PR is one of the most effective ways you can grow your startup. And PR in combination with Social Media is even more effective. In the short term, public relations underperforms other Marketing channels, but in the long term it’s a secret weapon. Doing PR the right way can be one of the most effective ways for you to drive the cost of customer acquisition, whether you are doing B2B or B2C.
One of the misconceptions about public relations is that you have to pay a lot for it and that you need to a have a previous relation with the press to get coverage. While this is true if you want to do PR by yourself, however the trend is to hire a PR agency to develop this work for you.
When hiring a PR agency you should take into account:
- At what stage your startup is at (pre-product, post-product) and the type of PR needed.
- Experience the agency has in the specific space/sector of your product/service
- Proven experience in media relations and a good press database
And how can you generate effective PR by yourselves?
You need powerful PR TOOLS, established PROCESSES , data, data, DATA and set analytic tools.
Here some ideas of TOOLS:
- Press releases (one every 6-8 weeks)
- Press Kit
- Market reports
- Videos / good high resolutions images
- Infographics
- Articles with relevant data
- Milestones/funding rounds
The PROCESS – The Media Outreach
You can approach journalists by:
- Cold call are no more. Long gone are the days of generic pitches, cold calls or massive impersonal emails.
- Choosing the right journalists. The key to getting great coverage is to start with a journalist that covers your area!
- Offering an exclusive: Do you want to be the first covering the story?
- Offering an ‘under embargo’: Would you like to cover the announcement? I can send you the information and tell you but you can not publish until this date/hour.
DATA, FACTS & FIGURES
You definitely need a good and updated MEDIA DATABASE. It’s important to contact also the verticals of your area: sports, health, etc. Not just the Tech publications (like TechCrunch). The vertical drives more traffic as well.
Researching will be one of your favourite activities. And you also should create LEADERSHIP ARTICLES, such as “How the new law/regulation will affect your operative area”.
Don’t miss the TIMINGS! What’s the best day and time to send?
Online publications like TechCrunch, Venture Beats.. are more time sensitive. They run with the news. National and local media tend to be the less time sensitive.
SETTING UP ANALYTIC TOOLS. The key to measuring success is a great analytics tool.
When Media ≠ Instant success. It’s important to know that even the best media placements don’t always guarantee conversion. But they do add to top-of-mind awareness and stronger reputation. Just because your potential customer didn’t click through to your website doesn’t mean that you failed to leave an impression. In many cases, they may find themselves Googling you days or even weeks later.
STILL A LITTLE BIT LOST?
At Bambú PR we offer new and established companies a wide range of communications services to approach PR in an affordable and effective way. Learn more about us at www.bambupr.com or send us an email [email protected]