Define your goals and objectives

The first step in creating a solid marketing plan is to define your goals and objectives. Before you start on a solution, it's important to know what the problem is. If you're new to the industry or have never been able to communicate effectively with clients, here are some questions that will help guide your thinking:

• What do I want my brand's reputation/image/Reputation Management System (RMS)?

• How can I best affect people through my communications?

• What would make me happy as an individual?

Once these questions have been answered, they should be added into an outline of all the components of your plan. You can use this outline as a checklist so that everything falls into place at once when it comes time for execution!

Look for experience in your industry:

The best PR firms have a proven track record of success. It's important to know that if you're looking for a new public relations company, it's not enough just to be able to say your name and have an attractive website—you'll want someone who can back up their claims with past results. A good PR firm should have experience in your industry or at least some knowledge of what they're doing there. They should also be able to provide solid communication skills and show proof of their impact on the industry they serve.

Check for a proven track record

When you're looking for a public relations company, there are some things to look out for. One of the most important factors is their track record. They need to have an impressive portfolio of clients and awards in order to prove their ability to get your brand noticed by potential customers.

The best way to check this is by visiting their website or social media accounts (if they have them). You should also ask around the industry—you can find out who has worked with them before and what kind of results they achieved on their projects.

Evaluate their communication skills

• Communication skills are an important part of success for any business. It's not just about being able to talk to your customers, but also about how you can communicate with other people in a professional manner.

• Communication skills help build relationships, trust and credibility with clients and employees alike.

Consider their media relationships:

Media relationships are an important part of a public relations firm's work. They help to shape the perception of your brand, and they can be used as part of your strategy to build brand awareness and drive sales.

The first step in developing a media relationship is making sure that you understand what it means for you, as well as how much money you're willing or able to spend on it. If you want help building this type of relationship with journalists or bloggers, then ask around for recommendations from other companies who have already done so successfully—or look online yourself! You'll find plenty of resources where people share advice on how best handle their own relationships with journalists/bloggers/etc., including sites like PR Web (where I found mine) and LinkedIn's Social Media Connection Toolkit​.*

Look for creativity and innovation:

A creative approach to marketing is often what separates the public relations companies in boston from their competitors. When you’re looking for a public relations firm, don’t just go by their past clients, but also look at how they approach each project and client with creativity.

If your brand is new or obscure, it can be difficult to find someone who understands what makes your product unique—but if there's one thing every successful business knows it's that it needs an edge!

The best way to do this is by finding someone who can help create unique content around your brand. This could include writing articles on blog posts or guest posting on other blogs; creating infographics showing off all of the cool things about your company; creating video tutorials demonstrating how easy it was for them (or another person) when using some aspect of what you sell; etcetera ad nauseam ad infinitum... The possibilities are endless!

Consider their digital expertise

When you're thinking about getting a public relations company to help you, consider how much they've invested in digital marketing. A strong digital strategy is what sets them apart from other firms and gives them the edge when it comes to getting your brand noticed online.

They should have a dedicated team of experts that can help guide you towards success in this area. If they don't have one already on staff, then this might be something worth looking into—especially if your budget allows for it!

Look for a collaborative approach

When you're looking for a public relations company, look for one that has a collaborative approach. This means that the company will be more likely to succeed in the long run because they'll be working together with other companies and organizations, as opposed to being isolated from other businesses and people.

A collaborative approach can also help your brand grow in other ways:

• It's easier for companies with cooperative relationships to collaborate on marketing strategies and social media campaigns than it is for competitors who don't have these kinds of connections.

• Companies with strong bases of support tend to do better at winning contests or lobbying government officials than those without them (which means there's no reason why one should go without!).

Evaluate their measurement and evaluation capabilities

When evaluating the measurement and evaluation capabilities of a PR firm, you should look for:

• The ability to analyze metrics in order to track progress on your company’s goals.

• The ability to determine whether or not their metrics are accurate by analyzing past performance. If they can only tell you that something worked or didn’t work, it might not be enough information for your business needs. This also means that if there is no way for them to track performance accurately and consistently over time, then this is another red flag worth looking out for in terms of their overall value as an agency partner for your brand!

Consider their cultural fit:

When you are considering hiring a public relations company, it is important to understand their cultural fit. Cultural fit is about understanding the client's culture and how it will affect your project. It also involves knowing the employee's culture and how that might impact the outcome of your campaign.

There are many things that can go wrong with a PR campaign: tone deafness, miscommunication, lack of understanding of industry standards or expectations (and therefore poor results), etc., but when these issues occur because both parties don't match up culturally then there's no way for either party involved in this process to succeed! This means if you're using an agency based outside of New York City or Los Angeles where there may not be as much diversity within its workforce then chances are higher that they'll struggle more often than not when attempting something like helping build awareness around an event like Black History Month(s).

As you can see from this list of key features, there are many different ways to determine whether a PR company has what it takes to help your brand achieve success. We’ve chosen the top nine because they represent the most important components that we think should be considered in any decision about choosing a public relations agency.