 “We’re just not ready for PR,” or, “We’re at a point where we don’t need PR,” are things I’ve heard potential clients say to me, and some of those clients were right. They didn’t need PR at that time. And, while not paying thousands a month for public relations can save you money, doing so at the wrong time can cost you in the loss of customers, failing brand loyalty, and possibly the downfall of your entire business or organization. So how do you, the founder or manager of a startup, nonprofit, or emerging brand, actually know when you need PR? I’ve set up some questions to help you decide for yourself if your brand actually needs PR right now. If You Answer Yes To Even One of These, You Need PR 1. Do you have a product, story, or initiative that is now public, or will soon be public? Does this thing need to be successful? Are you investing in other areas, such as social media, to make this thing successful? 2. Do you have an immediate need to influence the market or space that your brand is in? Has something recently happened in the market, or even at your organization, that you need to address, or that your customers need to know? 3. Do you need to reach or convince other parties? Do you have an immediate need to show investors, potential partners, customers, or donors that your brand is trustworthy, ready, or deserving of public attention? Would not reaching these parties hurt your brand’s business or area of work?  Some Valid Reasons NOT To Do PR For a While: Some people genuinely don’t need PR for a while. Here are some of the common reasons brands won’t actively do PR for a few months. Note: This is not a recommended state to stay in, as your competition can, at any time, win the favor of the public, and you will have a much harder time coming back into that conversation than you would have if you’d kept up with PR. 1. Your Brand is “Brand New” and Nothing is Public Yet If you don’t even have an active website or social media presence yet, let alone a product or public initiative, you probably don’t need PR. But the second you are going to start requiring the attention of the public, you should start working on PR. 2. Stealth Mode You are going into stealth mode because of an upcoming product launch, merger, acquisition, or other significant reason. Or, that your lawyers have informed you to do so. 3. You Don’t Need Public Support or Opinion For whatever reason, you have zero need of any public support or opinion. If the public never thought of you for the next six months, you would be fine. 4. You Genuinely Have No Marketing Budget You have no money for marketing, social media, PR, email initiatives, etc. This is the death knell of any organization, and you have to work furiously, or be exceptionally lucky, to come back from this point. If you don’t you risk organizational extinction. 5. Your Brand is Already Banging AND Super Small If you run a small business or organization and already have more demand than you could ever possibly want, with no end in sight, you probably don’t need PR right now. However, it might be time to expand, save up, strategize and work on some longer-term, thought leadership pieces about “what’s working now.” Who knows, maybe you’ll inspire others to be this awesome in their own fields.  The Takeaway There are several legitimate reasons to pause your PR efforts for a time, but don’t wait too long. A story on the front page three years ago isn’t nearly as cool as a story on the front page last month. Remember: time goes on. Reporters write about new things every day. Your brand might as well be one of them.
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About Jacobson Communication
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Jacobson Communication specializes in public relations and creative services for growing niche brands, including startups, theme parks, musicians, authors, nonprofits, and more. From audience awareness to brand development, and positive social change, you'll be surprised what better communications can do for your brand.
A Word About Generative AI in Regards to
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Land AcknowledgementAcknowledgement to the southern Lushootseed-speaking Coast Salish Indigenous Peoples whose land I live and work on.
This land also includes the traditional land and waterways of the first people of Seattle, the Duwamish People of past and present. It is with honor and gratitude to the land itself, the plants, animals, and the Duwamish Tribe that I practice my work. This land is also on and adjacent to the traditional homelands and waterways of the Puyallup Tribe. The Puyallup people have lived on and stewarded these lands since the beginning of time and continue to do so today. I recognize that this land acknowledgement is one small step toward true allyship, and I commit to uplifting the voices, experiences, and histories of the Indigenous people of this land and beyond. To learn more about the Puyallup Tribal Language program, visit: https://www.puyalluptriballanguage.org Personal StatementIt is my hope that we all deepen our understanding, awareness, and relationship to where we live in the world, and that we, individually and as a group, do our part to heal the wounds caused by genocide, enslavement, displacement, and other such atrocities, many of which have been intentionally carried forward into our present day and built into modern systems of power. Here is a list of books that might help you on your way to decolonizing the mind.
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