Why You Need to Start With Executive Branding Before Hiring a PR Agency

When group interaction maine pinch questions astir executive branding, besides often referred to arsenic personal branding, the astir communal questions I get are: Which magazines tin you get maine in? Which podcasts tin you book maine on? While my agency does thief clients pinch media outreach, this is not the halfway of what an executive branding agency does. Let maine explain.

The very questions I conscionable shared really item a basal quality betwixt a PR agency and an executive branding agency — 2 chopped services pinch different objectives, which are often misunderstood. A PR agency focuses connected media coverage, nationalist visibility and shaping nationalist perception. PR professionals transportation stories, support relationships pinch journalists and strive to get clients into high-profile placements to boost their credibility and reputation.

An executive branding agency, connected the different hand, doesn't jump into trading — clarity comes first. Why? Because executive branding isn't foremost astir publicity. The purpose of executive branding agencies is to thief you hone your thought leadership. And earlier anyone tin beryllium seen arsenic a thought leader, they must understand their ain thoughts.

Related: Why Personal Branding Is Crucial for CEOs successful Today's World

What an executive branding agency does

The domiciled of an executive branding agency is to thief found aliases refine your individual brand. Specifically, your branding is made up of your unsocial perspective aliases constituent of view, clear messaging points, your voice, your goals, your audiences and really you want these audiences to comprehend you. For executives aliases entrepreneurs, this intends crafting a beingness that positions you arsenic some a business leader and an industry authority whose insights style conversations and power decisions.

Through the executive branding process, you:

1. Define your thought leadership: You confidently travel to reply what makes your position unique, valuable, and/or compels others to extremity and return statement of you.

2. Develop your halfway messaging: You specify precisely what you want to beryllium known for and by whom.

3. Craft a strategical contented plan: You create a roadmap for really to pass your expertise effectively.

4. Create contented that supports your brand: You get support successful the shape of managing your LinkedIn presence, ghostwriting articles and booking podcasts.

PR vs. executive branding: Overlapping activities, different outcomes

One of the biggest misconceptions is that executive branding is conscionable a shape of PR. It's not. While immoderate activities overlap, location are important differences successful outcomes.

Key goals:

PR agency: summation your media exposure

Executive branding agency: found your thought leadership

Focus:

PR agency: nationalist perception

Executive branding agency: individual clarity and positioning

Methods:

PR agency: property placements, media outreach

Executive branding agency: content strategy, assemblage engagement

Content creation:

PR agency: property releases, media kits

Executive branding agency: societal media content, long-form articles

Related: To Become a Top Executive, Take Control of Your Personal Brand Today

The correct sequence: Executive branding earlier PR

Many leaders want to summation visibility successful top-tier publications and beryllium featured connected well-known podcasts correct retired of the gate. As such, they whitethorn prosecute a PR agency pinch the stated volition of gaining vulnerability for their company. Accordingly, PR professionals will activity retired compelling business stories that tin beryllium sounded to media outlets.

However, entrepreneurs require a much nuanced white-glove service. Unlike leaders of larger organizations who tin leverage their company's established reputation, entrepreneurs must build their individual authority from the crushed up. Their individual imagination and expertise to spark meaningful manufacture conversations often transportation much weight than their company's existent marketplace position.

If you're moving a small- aliases medium-sized organization, the business itself whitethorn not beryllium the champion driver of media attention. Instead, it's your thought activity that tin go the cornerstone of your reputation. Your unsocial insights and expertise are what will yet differentiate you successful a crowded marketplace and create a lasting effect beyond your existent venture.

The cardinal mobility past becomes: What's the impervious of your thought leadership?

This is wherever executive branding comes in.

Executive branding provides the strategical model to showcase your expertise and found your authority. That way, earlier getting immoderate media spotlight, you already have:

1. Developed a clear individual marque pinch beardown messaging.

2. Built a social media presence that establishes your credibility.

3. Created a assemblage of activity truthful erstwhile personification Googles you, they spot a clear thread of thought leadership, not conscionable a smattering of media mentions.

4. Practiced your speaking points connected podcasts pinch smaller visibility — and, successful doing so, created repurposable multimedia contented and succinct soundbites for early interviews pinch bigger outlets.

Costs and timing: Be smart astir your investment

Once you person a instauration of thought activity successful place, it whitethorn make consciousness to hire a PR agency to amplify your visibility. However, astir leaders make the correction of seeking contiguous media placements without first processing their beardown executive brand. This unreserved to publicity not only tin limit effect but becomes much costly successful the agelong run.

PR agencies typically complaint acold much than executive branding agencies, pinch onboarding fees usually doubled and monthly retainer fees 4 times higher. So, alternatively of making a ample first finance successful PR, it is much cost-effective to return a strategical phased approach. For example:

Months 1-12: Work pinch an executive branding agency to explain your brand, found your thought activity and create accordant content.

Months 12-24: Continue refining and expanding your marque while increasing your audiences and visibility.

At 18-24 months: Consider hiring a PR agency to amplify your reach done media placements.

Related: 6 Things Every Brand Should Understand About PR

If your extremity is to build semipermanent credibility, turn your power wrong your manufacture and found a recognizable presence, an executive branding agency is the amended choice. If your extremity is to maximize media vulnerability and summation wide publicity, past a PR agency is simply a bully prime — but only aft you person built the champion imaginable instauration for your individual brand. Understanding this favoritism will thief you make informed decisions astir the support you request to recognize your afloat imaginable arsenic a thought leader.