What is a public relations (PR) agency? Why do they exist? How can they offer help to your business and help you achieve what you otherwise would find difficult to do on your own? A good PR firm can be vital to the success of your business’s marketing and can be the determining factor to its success or failure.

Here are five things that you may not have realized a PR agency can do for you:

1. Increase Brand Awareness Through Influencer Outreach

Aside from excelling at traditional advertising strategies, many good PR agencies can also provide access to influencers who are outside the realm of contact through regular means. What better way to bring attention to your brand, product or service than to partner with a person of influence, such as a content creator, social media star or even a celebrity? Working with an effective PR agency can be a good way to bring your brand awareness from average or good (at best) to great and ultimately global.

2. Get Verified on Social Media by Generating News Stories

It can be a sad truth for businesses in this day and age that they don’t truly exist unless they have a social media presence. Even if your business or product has a social media account, it is a big and oftentimes insurmountable step to go from a simple “presence” to becoming an actual official source — or, in other words, becoming verified. Whether it’s a blue checkmark or some other indicator, getting verified is a way to generate more of a social media following and, therefore, create demand and awareness of what you are looking to offer the public. PR agencies can assist with this by creating news stories that, in turn, provide motivation to whatever platform you might be on to grant the “verified” status to you.

3. Create Awareness by Getting You on a Podcast

When I am preparing for a long drive somewhere (and my daily work commute is a long one), one small decision I make is what to listen to. There are lots of options out there, whether it’s music, audiobooks or the timeless choice of radio. However, podcasts are an ever-increasingly relevant source of content that can be invaluable to PR firms and their clients. To be on one is similar to being on a radio talk show about 20 years ago, except with the added bonus of being able to spread the content even further through the power of the internet. Without a PR agency by your side, this can seem a very difficult task, but through the connections provided, you can find yourself with a brand new and widespread way to connect with potential clients or consumers.

4. Generate Leads Through Creative and Thoughtful Placement

Really anybody can apply to create an advertisement for a website or social media platform. It’s relatively easy to do (and after all, anyone with an internet connection has access to Canva). However, advertising efforts with the use of a PR agency can be a real game changer. A great PR firm will devote itself to thoughtfully creating useful and creative content with the goal of promoting you and your product and then finding those avenues where your advertisements connect with the most relevant consumers.

5. Develop and Improve Your Public Image

With any business, public image becomes a factor. At one point or another, it will always be important what the members of the public (many of them being potential clients or consumers) think of you and your business. Good PR firms understand this, but they also know how to develop an image that can be viewed largely as positive by those who might associate with your brand. This is something that must not be overlooked or done incorrectly; as the old adage goes, “You never get a second chance to make a first impression.” Well, with a great PR agency by your side, you can ensure that this first impression is a good one.

These are some of the strategies that an effective PR agency can offer to you and your business. It’s why so many successful entrepreneurs are finding themselves a PR firm that can be devoted to optimizing the success of their own advertising. With a great PR agency by your side, you can go from moderate success to really seeing things take off.

“Originally written by Adrian Falk for Forbes“