Category: News

In this blog by Hannah Buckley, Head of Content and Service Development, we talk about:

  • How to create lasting visibility by combining PR and SEO efforts
  • The importance of SEO strategy
  • The efficiency and measurement gains of integrated strategies

 

For many B2B tech brands, SEO and PR often operate in silos – each delivering their own set of outcomes, but rarely aligning for maximum impact. That separation can be a missed opportunity.

When these two disciplines work hand-in-hand, they amplify each other’s strengths in a way that delivers lasting visibility, stronger performance and measurable results.

PR isn’t just for headlines

Traditionally, PR has been associated with reputation-building, thought leadership and securing coverage in the media outlets that matter to your audience. These goals remain essential.

But when aligned with SEO best practice, PR also plays a role in shaping how your brand appears in search. Media coverage on respected websites can improve how search engines perceive your site, contributing to greater credibility and discoverability.

This shift isn’t about reinventing PR, it’s about extending its value. A well-placed article doesn’t just influence perception; it can also influence where and how a potential buyer finds you in the first place. That’s especially important in B2B, where long buying cycles often start with an online search.

Keywords and credibility

Effective SEO starts with understanding what your audience is searching for. Creating content that targets those terms is crucial, but visibility isn’t just about the right keywords – it’s also about who’s talking about you and where that content lives.

That’s why combining SEO with digital PR adds real value. Strategic content that’s both keyword-optimised and published in the right places supports stronger search rankings and puts your brand in front of the right audiences, at the right time.

Search intent also matters. When PR content aligns with high-intent keywords (those that indicate someone is actively looking for solutions) it becomes a powerful tool for lead generation. You’re not just being seen more; you’re being seen by people who are ready to act.

Integrated strategy, measurable results

Blending SEO and PR creates space for a more joined-up measurement approach. Instead of tracking siloed metrics, you can evaluate progress across keyword rankings, referral traffic, media coverage and search performance – seeing a clearer picture of impact.

It also makes delivery more efficient. One team, one strategy, aligned around a common goal: increasing your visibility in the media and in search results, where prospects are actively looking for solutions.

Measurement also becomes more meaningful when SEO and PR are viewed together.

A spike in referral traffic from a media hit doesn’t just signal PR success, it can also impact metrics like bounce rates, time on page, and even conversion rates if supported by well-structured landing pages. Similarly, improvements in keyword rankings can often be traced back to the credibility gained through external coverage.

Understanding these touchpoints helps demonstrate the cumulative impact of your communications strategy with tangible business outcomes.

Turning powerful stories into lasting digital visibility

Want to ensure your PR and SEO efforts are joined up?

Get in touch to set up a call and find out how Visibility+, our new digital PR service, helps B2B tech brands turn powerful stories into lasting digital visibility, backed by SEO strategy.

We’re one team, delivering two outcomes: visibility in the media and visibility in search.

In this blog, Richard Peters, Senior Content Creator at Whiteoaks, discusses:

  • Why rapid, transparent communication is essential in a crisis
  • How to keep every channel and stakeholder aligned under pressure
  • Practical steps to prepare for – and bounce back from – the next incident

 

Outages, data breaches and cyber-attacks are just some of the critical crises that B2B tech companies can face. In such events, businesses must respond quickly, transparently and effectively to maintain trust and avoid reputational damage.

Delayed or vague responses can lead to speculation and a loss of confidence among customers, employees, investors and the media.

The October 2026 cyber attack on ASOS highlighted the importance of transparency as a crisis unfolds, with the retailer facing questions about its communications after further details of the breach came to light. As Whiteoaks CEO, Hayley Goff, explained to Cyber Magazine, businesses must be clear about what they know, what they’re still investigating and why their understanding of an incident may have changed.

When updates are slow, customers often assume the worst and may take it as a sign to switch to competitors to protect their own operations. For employees, silence or ambiguity may breed rumours and gossip, while thin or delayed statements may leave investors guessing (and worrying) about financial exposure.

And when it comes to the media, if there is a delay in information being shared, there is a danger journalists may fill the gap with leaked material and external commentary, shaping a narrative that the business no longer controls.

In crisis scenarios, preparation is key. That’s why having a crisis communications strategy in place is essential, allowing business leaders to take prompt action to address any eventuality.

Here are three simple steps to follow to maintain reputation and trust during a crisis:

Be armed and ready to take action

Even if the exact nature of the crisis is still being confirmed, it’s important to get ahead of the inevitable speculation.

Pre-prepared statements can be developed to help in such scenarios and tailored to different audiences, typically including customers, employees, partners and the media. Messaging can then be adjusted as more information about the issues comes to light.

This approach allows the business to publish a holding statement inside half an hour, signalling control while facts are still being gathered.

It is something we saw in action with M&S’s handling of its high profile cyber incident which impacted online sales, hiring and logistics for several weeks. M&S’s initial response pointed to a prepared crisis comms strategy which allowed it to put this kind of proactive communication into practice to mitigate the impact on its reputation.

In the absence of an immediate fix, it concentrated on delivering regular updates across all customer touchpoints – on the website, via email and social media – in order to manage uncertainty.

