In the race to secure funding, track down the best talent, and stand out on a limited budget, dedicating precious energy and resources to public relations might not top the startup to-do list. But what if we told you this is a rookie error?
That a PR and content strategy should be a priority, with the power to move the dial on the above and more?
With no legacy to lean on, PR and content marketing can help to raise your startup’s profile and establish a competitive edge; shaping how people see your brand, making them care about your mission and vision, attracting top employees and investors, and building trust and credibility with customers.
But where to begin? Whether you’re already in the know or just getting started, we’ve put together a few tips and tricks to help you get the ball rolling with PR and content marketing for your startup.
What is a press release?
A press release is a written communication that shares newsworthy company statements or updates with the media. The ingredients: a snappy headline, concise and compelling copy, a clear message, and engaging quotes.
What is a press kit?
This is an essential tool to help stakeholders better understand your company. A good press kit includes a range of assets that share more about your mission, product/services, team, coverage, social media, and much more.
What is a pitch note?
In order to secure press coverage, you’ve first got to grab journalists’ attention – this is where a punchy media pitch comes in, laying out: What’s the proposed story? What points would it cover? Why is it of interest? And why now?
What is an op-ed?
This is a 600–800-word piece that shares your point of view on a newsworthy topic which relates to your company’s mission, vision, or values. It should be opinionated, informative, evidence-backed, and not overly self-promotional.
What are trade publications? And which should we target?
These are niche publications that share sector-specific news for a target audience of industry stakeholders. Focus on the outlets that your specific stakeholders read and those that publish similar stories to the one you’re pitching.
When you’ve spent years developing a product, it’s easy to get stuck in the weeds of technical details when trying to engage stakeholders. Though important, these complexities aren’t going to resonate with a broad audience.
To cut through the noise and grab attention, you need to develop an authentic and engaging narrative that communicates your unique values, mission, and vision. Next, you need to weave this messaging through everything from your press kit to your pitch notes to help your startup stand out.
Beyond your origin story, it’s important to garner a following around your startup’s evolving story. So, once you’ve nailed your narrative, you want to get your company’s offering in front of as many eyes as possible – generating buzz, maximising visibility, and reaching new audiences.
This can be brought to life by building a diverse media and content footprint with consistent messaging and follow-ups; leveraging different channels along the way – e.g., reactive commentary, op-eds, social media, blogs, thought leadership, and much more.
With limited resources – be that time, people, or money – it pays to take a targeted approach to PR and can even help curb marketing costs in the long run.
This means adopting a focused strategy with everything from setting objectives, navigating timings and identifying your target audience, to approaching journalists, fostering relationships with media, and personalising your pitches. In a crowded innovation landscape, channelling your efforts in this way can help make sure you’re reaching the right audience and building credibility.
Because this strategy should evolve as the needs and targets of your startup do, we’ve laid out a few examples of how you could tailor your approach based on the goals of your business.
Goal 1: Secure investment
Solution: Target trade-specific publications read by investors in your field.
Generating a consistent and targeted media buzz around your startup is a great way to establish your brand within your sector and connect directly with audiences who may be interested in investing. What’s more, as well as getting noticed by venture capital investors, this approach can also help to attract the attention of smaller, non-professional investors known as “retail investors” which can offer alternative fundraising streams.
Goal 2: Boost conversion rate
Solution: Position profile pieces in big publications which feature links back to your website throughout.
Whether it’s an opinion piece which references your startup or a product profile with links back to your offering, placing an end-to-end profile which focuses solely on your startup in a big publication can be leveraged as a useful tool to drive organic traffic back to your website – increasing leads and hopefully boosting conversions.
Goal 3: Build brand reputation
Solution: Secure national coverage with commentary from the CEO on key issues affecting your industry.
Embedding C-level spokespeople in industry-specific conversations can help to position them as thought leaders within the sector; establishing authority, building credibility, and fostering trust. This is also a fantastic way to communicate values, help stakeholders understand you better, and catalyse buy-in – whether that takes shape as purchasing your product, investing in it, or wanting to join your workforce. Having ‘Featured in [Publication]’ on your website also acts as a badge of trust that solidifies your reputation to those unfamiliar with your business.
Goal 4: Raise brand awareness
Solution: Commission a research study to gain insight into field-specific issues or customer pain points.
Resource-dependent, conducting research to gather data on the problem(s) your startup is trying to solve can be an invaluable asset that brings additional context to your communications. One way to utilise this would be by targeting both national and trade publications with a pitch that highlights the study’s findings and positions the startup as the solution.
Sixth Sense is all about connecting the dots between the next generation of innovators, their ground-breaking solutions, and the expertise and resources required to scale. But beyond our ecosystem, this equation has another crucial dot that sits within the bigger picture: buy-in from the global audience of customers, investors, and prospective employees.
As we’ve explained above, harnessing the power of PR and content marketing can help to catalyse these connections and translate the significance of game-changing manufacturing innovations for a broader audience.
But this is by no means an exhaustive list. Though there are many tried and tested PR and content marketing methods – of which the above is just the tip of the iceberg – it doesn’t hurt to explore new directions.
Therefore, startups should look to try out different formats, channels or platforms to amplify their profile and reach new audiences, experimenting with PR and content strategy along the way.
We hope this was helpful in honing your startup’s PR and content strategy – getting your company’s pioneering mission and vision out there as far and wide as possible!