Anyone planning a community event should consider using a public relations agency to help promote the event. By nature, a community event is a public event, and in the interest of maximizing attendance and participation, public relations tactics must be employed. Of course you can perform the PR functions and promote the event yourself, but the best results are achieved when hiring the pros.

Below is an outline of some key benefits to hiring a public relations agency to promote your community event.

Contacts

One of the best ways to get the word out about your upcoming community event is through the press and media. A public relations agency will have established relationships with key reporters on not only a local level but nationally as well.

Utilizing their contacts to promote (companies, brands, events, etc.) is the lifeblood of PR professionals and agencies. Because of this, they tend to be strategic, on the ball, and focused on the end result.

Using a public relations agency to promote your event will increase your likelihood of getting coverage in local and/or national newspapers or on television or radio news programs.

Because information coming from known and trusted news sources is more credible than obviously paid advertising, members of your community are much more likely to take note of your event than if they were to find out about it through paid advertising.

Event Planning

Ideally, you should sign on with a public relations agency early in the event planning stages. Doing this will ensure coverage by long-lead media and is a must if your event is expected to have a very large turnout or is held on a national or international basis.

Even if you plan to do all of the planning for the event in-house and handle all the details internally, a good PR agency will be able to help you strategize every aspect of your event to maximize promotion not only of the event itself, but also of your organization. A public relations agency will help you strategize an appropriate mix of promotional activities, including but not limited to:

oSponsorships oProgram launches oAnalyst tours oMedia tours oPress conferences

A good PR agency will gravitate toward promoting your organization (in addition to the event) just because it is in their nature.

Most agencies have event planning and event marketing capabilities. If you are operating on a large scale and expect mass media coverage, you will be well served to have an experienced agency ensuring everything runs smoothly at the event with regards to accommodating the press. If you are on a budget, however, you can likely choose the promotion services you need the most on an "a la carte" basis.

Message Makers

Public relations agencies are typically comprised of many different levels of corporate communications professionals. For this reason, having a PR agency promoting your community event can come in handy when it comes to your event materials. Consider having the agency develop your marketing materials to ensure that your message and tone are consistent and appropriate for your target audience. If the PR agency is involved from the beginning of the planning process, they can be instrumental in developing invitations, flyers, posters and more. Keep in mind, creative resources of a public relations agency are likely to be more extensive than your own. If you plan on hiring a PR agency to promote your community event, definitely leverage their creative strengths.