Even a short period of negative news coverage can have far-reaching impacts. Headlines fade but screenshots and search results don’t. If you don’t tackle the issue fast, the story could keep coming back.

Keep every channel aligned

Organisations need to issue clear and coherent messaging to all stakeholders quickly in the event of a crisis.

Internal teams need to be aligned to avoid conflicting statements reaching customers, partners, suppliers and employees, with tailored messaging for different end audiences depending on how they are potentially affected.

But coordinating consistent external messaging can be complex where multiple internal teams are involved. This is where experienced communications specialists can help, providing guidance, driving activity and shaping the messaging.

Their first job is to gather confirmed facts, then craft plain-language statements tailored to each audience. By coordinating timing and content across channels, they reduce confusion and help preserve trust.

Prepare for the next incident

Post-crisis, PR firms can play a key role in supporting brands in telling stakeholders what they’ve fixed, what safeguards are now in position and where they can get support.

Beyond that, they need to make sure they are prepared for the next issue, or incident to happen, as it surely will. Once again, that’s where having a crisis communications strategy in place that enables firms to rapidly initiate a course of action, can be invaluable.

No firm can dodge every attack or controversy, but it can choose how it reacts: silence can scar a reputation, while a swift, candid reply can highlight resilience.

When the worst happens, a plan for fast, clear and open communication must be ready to go. With the right response, even the most challenging situations can be met with clarity and confidence.

Need help putting a watertight crisis‑comms plan in place before the next incident hits? Get in touch with our team today.

In this blog, Natalia Kaczmarek, Digital Content Manager at Whiteoaks, discusses:

  • How AI is being used in B2B tech PR
  • Why AI is a tool and not a replacement for human judgement, creativity and relationships
  • The importance of responsible use and transparency


How many times have you heard about artificial intelligence (AI) this week?

A quick scroll on LinkedIn, a news headline, or even a passing reference in a Netflix drama, conversations about AI are becoming impossible to ignore.

AI may have started in the tech world, but it’s now influencing how B2B businesses across all industries communicate, compete and grow – and public relations (PR) is no exception.

AI in PR is making a measurable impact. However, as PR agencies and in-house PR teams rush to adopt new tools, there’s an important balance to strike.

In B2B tech PR, the value of AI lies in how it supports professionals, not replaces them.

Yes, it can improve efficiency. Yes, it can make data analysis easier.

But strategy, creativity and relationship-building still sit firmly in human hands.

The use cases for AI in public relations

Here are some examples of where AI tools can add value to PR professionals:

#1 In-depth, faster desk research

Research is one of the most common applications of AI in B2B tech PR. In fact, a recent study conducted by PR Week highlighted that three out of four agencies already use AI for this purpose.

By scanning news coverage, summarising long reports and spotting emerging themes across multiple sources, AI helps PR teams get up to speed on new topics quickly and in more depth. It can surface stats, pull quotes from thought leaders and highlight common narratives, saving hours of manual research.

For PR consultants working on complex subjects like cyber security, data analytics or cloud infrastructure, tools like ChatGPT and Perplexity can also breakdown technical concepts or compare industry viewpoints. This means teams can spend less time gathering information and more time applying it strategically.

#2 Overcoming writer’s block

We’ve all been there – staring at a blank page, and no matter how hard we try, the ideas just won’t come. This is where AI tools can really help. Whether writers need ideas for a headline or a structure for a blog, AI can help generate outlines or suggest different angles, helping them get unstuck.

AI can be a helpful starting point, but the content still needs to be shaped, checked and edited by a human content specialist. Tone of voice and context still matter, and that’s something AI can’t fully replicate. But when used thoughtfully, AI can help nurture the seed of an idea into something more structured, giving writers a solid base to build on.

#3 Global campaign support

Another common use of AI across PR is transcription and translation. For teams managing multiple interviews, international clients or content that needs to land in more than one language, AI can be a huge time-saver.

Let’s be honest, no one speaks every language. AI tools can help transcribe interviews quickly and provide initial translations of press releases, articles or social posts. These translations aren’t final, but they offer a solid starting point for creating accurate, local-language versions that reflect cultural nuance and tone.

This means faster turnaround across time zones, greater consistency in messaging and more time spent on tailoring content to local relevance, not just getting it out the door.

#4 Media monitoring and reporting

Finally, AI can help PR teams stay on top of coverage, conduct real-time media monitoring and streamline admin tasks.

With tools like Google Alerts often falling short, AI can fill the gap for things like real-time monitoring, competitor tracking and sentiment analysis, scanning the web in real time to show how people are actually talking about a company or issue.

By tracking keywords, coverage patterns and industry conversations, AI helps B2B tech PR teams respond quickly when stories break or sentiment starts to shift.

Where AI won’t replace human PR professionals

There’s no doubt that AI tools in PR are useful. Otherwise, PR professionals wouldn’t be investing in them.

However, not everything in PR can, or should, be handed over to AI algorithms.

For a start, PR is rooted in trust and relationships, and even an AI system running the Matrix wouldn’t be able to replicate human awareness, sensitivity, good judgment and ethics.

