How Much Should You Be Spending on Public Relations?
Tags: Startup Marketing, Public Relations, Entrepreneur, Entrepreneurship, Pr

How Much Should You Be Spending on Public Relations? PRontheGO Follow Sep 6 · 5 min read

How Much Should You Be Spending on Public Relations?

Let’s talk money. We asked our PR and growth experts to advise entrepreneurs on how much they should be spending on Public Relations.

“Working PR into the budget is critical for the brands that are ‘poised for PR,’ the brands with a dynamic, compelling story to share,” states Nathan Sebastian, Content Marketer at GoodFirms. But what are the PR budgets and fees founders need to be planning for, and what is the potential return to expect for PR investments? Find the experts’ advice on PR budgeting here:

Natalia Brzezinska, Marketing & Outreach Manager at PhotoAiD:

“How much you want to invest in your PR campaign depends on your objective. In our company, we spend about 44% of our budget. It sounds like a lot, but it is essential since PR is persuasive as it tries to influence people’s behavior. And we’re not just talking about them buying your product or service, but also about them preferring your brand over others in the market.”

Eden Cheng, Co-Founder at PeopleFinderFree:

“The first thing to always remember is that PR is not advertising, which means that you will not have direct control over the content that is put out. Moreover, you will also not be guaranteed your story’s placement. It is for this reason that I believe PR costs should be directly proportional to the value provided. In other words, if you’re making money off of PR, as it has begun to increase traffic and boost business sales, then your budget should keep increasing until it plateaus.”

Daniel Martin, Co-founder of LinkDoctor LLC:

“The branding budget is a ratio of your marketing budget and for me, the ideal budget for PR relations is 30% to 50 % of your branding budget for the first 3 months. Then, it can be 20% in the next 3 months and it can be 10% in the days coming through as a standard payout.”

Olga Voronkova, Marketing Director at KeyUA:

“PR is one of the most vital marketing strategies for a business which allows us to gain more ROI when invested in the planned & correct way. Although PR has no specialized budget & it needs investment according to the business module & the product potential. Also, it got modulated according to the target audience & its global presence. For example, suppose our product has an audience concentrated within our country. In that case, we need to invest according to location & language barrier. In contrast, in the global audience, we need to support it separately for location & language. At the same time, talking about the figures, we need to invest approximately 10% of annual revenue in PR to have a decent impact on ROI.”

David Wolfe, Co-Founder of Olivers Apparel:

“I would recommend allocating 15% of your monthly budget to PR. Most specifically, individuals should not be spending money on “pay for play” articles; rather, use your PR budget for a monthly retainer fee on a publicist. Meetings should be weekly, while there should be a specific focus on brand differentiators and your founder story to ensure the brand is being crafted in the correct light. Meanwhile, as far as ROI goes, there is not a clear financial pay-off. Certainly, some articles + mentions lead to sales, but others will not. Instead, focus on building “validation” and proof by giving your publicist a monthly quota of articles that you expect to be featured in.”

Brian Sallee, CEO at Avorit:

“When in growth mode, businesses should be spending a minimum of $500 per month on public relations, and we recommend they get to about $3000 / mo as quickly as possible. The benefit of organic content will accelerate everything else they do with marketing. After that mark, usually about 5%-10% of their marketing budget should be a minimum for public relations.”

David Green, Chief Technology Officer at Aim Workout:

“The PR budget should be decided on the basis of every business’s marketing requirement. But, businesses should keep a minimum budget of $3000 to $5000 on monthly basis. The fee of a PR agency depends upon the scale of every project. But, if you are a start-up, the initial fee of a PR firm can range between $1000-$1500 per month. I have used PR services for my startup and found extraordinary results. • It results in creating brand awareness. • It helps to establish brand credibility. • It aids in generating quality leads. • It helps to enhance sales. • It helps to build loyalty among the targeted customer base.”

Ludovic Leforestier, Founder at Starsight Communications Ltd.:

“Within the B2B tech industry, it’s wise to support your PR investment with an analyst relations investment. These two different areas complement each other as industry analysts provide important third party endorsements for clients, investors and journalists. However, it does not replace air cover obtained via a media presence. The bottom line is that AR is more cost effective because analysts speak to target audiences directly, including your media targets. I would advise to start with an AR budget of 5% revenue, then add a dedicated PR team at a 2:1 ratio to AR as you grow.”

Devan Leos, Owner at DDigital:

“On average how much should a startup be spending on PR? … Heres the thing, most people simply do not understand how important prioritizing PR is. at a minimum, you should be spending no less than $1000 a month on PR, and you should probably be spending more. Very rarely, a fresh brand or start up will stumble onto PR luck, however 99% of fresh startups simply have no publicity, and don’t have the resources to get themselves in the media. PR is absolutely necessary, and when investing into PR, it is always a good investment, because it establishes authority, and lends exposure. Even as a PR agency, I am spending at least a few thousand a month on my PR division/opportunities.”

Harriet Chan, Co-Founder and Marketing Director at CocoFinder:

“For PR, you will either hire a full-time employee or work with a PR firm. The choice you make comes with a cost, and you have to be ready to pay. If you choose an employee, you invest in their time, training , and resources (which may cost averagely between $5000 and $10000 monthly). However, the cost depends on the size of your company. Estimates indicate that the budget allocated to marketing and PR averages 10% of the revenue generated. Good PR will build the company brand, win more customers, and increase opportunities for the business.”

Jonathan Zacharias, Founder of GR0:

“Initially, plan on spending $1,000-$1,500. To ensure a successful partnership, give your publicist monthly quotas for expected features. PR and its ROI is hard to measure, and not exactly quantifiable. Indeed, some press mentions will lead to clicks, others will lead to purchases, while many others will not move the needle at all. However, this doesn’t mean PR is useless. Rather, they serve as a touchpoint for customer trust + validation. Lastly, be sure to showcase all publication references via Instagram and Facebook, while simultaneously utilizing an “As Featured In” section of your website. This will not only improve conversion, but also lead to a strong retention rate.”

Thank you!

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PRontheGO.com — The Creative Entrepreneur’s source for PR hacks.

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