new markets. On the other hand, a roughly done campaign without any due diligence will cost you your company’s reputation and be a waste of time and money.

Over the past decade, the PR industry has evolved with new strategies depending on the demands of the changes. PR campaigns are executed by keeping the goal in mind, which could be:

• Increasing brand awareness
• Generating leads
• Promoting the new launches
• Sneak-peak to new products

Press releases, combined with SEO optimization, can increase website traffic through keyword rankings with the accession of backlinks in the authoritative news article.

However, it is common for companies to face difficulties despite their PR efforts, especially when the startups do trial and error with their marketing.

Is Your PR Missing the Mark?

Do not lose hope if your PR campaign does not go as planned. This could be due to weak storytelling in the press release or the bad email pitch, to name a few drawbacks. Luckily, all these problems can be resolved with guidance, which is the exact purpose of this blog.

As of January 2024, approximately 70 percent of PR firms surveyed worldwide reported a perspective of business growth. The remaining 30 percent expected business to stay the same. Press Connect’s PR professionals are delivering the results as per the goals of the PR campaign of different brands- but this does not mean we are using the same strategy for every business. We ensure that our experts first understand the purpose behind the campaign, the vision of the brand, and what they are trying to tell through their message- then we plan a strategic campaign, which drives particular results.

Troubleshooting Your PR: What is Going Wrong?

The source forecasts that in 2023, the market value of PR tools will amount to about 14.79 billion U.S. dollars, up more than 10 percent from 13.4 billion dollars a year earlier. The annual figure was projected to rise, surpassing 29 billion dollars by 2030. Frustration is a small word that comes when we put our heart and soul into marketing efforts, and it does not deliver the desired results. A suffocating mix of mortification, bewilderment, and discouragement floods your senses. What caused this?
It may be because of the vague narrative of the press release, or it might be that the journalists or new outlets were not industry-specific. Whatever the reason is, do not question your abilities; look for a way to improve the situation.

Your targeted Audience is wrong

This is the most common mistake, and when the target audience is wrong, it means that the buyer persona the company initially made is incorrect. For example, if you are a cosmetic brand, you must send your press release to beauty magazines or travel websites instead of sending your press release to beauty magazines. It might seem like a small mistake, but tons of media outlets are ready to tell you that this is the most common mistake when companies are trying to run their PR campaigns without knowing the blunder they are making.

Pitching to the Wrong Journalists

This requires thorough research before sending the pitch email to the journalist. You cannot pitch to any journalist to publish your press release; this could be due to two main reasons:

• Not every journalist possesses the authority to publish a press release.
• You are not pitching to the proper journalist based on your niche.

Since we are talking about the designation of the journalist, the senior editor in the national media might not be interested in covering your story. Before pitching to anyone, double-check their email and verify it because sometimes companies are directly pitching to the design, product, or sales teams. Brands need to find the relevant person to cover their press release.

Unfamiliar with the Editorial Style

Suppose you have identified your target audience and the niche journalists to pitch the press release. Still, if you are unfamiliar with their protocols, you might not get their response. Writing your pitch to highlight the things that might interest them is highly important, and you will get a response.

The purpose of all this is to emphasize the importance of the different aspects that might make or break your press release a hit or miss. Give a designated time to research the interests and behavior of your intended audience for better targeting, thoroughly research the news publications and journalists, and try to build personal connections with them before pitching. Lastly, most media outlets publish website content guidelines; review them and write your pitch accordingly.

You are not establishing a relationship with journalists

In the words of PR, establishing professional relationships with journalists is of utmost importance. If the PR campaign got lost in the noise, it must be because the businesses targeted the wrong journalists or did not establish their relationship with them.

The journalists’ inboxes are constantly flooded with generic pitches and cold outreach. A successful press release is established on trust, which comes from developing relationships with the media. This means that businesses need to know about the journalists before pitching them. Keep in mind that establishing a relationship takes time and is not something that can be done overnight.

Press Releases are not that compelling

You have followed all the protocols, and still, the campaign did not perform well; this might be because the news content was not exciting enough to spark curiosity. Maybe the storytelling is weak, and you have not added multimedia to keep the audience engaged.

To create content that sparks interest, businesses must focus on storytelling techniques. Make the heading attractive, add the human touch emotions you are trying to target, add real-world data, add quotes from the thought leaders, or write the content with different angles.

Your timing is not exact

Initiating the PR campaigns might entice businesses, but many aspects, such as timing, need consideration. Here are some tips to keep the time bracket aligned with the PR efforts.

If there is a season of new launches and your business wants to promote the upcoming products, there is a possibility that your news might not get the optimal coverage. Investigate the market trends and then plan the PR campaign accordingly.

You Haven’t Optimized for SEO

One apparent reason why PR efforts are not productive is that you do not employ SEO techniques in your press releases. Unsurprisingly, even the best press release can go unnoticed if it does not feature well on the search engine. Getting your press release to rank high on the search engine results, incorporating exact keywords, using proper headlines, and including backlinks to your website can increase the visibility of your PR content. While using PR integrated with the SEO campaign, website traffic may be improved, brand authority may be established, and more profit may be achieved. Failing to do so, PR specialists lose the chance of a further upgrade of the efficiency of their work.

How Press Connect Can Help You

Thus, at Press Connect, we know those subtle features that can either strengthen or worsen a PR campaign. Our staff of specialists makes it a point to learn each brand and tailor its strategies to reach more people and edge competitors in your press release. Be it the storytelling, finding the best journalist, or applying for SEO so that the right people will see your forum.

Considering the nature of the relationships between businesses and the media and the latest market trends, we assist companies in addressing predominant PR issues and bringing the campaigns back to life. Let Press Connect turn your PR efforts into the sword that will help propel your brand forward and capture your market share.