Building strong connections with journalists, navigating tough stakeholder conversations, handling a crisis with sensitivity, developing content that balances thought leadership with brand awareness, all of these require judgement, context and emotional intelligence.

The same applies to strategy.

Understanding the correlation between clients’ business and PR goals, interpreting nuance and making informed decisions based on years of experience is where human PR teams still matter most. AI can support the work, but it can’t set the direction.

Creativity too has its limits with AI.

While tools can generate ideas or scan past campaigns for inspiration, they lack the insight to craft a pitch that lands with a specific journalist, or an angle that differentiates a client in a crowded market. After all, AI and ML learn from existing data sets, so originality can be limited.

In B2B tech PR, where technical accuracy and positioning are key, relying too heavily on AI risks eroding credibility.

The real opportunity: support, not substitution

The real opportunity for AI in B2B tech PR lies in its ability to support teams, helping them work faster, smarter and with greater precision.

Used well, AI can automate the heavy lifting, but it needs clear boundaries.

Research still needs validating.

Media outreach still needs the human touch.

Thought leadership content and social media posts need skilled writers to avoid rinse and repeat-style content (please remove that rocket emoji and any mention of a cornerstone…). With LinkedIn as the main platform for B2B tech companies, it’s worth remembering that it prioritises content with originality and authenticity, and penalises anything that feels generic or AI-generated.

AI’s role will grow in PR

AI in B2B tech PR has a clear and growing role, but it’s not a replacement for people, and it shouldn’t be treated as one.

The PR teams seeing the most value are those using AI to strengthen what they already do well.

They’re not automating creativity.

They’re not outsourcing judgement.

They’re applying AI where it makes sense, and keeping people where they matter most.

As AI tools evolve, so will the opportunities. But the foundation of impactful and measurable PR and strong, long-lasting client relationships will remain very much in human hands.

And as AI becomes more embedded in agency workflows, transparency will matter more than ever, helping clients understand how it’s being used and the value it brings to their campaigns.

Find out about the team of experts (not bots!) behind our PR campaigns and get in touch to learn how we can support your business.

In this blog, we discuss:

  • the visibility challenges digital infrastructure brands face
  • why traditional PR often falls short in this sector
  • how a performance-focused approach can help

 

There’s a certain irony in working in digital infrastructure.

You’re the engine room of the internet – powering websites, platforms and content; keeping storage, cloud services, networks and data flowing.

You make the digital world work, keeping everyone else online, connected and visible.

And yet… generating visibility for your own brand? That’s more of a challenge.

The digital infrastructure market is crowded. Buyers are sceptical. Sales cycles are long. And your competition are behemoths like AWS, Microsoft and Google.

So how do you cut through?

How do you prove you’re not just another “cloud solution”?

How can you prove – categorically – that PR spend is worth the investment?

Common challenges for digital infrastructure brands 

Do any of these challenges sound familiar? If so, read on. Digital infrastructure brands are among the hundreds of B2B tech brands we’ve worked with for the last 30 years and these are the problems we see most often. 

Struggling to generate visibility and differentiate: Being seen is one thing. Getting noticed is another. Visibility puts you on the radar, but standing out is what makes people pay attention. Your tech might be smarter, faster, more secure but if your message sounds like everyone else’s, it’ll get lost. Buyers are under pressure and short on time so your PR needs to grab attention, outshine the competition and be remembered.

Your buyers have complex buying cycles: Selling into a buying committee is like trying to convince a table full of people to agree on where to eat: the IT lead wants performance; the finance lead wants savings; the compliance officer wants a stress-free audit.

Infrastructure deals take time; they’re high value, involve multiple decision-makers and often drag on for months. With all the internal discussions, questions and delays you need to keep one foot in the room the whole way through. So how do you stay relevant and helpful without being pushy or annoying?

Performance PR can help digital infrastructure brands

It increases visibility through:

  • Press releases which get your news in front of the right journalists.
  • Articles which give your take on the issues your buyers care about.
  • Case studies which prove you can deliver.
  • Videos which bring what you do to life in a way that’s quick, clear and shareable.
  • Award entries show you’re recognised for your solutions and work.
  • Social campaigns which put your message in front of decision-makers where they’re already scrolling.

It can aid complex buying cycles:

PR must support and nurture journeys, not just bring in the leads initially. Therefore there needs to be a drip of communication, with messages delivered clearly, confidently and consistently.

  • PR can keep you visible across a long decision-making process period so you’re not forgotten.
  • It can deliver a steady flow of interviews, thought leadership and media features which can educate and reassure your buyers throughout the process.
  • It can help to secure third-party endorsements e.g. via customer testimonials or mentions in analyst reports which make it easier for buyers to justify their decision internally.

All these PR activities can position your brand as a trustworthy, forward-thinking choice. And earning trust is key, because when buyers are comparing options, the brand they’ve seen offering consistent, valuable insight is the one they’re more likely to pick. And when you tailor messaging to your buyers’ different roles, your sales team can use PR’s useful content and coverage to keep conversations warm – and crucially – moving.

