Budgeting is one of the constant trials that a business must face, and those in the technology field are no different. How much should you invest in one thing or another? How does a specific expenditure relate to the core objectives of a business? And what constitutes a fair budget at all?
Public relations activities provide several benefits to B2B companies involved in the electronics and embedded arenas. By way of example, PR helps to build your company’s brand; it also shapes public perception of what you do, and it can increase website traffic so that more prospective customers interact with you.
In addition, PR is known to help increase share of voice and to attract talent. It can also help you outshine competition. A well-structured PR strategy will elevate your brand to a new level of credibility, which is equally important for a new company that hasn’t established itself in the industry yet as it is for a technology heavy weight.
A question we get a lot is: “How much should we budget for PR activities?”
Read on as we take a closer look.
What is the goal?
Before setting up a budget, you need to decide on what your B2B technology business is trying to achieve. This will not only grant a clearer view of the goal, but it will help a PR partner accomplish it.
In short: the clearer your vision, the better.
Different PR goals will require different budget size, particularly dependent on how passive or active the goal is. A business can certainly benefit from a ‘maintenance mode’ budget that allows social media to keep rolling… but a more specific objective, like increasing branded traffic to your website by a certain percentage, will require more investment.
There are two types of PR assistance to consider:
- Project-based support. This involves engaging a PR agency for a specific project, or running a campaign that is clearly defined in its duration.
- Ongoing retainer. This allows for consistent PR support as and when needed over a much longer period of time.
What should it cost?
Little PR is better than no PR. It’s an essential tool for building credibility, securing investment, and attracting customers. Therefore, we’d recommend setting up a budget regardless of actual company size. Most agencies offer various tiers of PR budgets, calculated against pre-determined deliverables and/or outcomes.
Going for the cheaper agency is always an option… although remember that you’ll get what you pay for. Have they got industry expertise? Can they do the job? More importantly perhaps: are you willing to cut corners with your image?
An agency may charge by various stretches of time, but it’s most common for the charge to be some sort of a daily rate, with this fee varying greatly – especially when factoring in how specialized the agency may be into your specific industry. What you ultimately buy is the ability to influence the market. And the ability to influence the market doesn’t happen overnight: it’s a skill set developed over many years (sometimes decades, as is the case with 514 Media).
Furthermore, it’s worth keeping in mind that the impact of PR isn’t always easy to measure – especially at the beginning of a campaign. This can make it all the more difficult to budget properly or, having budgeted properly, keep the campaign running.
What should you pay?
Every industry and company is different, and agencies are no different! However, here are a few common price estimates to give you a better idea. Anecdotally, client retainers for independent agencies vary from £3k to £12k per month (and it’s not uncommon for serious players to spend well over that year in, year out).
There are no hard or fast rules. The best approach is to take the time to ask a prospective agency about any budgeting questions.
Call us biased, but a PR budget is necessary in the modern age of marketing. It is perhaps even more needed than ever before in the age of generative AI, where market signals about credibility can make the difference between a buyer contacting you… or not.
The question isn’t if you should; it’s asking yourself why you shouldn’t.
And what is it costing you not to.
It’s difficult to build credibility when nobody knows about you in the first place, or you have competition that is a regular sight on social media feeds. If you already have a marketing budget, it’s generally recommended to dedicate anywhere between 20%-50% of it to brand building activities, because that’s the new SEO – and that’s what will get you more views, more trust, and more success.
If you have any questions on budget or anything else PR-related, we’re just a call away. Contact us today to discuss your PR requirements for all things B2B electronics, embedded and technology.