Five things beauty and personal care brands MUST consider before outsourcing PR
Press & influencer coverage is the most valuable type of media for any business. According to a 2019 study, 92% of consumers said that they trusted earned media coverage about a brand more than any other type of media. And it's for good reason. Whenever you can get someone else to say good things about you or your business, it helps build trust with your audience. So, congratulations on this first step in considering a major leap forward in growing your brand through PR. We all know how valuable third-party endorsements of word of mouse can be, but before you dive in, there are at least five crucial considerations you need to make before moving forward and determining whether or not you’re ready.
Relationships
When considering a PR agency to represent your brand, ask for case studies and ask questions regarding not just results but the relationships that led to those results. It’s important to partner with an agency that has worked with journalists and influencers that cover beauty, personal care, wellness, and self-care as their efforts will be much more efficient and effective. Ideally, you strike a balance between finding an agency that has similar clients to your business and not direct competitors of your business. (Read: The Benefits of a Boutique Agency)
Samples
There is probably no quicker way to sabotage your public relations efforts than to be stingy with samples. How can one expect a journalist or influencer to feature your brand or product without trying it first? Listen, we get it, you’re not in the business of handing out freebies, but if you’re serious about PR, you need to get serious about sampling. At FACTEUR PR, we don’t cap our sample shipments, but if you want a ballpark estimate of how many full-size samples to set aside, estimate at least 25-50. Now here’s a bit of good news from the COVID pandemic: we are no longer shipping out samples to editors without first obtaining interest from them, meaning that the samples we do ship out are requested and anticipated. When a journalist asks for samples, that doesn’t guarantee they will cover the product (again, they need to try it and hopefully love it!), but it’s a good sign that we’ve caught their attention and our chances of a placement or a partnership are higher than they were before.
Packaging
As a beauty brand, you need to also consider the packaging that your samples are shipped in. With unboxings abound on Instagram and TikTok, you only get one chance to make a good first impression. Work with your PR team or your in-house graphics or marketing team to develop high quality, brand-aligned, and sustainable mailer boxes for media and influencers. Not only will they standout in a sea of mailers (these folks get dozens a week if not each day!), they will sure delight them upon arrival. Just don’t forget to budget for trackable shipping, too.
Affiliate commissions
While the vast majority of media outlets only feature brands and products they’ve tested and adored (remember point #2 above!), they are still businesses that need to generate revenue and pay their teams. If your products are online and not commissionable – meaning that a third party cannot generate revenue based on a sale they’ve encouraged – your chances of being featured have just become that much lower. We have literally heard it firsthand, especially from commerce and market editors: if your product is not available through a major retailer (like Target, Amazon, Ulta, The Detox Market, etc) or if your DTC site does not offer commissions through a third-party platform such as ShareASale or Skimlinks, it’s not as likely that they will feature your product even if they like it. (Read: How to turn PR into PO) Affiliate links are also valuable when approaching influencers. If they can generate commissions through their support or offer their followers an exclusive discount code to help build audience loyalty, we can help incentivize a partnership, especially if you don’t have a huge activation budget. Which brings us to our final point…
Influencer budget
But wait, why do we need to pay influencers if we’re already sending them free product? Like with journalists, receiving a product – even liking a product! – does not guarantee a result. The only way to guarantee results is through a sponsored spend (or advertising). Influencers are content creators, and many take a great deal of time and effort in reviewing products, promoting brands, and supporting missions. (Read: The Influencer Marketing Trends to Anticipate in 2022) To maximize influencer outreach efforts, set aside a budget every month or quarter to partner with influencers on a deeper level.
So, are you ready?
FACTEUR PR is a boutique PR and marketing studio for beauty, home, and wellness brands. We’ve helped secure coverage for beauty brands in places like Allure, ELLE, Forbes, Glamour, Good Housekeeping, Real Simple, Vogue, and more, helping gain commitments from retailers like Anthropologie, Nordstrom, Whole Foods, Neiman Marcus, and more. If you’re ready to take your beauty brand to the next level, get in touch!