Finding the Right Fit When Hiring a PR Agency for a Medical Practice

Tips from the public relations specialists at MCPR for selecting a PR agency partner.

STAMFORD, CT, UNITED STATES, July 28, 2023/EINPresswire.com/ — As a doctor or wellness expert looking to hire a PR Agency there are a number of things to ask prospective firm ahead of making a selection. “Finding an agency that is the right fit is paramount,” says Melissa Chefec, founder of MCPR, a firm specializing in PR for doctors and wellness experts. The goals for the medical practice must align with the understanding and capabilities of the firm with which they are considering engaging.

Towards this end, here are some questions for doctors and wellness experts to ask when hiring a PR agency.

Do you have direct experience handling pr for doctors?

It sounds obvious. But when looking for a PR firm make sure they have direct experience working with doctors. The PR firm selected should have knowledge of the issues and trends in healthcare. They should know the journalists who write about health conditions. And they should show their work. Don’t be afraid to ask prospective PR agencies about their work for other doctor and wellness clients. Ask to see their publicity results. If they are a good fit, they should be happy to supply examples of their clients in the news to demonstrate their expertise in publicizing a doctor.

What is your process for generating publicity for doctors?

Synergy in a working alliance is always important. The selected PR agency should illustrate that they have a processes and systems for doing the work that are organized and efficient, from notifications of media interview requests to sharing URLs to published articles in which clients are quoted. Ask up front about how they do the work? Will they communicate interview opportunities by text, email, phone, or some combination? Also learn about their contacts with journalists who write about health, fitness, beauty and mental health. Learning more about how a pr agency works right from the start will help make the potential alliance more productive.

How much publicity activity to you aim to bring?

Learn up front about what to expect from a PR firm you are considering hiring. Ask how many media interview requests can be expected in a week or in a month. The agency should be able to give you some sense of the volume of activity so that expectations can be managed.

What tasks and time commitment will be expected of the client?

Public relations is not a passive purchase where you hire someone to do a service, they do it, and then you pay them. Public relations is different because an expert is being solicited for their opinions and ideas. And to accomplish this they need to respond to questions and requests for comments from journalists. In hiring a PR firm it’s important to learn up front what the expectation of your time will be. Understanding the typical turnaround for media requests and the amount, and types, of questions journalists ask will be helpful in selecting a PR agency.

What is your typical plan for meetings and reporting?

Learn before selecting a PR agency how they measure success, how often they meet with clients and what kind of reporting they do. Defining metrics and plan for reporting is a key element to measuring the success of a PR program.

Ask for references.

Don’t be shy about this. Learning from others who have worked with a particular PR agency is perfectly normal, and in fact, negligent to skip. Ask previous clients about the strengths and weaknesses of the prospective agency. Ask how long they worked together and learn about the results. A quick conversation can shed tremendous light about the agency’s performance, style, personality and work ethic.

Melissa Chefec
MCPR, LLC
+1 203-968-6625
[email protected]