How Performance PR can secure internal buy in

Even if you do, not everyone in your organisation is likely to get what PR does.

To non-marketing teams and senior management, things like “brand awareness” or “engagement” sound fluffy. Instead they’re focused on: leads, deals and revenue. So when you talk about top-of-funnel activity or PR coverage, the first question is often: “What’s the ROI?”

A fair question, but it puts a lot of pressure on professionals like you to prove the value of work which doesn’t always result in conversion overnight.

Have you ever had to justify questions like: 

“How many leads did that article bring in?”

“What’s the value of that podcast appearance?”

“Do we really need to be on that panel?”

Well this is where Performance PR comes in. 

Performance PR is built on measurable KPIs, ensuring every campaign is aligned with your business objectives. By directly linking actions to outcomes, it delivers clear evidence of impact. It ditches vanity metrics and speaks the language the boardroom wants to hear.

It arms you with proof so when leadership asks what PR is doing for the business, you can confidently say: “Let me show you.”

Measuring PR’s impact for digital infrastructure brands

So just what might those numbers and outcomes look like in a Performance PR campaign designed to target these challenges?

Visibility: If PR is helping you to become more visible, you’ll see increased media coverage, search interest, social mentions, website traffic and backlinks.

Complex buying cycles: To measure whether your PR efforts are supporting complex buying cycles, you want to track metrics which show how PR is influencing awareness, trust, education and conversion over time. Are more people searching for your brand, visiting your site or downloading your content after a campaign? Are leads engaging with thought leadership, mentioning articles in sales calls or moving through the funnel faster?

If you’re in digital infrastructure and battling to stand out, drive your pipeline and prove ROI, it’s time for a partner who gets it. That’s where we come in. Find out more about Performance PR and how we do it here at Whiteoaks. Ready when you are.

In this blog, Hugh Cadman, Senior Content Creator at Whiteoaks, discusses:

  • Leveraging personal branding to extend the reach and impact of a company’s overall brand
  • What we can learn from masters of personal branding, like Richard Branson and Sheryl Sandberg
  • Why personal branding is as much a tool for B2B as it is B2C

 

It’s all about me. Is that essentially what personal branding is about, and does it have any relevance to the world of B2B technology?

Personal branding certainly has a role to play in B2B tech, but it is not about boosting egos. If crafted and shared with thought and precision, the vision and values of founders, owners and business leaders can be hugely influential.

The point to stress here is that personal branding is about extending the reach and impact of the company’s overall brand. When fully integrated into a B2B PR and marketing campaign, personal branding is very rewarding for the individuals concerned – and their companies.

We can learn from high-profile masters of this art, such as Richard Branson, who regularly posts updates on LinkedIn and mixes business-related content with philanthropic causes and personal insights.

Or Sheryl Sandberg, the former COO of Meta, who has such a strong voice on workplace equality with her Lean In initiative. This has helped to burnish her former employer’s progressive credentials.

The face of an organisation

Personal branding should not be about one individual over and above the company. Leaders serve as the face of the organisation, and if their personal profiles are properly crafted but also radiate authenticity, they build the company’s reputation.

Authenticity is a well-worn word, and goes further than a personal vision, values and inspirations. It is also about being honest about risks, disappointments and admitting to the odd bit of vulnerability.

We know that marketing needs to be brand-led and intelligent, engaging audiences more personally where possible. Personal branding, however, is not just about image but also the story behind it.

Individuals investing in their personal brand help to humanise the corporate identity and add a dimension to its values and vision that wider tech audiences can relate to.

It is easy to assume that a focus on the personal is best suited to consumer-facing companies, but it can have significant impact in the highly-competitive world of digital technology.

Building trust and visibility

Performance PR-led campaigns can incorporate personal branding strategies for key leaders behind a tech brand, moving them further forward on the public stage. Using expertly crafted, highly-targeted content on social media, personal brands provide an entry point, building trust, visibility and drawing in potential clients and investors who resonate with their expertise.

Trust is always important for ambitious tech brands that need a higher profile. If audiences feel they can trust the individuals running a company, that is a substantial advantage.

We should remember that personal branding goes beyond social media posts or videos shot in a suspiciously pristine kitchen. In B2B tech PR there are many opportunities for amplification.

Alongside insights that are original and captivating, key leaders can share thought leadership articles, snappy blogs and informative whitepapers from the corporate brand to further build credibility. PR experts can work with these stakeholders to devise a consistent schedule for posting relevant content on social media channels.

Content is what attracts the right audience, and if personal branding initiatives use cliché after cliché, then they are not going to convince anyone.

Working hard to establish trust and credibility by focusing on the right content with the right language is very important. It is also vital not to sacrifice quality for quantity. Business leaders who have something to say about everything tend not to do their brands many favours.

With key leaders taking steps to build a personal brand and develop a community of followers, businesses have a highly valuable, additional tool that increases the power of their corporate brand with target audiences, enabling them to amplify their presence on all channels and ultimately drive sales.

Get in touch to find out how we can help you build your personal brand and in doing so increase the visibility of your business. 

