An entrepreneur’s guide to PR
Be under no illusion, PR is one of the more daunting of the marketing disciplines. Say the wrong thing at the wrong time and your reputation, as well as that of your business, could be severely comprised.
Often entrepreneurs with little or no marketing experience shy away of anything to do with PR because they believe it’s something that only a communications expert can execute; they feel they don’t have the media connections or their creative writing skills aren’t up to par. Whatever the reasons, founders without a background in marketing often find it very difficult to get the publicity ball rolling.
But instead of worrying about finding budget for PR from investors, in the early days at least, take the time to do some groundwork with messaging and media relationships. By doing this you’ll be setting yourself up for an easier ride in future and often founders who do their own PR in the early days yield far better results than a outside consultant (which can often be expensive).
But why do you need PR? Aside from the obvious, increasing awareness of your product or service in a bid to increase sales, PR helps you and your business develop credibility. Consumer trust in a product, especially one that’s revolutionary and veers from the norm, is vital from the start. If someone searches for you or your business online and you have no presence it’s been proven that consumers are less likely to buy your product or use your service.
The good news is if you pitch correctly, media react very well hearing news and stories directly from founders. They realise that if you’ve done your homework and taken the time to get in touch, as long as you pitch yourself in such a way that makes you relevant to their sector, you’re probably someone they should take the time to get to know.
So, if you’re an entrepreneur with an early-stage company, here are some tips to help you kick-start your public profile:
1. Build lasting relationships
Every company, however small, needs a media list. In it’s simplest form this is an excel document with all the journalists you need to build a relationship with and communicate your news to. But how do you get hold of this list?
If you’re based in Hong Kong and developing a technology in the smart cities space, there aren’t that many media that you need to know. So spend the time and get to know the ones that are relevant to your business. Do your research online, ask friends and communities for their recommendations and add these to your list.
Think about all the sectors that have relevance to your business and continue to build out your extensive list — then take some time to highlight which of these are most important.
Don’t wait until you’ve got something rock solid to say; when you feel ready start reaching out to the media of most relevance to you and your company and invite them for coffee to tell them more about what you’re doing. If you’re sincere and approach them with integrity and consideration, most media will meet you. Remember journalists need good, reliable sources; they’re not just doing you a favour by meeting up.
2. Get your message ‘house’ in order
Journalists, especially the ones that cover news, aren’t experts in every subject so you have to put your business into layman’s terms. This means being able to distil all the knowledge about the industry and your product into just a few clear messages. These messages should be built with your business objectives in mind.
And these aren’t just needed for the media; clear messages across all levels of communication are vital because they ensure a level of consistency for your fledgling brand. Your key messages should become integral to almost every response so regardless of what a journalist asks you will be able to turn their questions around into something that you want to say.
3. Take a bespoke approach
Media don’t like to receive generic, mass communication via a press release. To them it’s spam and not tailored to their needs. Yes press releases have a time and a place (which I’ll go on to next) but well-researched pitches that convey why you’re getting in touch are often the best tactic when you’re a small business. Unlike corporates who are bound to traditional communication tactics, you can be flexible and deliver information to journalists in a format that works for both you and them.
When you have a news story to tell, give your best and most relevant media contacts (the nice ones you’ve already taken for a coffee) the heads up. Offer them a different angle or an exclusive interview a week or so in advance of distributing the press release — they’ll appreciate it and help you out in other ways. Be careful to not give too many ‘exclusives’ away as competition is rife in the media industry and you don’t want to make promises that you can’t keep.
4. The perfect press release
The traditional way to announce something to the media is through a press release but there are other ways to approach mass communication. A press release typically works best when you’re announcing something simple that is time sensitive such as a partnership, product launch or new hire.
If you’re pitching a bigger idea or opinion it’s often best to write a short pitch to a journalist in email form. A quick intro as to why this story would work for their publication, a few key stats and a good reason as to why you are an expert in the field should be enough to pique their interest. Unlike a press release, which tends to be emailed on mass to all your contacts, a pitch must be personalised and tailored for a publication. Spending some time here will impress your media contacts and consequently increase your chance of getting coverage.
5. Leverage the power of influencers
Today, valuable coverage isn’t just getting on the front page of the FT or an interview spot on primetime CNBC. While these are great exposure for your company, savvy entrepreneurs are realising that there are now so many channels to communicate through. With social media now mainstream and bloggers becoming more and more trusted as a reliable news source, entrepreneurs should always remember the power of these communication channels. So when you’re building your media list, look out for online influencers too and make sure they receive your news.
Don’t forget your bread and butter trade press. They might not have the readership of a national newspaper or glossy magazine but what you are getting is a targeted readership. It’s very easy to engage with the relevant industry trade titles from the start too because they’re always looking to write about the next new thing in their space.
6. Quality over Quantity
You shouldn’t be hell-bent on getting hundreds of pieces of coverage, focus on the titles and influencers that reach the audiences that will have a positive impact on your business. There is a tendency to think that just writing a good press release is enough but if it isn’t going to the right people, the content is irrelevant.
Don’t do PR for the sake of it and be open to changing the plan. When you’ve only got a small team constantly being in the news can a be big drain on resources so be selective with what to say.
As part of the Infiniti Accelerator 2.0 Nest and Infiniti help early-stage founders to get the publicity they need to get their business off the ground.
