Public Relations Strategies That Actually Get Results

Look, here is the deal with PR. You can spend thousands on ads and people will scroll right past them. But get mentioned in one good article? Suddenly everyone wants to know more about you. That is the power of earned attention versus bought attention.

Most business owners I talk to think PR is just sending press releases and hoping for the best. It is not. And honestly, that spray and pray approach is why so many companies waste time on PR without seeing any return.

So what actually works? Let me break down the strategies that move the needle, explain why PR and marketing are not the same thing (even though everyone confuses them), and show you how to tell if your efforts are paying off.

What Is a PR Strategy?

A strategy is just your game plan. Nothing fancy about it.

You need to answer a few basic questions before doing anything else. Who do you want paying attention to your company? What do you want them thinking about you? And how are you going to make that happen?

Here is the mistake I see constantly. Someone reads an article about a competitor getting press coverage, panics, and starts blasting out press releases to every journalist they can find. No targeting. No real news. Just desperation dressed up as a press release.

Reporters can smell that from a mile away. They delete it.

Your strategy keeps you focused. It stops you from chasing every shiny opportunity and instead keeps you working toward something specific. Maybe you want your founder known as the go-to expert on sustainable packaging. Now every podcast pitch, every article idea, every speaking opportunity gets filtered through that lens. Does it build toward that goal or not?

PR and Marketing: Stop Confusing These Two

I get why people mix them up. Both involve talking about your company. Both help build your brand. But they work completely differently.

Marketing is you talking about yourself. You pay for the ad space, you write the copy, you control every word. Nobody questions whether you paid for it because obviously you did. The whole point is driving sales.

PR is getting other people to talk about you. Journalists, bloggers, podcast hosts, industry analysts. You pitch them ideas and hope they find it interesting enough to cover. You cannot control what they say. You cannot edit their article. And that lack of control is actually what makes it valuable.

Think about it. When a company tells you their product is revolutionary, you roll your eyes a little. When a tech reviewer you actually trust says the same thing? Different story entirely.

Here is a quick comparison:

	PR	Marketing
Who controls the message	Journalists, reporters	You
What you pay for	Time and effort	Ad space
Why people trust it	Third party validation	They don’t, really
Main goal	Credibility and reputation	Sales and leads
Timeline	Slow burn	Can be immediate

Neither is better. They do different jobs. Smart companies use both and make them work together. The credibility PR builds makes your marketing more believable. The reach marketing provides amplifies your PR wins.

Before You Do Anything Else

Get these basics sorted first. Skipping this part is why most PR efforts flop.

Get specific about what you want

 Saying you want more media coverage is meaningless.

 I want three features in trade publications this quarter is something you can actually work toward.

Figure out who you are actually trying to reach

 Investors read different stuff than customers. Industry analysts care about different things than job candidates. One message does not fit all.

Decide what you want people to remember

 If someone reads an article about you, what is the one thing you want stuck in their brain? Get clear on your three to five key messages and keep hammering them consistently.

Be realistic about channels

 Where does your target audience actually hang out online? Do not waste time pitching national outlets if your customers read niche industry blogs.

What Actually Works Right Now

After years of watching what succeeds and what flops, these approaches consistently deliver.

Stop pitching strangers

Build relationships with journalists before you need them. Follow reporters who cover your industry. Share their articles. Leave thoughtful comments. When you eventually pitch them, you are not just another random email in their inbox.

Put your leaders out front

Your CEO has opinions and expertise. Use them. Guest articles in industry publications. Podcast appearances. Conference speaking slots. A visible leader makes the whole company look more credible. Plus journalists love having go-to experts they can quote.

Create things worth talking about

Original research. Interesting data. Useful guides. Give journalists actual material they can reference in their own stories. Give your audience content valuable enough to share with coworkers. This beats constantly talking about yourself.

Be a real person on social media

 Not just blasting company announcements. Actually engage with people. Reply to comments. Join conversations. Share interesting stuff from others in your field. When you do get press coverage, social media helps it spread further and last longer.

Plan for disasters before they happen

 Every company hits a crisis eventually. Product recall. Bad review goes viral. Executive says something stupid. The companies that survive have a plan ready before anything goes wrong.

 Figure this out now, not when you are in the middle of a firestorm.

Borrow credibility from others

 Partner with people your audience already trusts. Does not have to be celebrities with millions of followers. A respected industry expert with a small but engaged audience delivers better results. Their endorsement means something because their reputation is on the line too.

Do good things and let people know

 Community involvement generates positive coverage. Support causes that genuinely connect to what your company stands for. Local efforts get local press. It helps you stand out to customers who care about company values when choosing where to spend money.

How to Tell If Any of This Is Working

Here is a hard truth. Most companies doing PR have no idea if it is actually working. They count press mentions and call it a day. That tells you almost nothing useful.

Track reach, not just mentions

 A mention in a major publication reaches way more people than a small blog post. Both count as one mention but they are not equal at all.

Pay attention to tone

 Are people saying good things or bad things? Volume means nothing if the sentiment is negative. Watch for shifts over time.

Compare yourself to competitors

 If they show up in ten articles for every one of yours, you know where you stand. Share of voice tells you about relative visibility in your market.

Check if your messages are getting through

 An article that mentions your company but completely misses your key points is not that valuable. Read your coverage and see whether journalists understood what you were trying to say.

Connect PR to website traffic

 When a big article drops, do you see more visitors? Set up proper tracking so you can tie coverage to actual interest.

Watch social engagement

 If nobody likes, shares, or comments on your PR content, something is wrong. Either the content itself or how you are presenting it.

Pick your metrics before you launch anything. Check them monthly. Look for patterns over time instead of obsessing over every individual number.

Where Does This Leave You?

Trust takes years to build and minutes to destroy. PR is how you build it and protect it. Do not try doing everything at once. Pick one or two strategies that fit your situation. Do them well. Track what happens. Adjust based on what you learn.

The companies that treat reputation as a real priority end up in a completely different position than those scrambling to react when problems hit. Which one do you want to be?

FAQs

What types of PR exist?

Most people break it into media relations, community relations, crisis management, and internal communications. Some industries add government relations or investor relations depending on what they need.

How is strategy different from tactics?

Strategy is your overall plan and goals. Tactics are specific actions. Strategy might be becoming known as an industry thought leader. Tactics are the actual podcast appearances and articles that make it happen.

How do I know if PR is working?

Track reach, sentiment, website traffic, social engagement, and whether your key messages show up in coverage. Compare against previous periods to spot trends.

Should I do PR or marketing?

Both. They solve different problems. PR builds trust over time. Marketing drives action quickly. Together they reinforce each other.

What does PR cost?

Depends entirely on your approach. Doing it yourself costs time but little money. Freelancers run one to five thousand a month. Agencies start around five thousand and go up from there based on scope.