 

 

In this blog, Whiteoaks discusses:

  • Why B2B tech brands should invest in their own research
  • How to turn a single research report into long-term content marketing strategy

 

Research projects are increasingly becoming a strategy of choice for B2B tech brands looking to position themselves as thought leaders. The media continues to have an appetite for the insights these industry surveys can deliver.

By investing in research, brands like yours can generate credible insights that serve to differentiate themselves from the competition and leverage for the media coverage to reach their target audiences and strengthen their market position.

Whether conducted in-house or outsourced to a specialist research company, however, surveys take time and resources to complete. B2B tech brands may also have concerns about the outcomes, with fears that results will fail to challenge the status quo and therefore won’t be newsworthy.

But research surveys with carefully crafted questions and responses can generate useful insights from target audiences.

Here are the three key reasons why it’s worth the investment:

One: Data-backed thought leadership

By collecting and owning data from their own surveys, businesses like yours don’t have to rely on external data to deliver industry insights.

Instead, you have your own IP, which enables you to differentiate your commentary, repurpose the data for marketing and strategic planning, and build credibility among clients, prospects and industry peers alike.

Successful research projects may even spur on yearly revisits, allowing you to compare and contrast data over a period of time, thereby enabling you to build insights into market trends and momentum and truly own a niche. 

Two: The opportunity to become a market trailblazer

Commissioning research enables a brand to shape industry conversations, rather than just reacting to them. By uncovering new trends, challenges or opportunities, businesses can be positioned as forward-thinking leaders.

These insights can also be used to inform strategy internally – giving a business unique market intelligence into its audiences that can shape product launches etc.

Three: Fuel for long-term marketing and content

Insights gained from research can fuel far more than a single report; they can provide a foundation for ongoing marketing efforts.

Key findings can be repurposed across PR campaigns in thought leadership articles, news releases, eBooks and industry whitepapers, as well as assets that can be shared on social media, such as infographics, social media tiles and videos.

They can even be leveraged for sales presentations. By selecting relevant results, and inserting them into their pitch slides, your teams can build a more persuasive case for a product, or service offering; address buyer pain points or validate the need for a solution.

In addition, you can revisit the data to comment or add context to breaking news stories, or to deliver insightful and timely commentary pieces.

If you want help in bringing these benefits to life but aren’t sure where to begin, we can offer guidance.

To kick-start your research journey, get in touch with us today.

In this blog, Whiteoaks’ CEO, Hayley Goff, discusses:

  • What Performance PR is and how it differs from traditional PR
  • How Performance PR is measured
  • Why accountability matters more than ever for B2B tech brands investing in PR

What is Performance PR?

Performance PR is a results-driven approach to public relations that connects PR activity to clear business objectives and measurable outcomes. At Whiteoaks, accountability is built into our Performance PR model. We offer ‘fixed fees for fixed outcomes’ with agreed targets backed by a formal service level agreement and money-back guarantee.

But to understand more about the Performance PR approach, it helps to consider a familiar situation.

You’re a successful tech brand eager to attract new clients and establish industry credibility.

You decide to invest in PR, and enlist a top-tier agency on a monthly retainer, which promises coverage in leading industry publications. The campaign has some success, but it’s not what you’d hoped for, especially considering your investment.

There’s a distinct lack of tangible results, the phones have remained eerily quiet and the promised influx of engagement and referrals fails to materialise. Frustrated, you abandon the PR element of your marketing and communications campaign.

All you have to show are several large holes in your budget, and a boss piling on the pressure for results.

This is a frequent scenario we hear from marketing and senior leadership teams within technology businesses, who come to us deflated and disappointed with their incumbent PR agency.

After poor performance, insufficient results and a lack of accountability, the high cost is the final nail in the coffin. Expensive retainers, missed targets and a lack of transparency, which leaves brands with zero recourse, is a model that has given PR a bad name.

But there is an alternative – Performance PR – and it’s something we have preached and practised at Whiteoaks for over 30 years. This approach offers peace of mind for the client and accountability for us. 

How does Performance PR differ from traditional PR?

The main difference between Performance PR and traditional PR is how the agency relationship is structured and how campaign success is defined.

Under a traditional retainer model, a client will often pay for an agreed amount of agency time or activity each month. That might include media outreach, content development, press releases and reporting.

Success can then become focused on what the agency produced, such as the number of journalists contacted or pieces of coverage secured.

These outputs can be valuable, but they do not necessarily explain whether the campaign reached the right people, communicated the right messages or supported the client’s wider objectives.

Performance PR starts with the result the business needs.

The Performance PR agency and their client agree the objective, activity, deliverables and targets at the outset. Reporting is then based on progress against those commitments rather than a record of how agency time was spent.

Media coverage still matters, but it is considered in context. A piece of coverage is more valuable when it appears in a publication trusted by the target audience, includes the messages the brand needs to communicate and encourages further engagement.

This creates a clearer connection between the PR activity and what the business is trying to achieve.

Why Performance PR matters to B2B tech brands

Marketing leaders are under growing pressure to prove that their budgets are being used effectively.

