Two Teams are Better than One: When to Hire a PR Firm

Lillian Roth Brand • September 4, 2024

In our daily routines, we’re constantly faced with decisions that balance convenience, cost, and expertise. Drive to work or Uber? Learn to code or hire a website developer? Stop at the grocery store or order Shipt delivery?

Similarly, for strategic communications, the same decision-making process applies. Should you handle media outreach internally or partner with a seasoned PR firm? Draft your press releases in-house or hire a professional writer to craft a compelling narrative? Manage your company’s social media presence yourself or bring in a social media strategist to elevate your brand?

When you weigh your time, resources, and skillset, there is always a variable that can “tip the scales”. The decision to work with an experienced public relations firm is no different.

Strategic communications firms like NP Strategy often have the opportunity to work in tandem with an organization’s in-house communications team to amplify their efforts. On the other hand, outside firms can be fully integrated into a company and manage all public relations needs in place of an internal communications team. If you are considering taking the next step to elevate your current public relations, here are a few key strategies to consider.

Assess your current resources and capacity.
The first step in expanding your communications strategy is taking an audit of your needs, current team workloads, and areas of opportunity. If jumping into this initial review already feels daunting, then let’s skip right to it – bring in the pros and hire a firm to manage this assessment for you and advise your next steps.

Ask yourself and your leadership team a few key questions, such as: Do we post regularly on social media and earn consistent coverage in local news outlets? Our communications team has great ideas – but do they have time to execute community and stakeholder engagement events? What projects do we see getting stuck in the brainstorming phase because other priorities pop up?

Fill in your team gaps with an experienced firm.
When you partner with a public relations firm you reap the benefits of their entire team’s skill set and background, but at a far better price than if you were to bring the same quantity of experienced publicists in-house. For example, the NP Strategy team specializes in a variety of services including crisis communications, social media, videography, graphic design, media relations, and stakeholder management. Our team has eight former journalists on staff that have an innate ability to craft press releases and media pitches to earn our clients coverage across their markets. Instead of hiring 25+ new team members to join your company full-time, hire those talented professionals through one firm that manages it all for you.

Allow a firm to approach your public relations strategy proactively.
We’ve been there – in-house communicators must stay plugged in and responsive to the “news of the day” and urgent requests from within the organization. While firms are always here to assist with those internal pressures, we also have the advantage of seeing the industry from a different lens. We can help execute high-level projects often pushed to the back burner behind the daily grind. When it comes to looking for innovative opportunities, partnering with an outside firm will bring the fresh perspective you need to push your company forward. From strategizing a unique angle for your governmental affairs messaging to developing a new social media strategy for your company’s charitable giving campaign, the firm you hire will be there to support your current goals, but should also strive for even greater ones.

One of my favorite parts of this work is building that trust and dynamic partnership with a client’s in-house communications team – providing a third-party perspective to tell the company’s story, cultivate new brand audiences, and secure exceptional coverage. Two teams are better than one.

NP Strategy is a full-service strategic communications firm made up of former journalists, politicos, and public relations professionals that offers a wealth of expertise to align with your in-house communications staff. Click here to explore how NP Strategy can help bolster your organization’s communications and public relations strategy.