The discussion of money is often shrouded in secrecy when it comes to hiring services, and it makes sense. Businesses don’t want potential customers to see a large sum and spook. Similarly, companies don’t want to flagrantly undercut others in the line of work—selling themselves, and their talents, short.
Digital PR agencies are no different, wanting the chance to explain why they are so amazing, the services they can provide, and the benefits of a digital PR agency to potential clients, rather than leading with the numbers.
So it can be challenging for a business to find the cost of the services they need. For the matter at hand, that is the cost of hiring a digital PR agency.
Digital PR differs from traditional PR in that the key first word—digital. Digital PR is a means of gaining backlinks to your website, which can improve SEO and SERP position. They’re gained through creating data-driven campaigns that journalists want to write about on their platforms—and they link back to the businesses who released the campaign.
These links can also improve brand authority and reputation. A digital PR agency is an external entity that businesses can hire to take care of their digital PR for them.
As with any brand, there are good and bad agencies. To know which is which, we have a guide on the traits of the best digital PR agencies.
So now you know what a digital PR agency is, you’ll be wondering what goes into the price they charge for their services.
When we hire a service, it can be easy to forget about all the aspects that make up that service. For example, when ordering a pizza we tend to focus on the chef and the delivery person—forgetting about the ingredient supplier and the cleaner that ensures the kitchen is sanitary.
As with the pizza restaurant, there are other roles and technologies within digital PR agencies that are needed to run a campaign that an outsider may not think of.
Digital PRs are the ones that craft the campaigns and aren’t often forgotten. Their job entails creating campaigns, following the latest news and trends, and reaching out and forming relationships with journalists, all with the goal of gaining backlinks in mind.
While digital PRs write the campaigns they outreach themselves, content writers are vital as a proofing aid for them and for creating long-form breakdowns for client websites. Content writers will also be the ones behind content hubs that a client may want to go alongside their digital PR campaigns.
SEO companies are the mystical minds that work endlessly to interpret Google’s ever-fluctuating algorithm, and figure out how to use it to the client’s advantage. They work with the digital PR and content writing teams to ensure everything the agency creates is top-notch and in line with Google’s high expectations.
As talented as the digital PR and content writing teams are, they need experts when it comes to sourcing and breaking down data. The data team will find or curate the freshest data and are on hand to help the other teams when it comes to interpreting it.
Digital PR isn’t all about writing and numbers—data visualisations are crucial too. They help journalists and their readers get a firmer grasp of the data presented to them. The graphics team also handles anything else picture related—this can be header images in content hubs, logos, and symbols.
Any digital business knows that a great IT team is worth its weight in gold. Not only do they ensure that the team’s computers and tech are working properly, but also the programs they use are operational.
Management is the skeleton of any team—their attitudes, work system, and ethics mould the team around them. They plan the work, create the team, train staff, keep everyone organised and happy, and ensure that everyone has what they need to get the job done.
It isn’t just the human element to consider—though obviously, the people are vital to any campaign. Digital PRs, SEOs, graphics teams and many others all require specialist computer programs, tools and systems to do their job effectively.
The process of determining a fee can vary from agency to agency, and in some instances on a case-by-case basis.
Most agencies will charge a fee based on the services the client is after, the targets the client wants to meet, and how long the work will take. The agency will have set rates for their hours that they will discuss with you ahead of time and will be confirmed in the digital PR contract.
Some agencies will determine their fee by how much revenue their campaign can generate for you. This is typically a percentage of the revenue gained within a specific time frame, such as the first month or six months.
So if you have a campaign crafted that generates £1 million in revenue, their fee would be a substantial chunk of change.
However, this process isn’t common and is more in line with larger digital marketing packages than just digital PR.
So let’s get down to brass tacks. What does it actually cost to hire a digital PR agency?
Well, that depends on the agency and what services you require. A way to think of it would be to liken hiring a digital PR agency to hiring a new member of staff. The experience the person has, and the output they can provide, increase their cost.
If you want a simple digital PR campaign to run for six months, is it worth bothering to hire a single person in-house to do the work? Similarly, if you have a massive budget and want to go all out on your digital PR, is it more cost-effective to pay an agency to do it, or hire perhaps two people to try to meet that need?
At the end of the day, digital PR is set by your budget. If your budget is £10k or less a month, expect smaller campaigns and fewer hours. While they may not run cheap, there’s a whole host of reasons why a digital pr agency is better than in-house digital PR teams.
Before you leap into action and hire one, there are some questions to ask a digital PR agency to see if their interests align with yours. And once you’ve hired one, you’ll want to analyse the digital PR agency as you go to ensure they’re living up to your high expectations.
Read More: Digital PR Agencies Vs Digital PR Consultants
Reboot Online are experts at digital PR, with a team of motivated and creative professionals that are chomping at the bit to create exciting new campaigns. If you’d like to hear more about our business, or perhaps get a quote, please don’t hesitate to reach out via our contact form or email us at [email protected].