According to Gartner’s 2025 CMO Spend Survey, 39% of CMOs planned to reduce agency budgets, with eliminating unproductive agency relationships among the main actions being taken.

In that environment, a monthly PR report listing completed activity is unlikely to be enough. Marketing teams need to explain who the campaign reached and how it contributed to the business objective.

Performance PR creates that connection by agreeing relevant targets before campaign delivery begins.

Setting those targets requires a proper understanding of the business, its audience, priorities and  timelines. The measures should reflect what the campaign is genuinely expected to influence, rather than applying the same set of metrics to every client.

Our approach to target setting for Performance PR explains how we turn these considerations into meaningful campaign KPIs.

This focus is also consistent with the AMEC Barcelona Principles, which state that measuring communications outcomes should be preferred to measuring outputs alone.

The purpose is not to claim PR was solely responsible for every lead or sale. It is to provide credible evidence of the role communications played in supporting the organisation’s goals.

How the Performance PR model improves the agency relationship

In practice, the Performance PR model gives clients greater clarity from the start. The campaign objectives, activity, targets and costs are agreed upfront, so both sides understand what success looks like and how progress will be assessed.

This creates:

Greater accountability: The agency is held accountable for delivering the agreed targets. At Whiteoaks, that commitment is written into a formal service level agreement and backed by a money-back guarantee.

Clearer costs: Fixed fees for fixed outcomes give clients clarity about their investment from the beginning. There are no vague promises about how a bank of retainer hours might be used.

More meaningful reporting: Campaign reporting is connected to the business and PR objectives. This helps teams explain the value of PR to senior leaders and demonstrate progress using relevant evidence.

Better campaign decisions: Regular measurement helps identify which messages, channels and activities are having the strongest impact. That insight can be used to improve the campaign rather than waiting until the end to discover what worked.

Stronger alignment with the business: Performance PR begins with the actual needs of the organisation. Campaigns are designed to build reputation, change perceptions, strengthen authority or support growth rather than generate coverage for its own sake.

What are the benefits of Performance PR?

The results will depend on what the campaign is designed to achieve, but Performance PR can help brands:

Increase brand awareness: Consistent, well-targeted coverage across the channels your audience actually pays attention to keeps your brand front of mind as they start researching a solution.

Attract more relevant leads: Campaigns designed around your actual buyers, rather than broad reach alone, tend to attract enquiries from people who are a genuine fit rather than a high volume of the wrong audience.

Strengthen credibility: Positioning your business and its experts as trusted voices, through media coverage, thought leadership and third-party endorsement, builds a kind of credibility that advertising alone cannot buy.

Demonstrate clear return on investment: Because targets are agreed upfront and tracked throughout, you can show, in commercial terms, what your PR investment has actually delivered.

How Performance PR is measured

Measurement against business objectives and absolute accountability sit at the heart of Performance PR.

There is no single set of KPIs that applies to every campaign. Every client’s goals are different, so a programme designed to raise awareness should not be measured in exactly the same way as one focused on executive visibility, thought leadership or audience engagement.

The KPIs should always reflect the purpose of the Performance PR campaign.

For awareness-led activity, they could include coverage in priority publications, audience reach, key message penetration, share of voice against competitors or visibility around key industry topics.

For a campaign focused on building credibility, they might include quality of thought leadership opportunities, executive commentary in relevant media, engagement with expert content, invitations to contribute to industry discussions or changes in how the brand is represented.

Where the objective is to encourage an audience to take action, the campaign might track website referrals, content downloads, event registrations, social engagement, enquiries or other meaningful responses

Coverage volume can form part of the Performance PR measurement framework, but it should not be viewed in isolation. A high number of articles in publications that do not reach the target audience may have less value than one detailed feature in a title that buyers know and trust. Effective measurement considers the quality, relevance and impact of the result.

These KPIs are tracked across the different channels of an integrated campaign, from media relations to content and social media to creative work, all pulling in the same direction toward the agreed targets.

Why choose Whiteoaks for Performance PR

Performance PR isn’t just another marketing tactic at Whiteoaks. It’s ingrained in our approach, because it embodies our values and behaviours as a B2B tech PR agency.

Our values – quality, teamwork, integrity and commerciality – underpin our performance-led approach. In our employee-owned business, every member of staff is personally invested, so your results are our success too. That alignment translates into better outcomes for clients.

Performance PR allows us to be one hundred per cent accountable to our clients, and to continually improve and evolve our services.

Over our 30-year heritage, that’s helped us become a trusted partner to many. You can see the approach in action across our client work.

Want greater clarity and accountability from your PR investment? Talk to our team about a Performance PR campaign built around your business objectives.

 

FAQ

What is Performance PR?

Performance PR is a results-driven approach to public relations that connects PR activity to clear business objectives and measurable outcomes. At Whiteoaks, accountability is built into our Performance PR model. We offer ‘fixed fees for fixed outcomes’ with agreed targets backed by a formal service level agreement and money-back guarantee.

How is Performance PR measured?

Performance PR is measured using metrics including media coverage quality, website traffic, organic search performance, lead generation, conversions and engagement.

How is Performance PR different from traditional PR?

