It is possible that startups, small business or even a large corporation find themselves at the crossroads between marketing and public relations. Today, businesses are already familiar with public relations and know the tools and benefits that come along with a solid PR team. However, many question whether the company is truly in need of hiring one or if it’s the right time. Other times a company will be in the budgetary position of deciding between a marketing team or PR team.

Previously, companies have found success with just a great marketing team. Recently, however, there has been a lot of talk about the importance of having both marketing and public relations involved in business development and growth with the result that more companies are adding public relations to their list of necessities.

Here are 5 things to consider to help figure out if now is the right time for your company to hire a strong public relations team.

• Developing a Brand or Image

An important factor of a firm’s growth is having a valuable brand identity. A good public relations team positively influences the brand’s image by communicating with audiences and presenting them a great face for the company. For this purpose, it is important to create a relationship between the company and the customer by delivering good customer service, producing relevant published content, maintaining consistent messaging and achieving corporate responsibility.

• Social Media Presence

Not all of us are fluent in social media but its use is inevitable in our age of digital media. Understanding these networks and taking advantage of them does not come easily to everyone. As a company grows, it will take more and more time to manage and nurture social media and its content. In order to be effective it is important to have an efficient and reactive team that suits the company’s needs. A higher number of interactions on social media will boost your digital presence and influence.

• Crisis Management

At some point every business, no matter how small, faces a crisis of some sort, whether it’s one you helped create or one completely outside your control. A big crisis can be quite overwhelming. Public relations are critical to help manage and “put out the fire” to preserve the company’s reputation, for example by responding to the crisis with social media communication and press releases. A really good public relations team can even anticipate and prepare for any crisis before they occur.

• Networking

It is really important that a public relation professional be able to make connections and turn them into opportunities for their company. Partnerships are an important factor in corporate growth and having a team working for you that is able to transform those leads into real partnerships can be a real time-saver and revenue generator. Even sending some PR representatives to industry networking events and trade shows can result in more favorable opportunities.

• Product Launches

A good public relations strategy can create buzz on digital channels around the product to attract customers, increase brand awareness and promote sales. The main goal is to get maximum exposure and coverage. Good strategies include, for example, holding a branded launch event for a product, and of course a comprehensive media outreach campaign with a complete press kit.

A public relations team is effective for companies that are focused on building brand awareness and image. The return on investment is generally higher than advertising and oftentimes has an even greater impact. In fact, it is the most affordable form of communications available. If you are a small business you might consider starting with public relations as you initial form of marketing. Campaign advice can be found by contacting your local, friendly marketing and communications agency.