Traditional PR relationships are typically based on a monthly retainer and a set amount of agency activity. Performance PR instead focuses on agreed campaign outcomes, with defined targets linked to business goals and agency accountability for delivering them.

Why is measuring PR performance important?

Measuring the performance of PR campaigns enables B2B businesses to understand campaign effectiveness, optimise future strategies and demonstrate return on investment.

In this blog, Alex Eve, Senior Content Creator at Whiteoaks, discusses:

  • How strong storytelling helps B2B tech brands build authority, visibility and demand
  • Why audience evidence should shape the brand story
  • How skilled writers can turn strategy into consistent stories that drive engagement and support business goals

 

The power of a well-crafted story cannot be underestimated in the B2B technology space. It can position businesses and their stakeholders as thought leaders in their area of expertise, but also pave the way for visibility in prominent publications, enhancing brand awareness and increasing reach.

However, for it to make a real difference, there needs to be a commitment to producing high-quality content that is consistently distributed across owned and earned channels to establish authority.

And the common challenge among marketing managers is finding the time to produce that type of content on a regular basis, while also making space to encourage already pressed-for-time internal spokespeople and experts to contribute.

That’s not to say that managers won’t have a well-thought-out strategy to guide efforts, but these constraints often lead to execution falling by the wayside.

The result? A decline in both the quality and quantity of content. This can impact everything from lead generation efforts to the positioning of the organisation and its key spokespeople. So, how can marketing managers overcome these challenges to regularly generate impactful content?

The journey from strategy to story

For B2B tech companies, the journey from strategy to story requires a deep dive into understanding the audience’s needs, pain points and aspirations. The creation of an SMP, or single-minded proposition – a brief but compelling articulation of what a business commits to doing for customers – alongside supporting messaging is essential to define ahead of content creation.

This messaging and understanding should then be woven into every piece of content, ensuring that each article, blog, social media post, whitepaper and case study resonates with the target audience. Content needs to speak directly to the reader, addressing their concerns and offering solutions, rather than feeling like a hard sell.

Experienced and knowledgeable content writers at the helm

With experienced and knowledgeable content writers at the helm, the right PR agency can breathe life into B2B tech brands by crafting compelling narratives across a steady stream of quality content that brings a fresh perspective.

With the B2B tech industry one of many now filled by generic AI-created content with the same well-worn phrases, unique storytelling often relies on human writers that can create truly original and captivating copy.

With engaging content taken care of, internal resources are then freed up to focus on other strategic initiatives. But perhaps most importantly, content creation is aligned with the overarching marketing strategy, ensuring that every story told is a step towards achieving business goals.

For example, organisations may need to know the impact their content has had on media pickup, share of voice, social engagement rates or website traffic. If those metrics can then be linked back to analyst feedback or messages from prospects, the story is having the desired effect.

Narratives that captivate and convince

Humans connect with stories, not stats or a list of benefits. In the world of B2B tech, these stories have the power to transform perceptions, drive engagement and spearhead growth.  A clear proposition, evidence-led planning and integrated distribution help each asset support visibility, authority and demand. From strategy to story, it’s time to unlock the full potential of written content and turn your vision into a narrative that captivates and convinces.

Discover the power of targeted, tailored and engaging copy backed by solid strategy. Talk to the Whiteoaks team today.

In this blog, Hayley Goff, CEO at Whiteoaks, discusses:

  • Why marketing works best when tied to clear goals, KPIs and ROI
  • Why CEOs should trust marketers, but expect clear scope, fit and accountability
  • The need for PR and marketing to have a sustained focus, not rushed cuts or scattered spend

 

Money doesn’t grow on trees…When I was growing up this was a favourite pearl of wisdom from my mum. Now, as an adult and more notably as a CEO, I can fully appreciate it. Every pound counts – and with budgets and economic conditions being what they are, those pounds are highly scrutinised.

Even though you’re likely the one doing the scrutinising, as a business leader you’re answerable to your board and your shareholders. Part of your remit is to refine your focus areas, your goals, and forge the best path forward to make them happen – all within the constraints of budget. And with departments clamouring for more, how do you prioritise what needs to be done?

One of those departments is marketing, stating with absolute certainty they can help you drive the business growth you’re after. Sounds like a win-win – but again, you’re balancing keeping shareholders happy with achieving your organisational objectives. In theory, the two are inexorably linked. In practice, you’re still scrutinising that spend to make sure you’re getting the expected return.

So how do you ensure your business is getting the right return on investment from marketing? Is marketing even worth it?

Emphatically, yes. But where do you start?

Put your faith in marketing

Trust your marketing leader. As CEO, you can’t be expected to know everything about marketing and lead gen – whether you have an internal team or fully outsourced support – take advantage of those capabilities and trust their consultancy.

It also goes without saying that you and the business need clarity in terms of what you’re trying to achieve and this will influence the brief for marketing. Importantly, based on that, agree KPIs with your marketing team to guide delivery and hold them to account.

If you don’t have internal marketing resource (or even if you do and it’s not quite as mature as it could be) evaluate whether you need external agency support. I appreciate you may have been burnt in the past with agencies and left wondering about the value that was delivered (you’re not alone) but they can be helpful in helping you reach those growth or awareness objectives.

They can be mobilised quickly and offer the added benefit of having specialist skills in the right places, able to either take on your whole marketing function or become an extended part of your existing team.

Important to note here that if you do decide to use an agency partner (or partners), make sure they’re the right fit for your business – not just in terms of skills and specialisms, but also when it comes to culture and (of course) targets and ROI.

Ensure your marketing team establishes KPIs against the plan that they and agency partners are delivering with regular performance updates – if you are exploring agencies only work with ones that can clearly define a scope of work, budget and performance commitments so you are clear on the ROI that any investment will deliver.

Measuring the impact

With established KPIs you and your marketing team (or external partners) can measure impact. You are making a significant investment (again, be it internally or with agencies) and it should be clear how marketing communications is performing and supporting the business achieve its goals. Understanding what is working so you can replicate success and where things haven’t worked to understand why and adjust accordingly.

Resist the urge to bow to economic pressure and apply the brakes if you don’t see immediate results – an agency should deliver tangible assets from very early on but this doesn’t necessarily mean in month one the marketing qualitied leads (MQLs) will see a massive spike.

PR and marketing need a sustained effort to deliver maximum impact, and cutting marketing often means cutting the new business pipeline. In the same vein, avoid the temptation to do ‘a little bit of everything’. Instead, prioritise your marketing critical activities, establish success and then scale.

The key to success

Each business is different – but we all face some of the same pressures and the same scrutiny when it comes to spend, whether that is on marketing efforts, product development or digital transformation. The key to success is establishing objectives and having the right facts and figures to prove ROI. Of course, the bits in the middle are also important, but will be guided largely by your business goals.

Marketing is more than worth it, but getting it right takes some consideration. Our team are on hand to discuss more.

In this blog, Hayley Goff, CEO at Whiteoaks, discusses:

  • Why CEOs and business leaders can struggle to resource marketing effectively
  • How clear objectives, accountability, brand purpose and measurement can make marketing work harder
  • Why the right agency partner can bring the specialist skills to support business goals

 

If the answer to the question Is marketing giving you a headache? is a yes (or even a maybe), you’re most likely a CEO or business leader laser focused on creating stability and driving growth. You know the value of marketing and communications in building your business – from boosting your brand awareness to supporting your sales team – but do you have the right support in place?

If you’re still reading, then I’m guessing the answer is no. That’s okay. We hear a lot of feedback from our clients and prospects when it comes to properly resourcing the marketing function. There are myriad factors that come into play here, from the struggle to recruit the right level of seniority to lacking the right expertise in the right place at the right time, to not being able to trust recommendations being made because of a lack of confidence in the marketing function.

Linked to that, of course, is the challenge of not getting the (right) leads or traction in the market that you were expecting, or being pulled into tactical discussions which takes away from that laser focus.

In many companies, employees are required to wear many hats – including the CEO. While that’s expected for a period when you’re a start-up, it’s not a long-term solution and can cause even more issues as time goes on.

It’s not all doom and gloom, and this blog is certainly not just a rant. I wanted to provide some insights and suggestions around those challenges, because they are not insurmountable.

Here goes:

Align to business objectives

Marketing needs to be in the loop when it comes to the overall business goals so that they can ensure all of their plans are created with reaching those goals in mind.

Focus on your role

It’s easy to fall into the trap of getting involved in tactical discussions (I’ve done it!) but you need to maintain focus on building your business. Rather, ensure the marketing team is clear on their roles and responsibilities, and is held accountable or measured against their plan.

Be clear on your brand purpose

Brands need to move away from the hard sell approaches that have characterised the B2B space for the last decades. Rather, create authentic and consistent narratives that articulate your brand’s purpose and address the needs of your audiences. These help cultivate trust and in turn create positive perceptions and change behaviours. This doesn’t need to be tackled alone – an agency can support and take on the heavy lifting of articulating your brand purpose.

Think about PR

As a PR professional, I believe it has a key role to play within the marketing function. It’s about creating positive perceptions of your brand amongst your target audiences with the ultimate goal of driving behaviour change.

Leading with an earned strategy, for example, again helps create trust and has the potential to reach a much wider audience than marketing alone. Yes, sometimes it’s seen as a dark art, but if you use an agency, be clear on the KPIs they are working to.

This is where a Performance PR approach can be valuable, because activity is tied to agreed objectives, clear deliverables and measurable outcomes from the outset.

Don’t skimp on measurement

Marketing needs to be measuring performance across campaigns and reporting back against the agreed objectives. This is how success becomes standard; learn from failures and don’t keep doing the same things if they aren’t working.

Work with a partner

There will always be gaps in your marketing skill set. You can’t know everything about everything. That’s a fact. But working with an agency partner can have a quick and positive impact. There’s speed of delivery, access to senior strategic consultancy, and specialists across different disciplines. Again, make sure you’re getting clarity on what you’re getting and what you’re measuring them against.

Of course, this list isn’t the be all and end all – but we are always happy to chat. Get in touch if you’d like to find out more.