Why Do Contemporary Startups Need To Invest In PR?

Before we move further, ask yourself, why do Contemporary Startups Need To Invest In PR? Knock, knock… What does your mind answer? If it’s Yes, congratulations, you came to the right place.

Welcome to Unboxing Startups. Nowadays, wherever we go, we see many advertisements, the hype of a product, or creating a favorable atmosphere for a particular company. But do you know who is responsible for this? It’s Public Relations (PR). Yes, they have a team who works day and night to promote the client’s name and products; every client has a different requirement. 

No matter whatever opinion or thoughts you have, the reality is that public relations are significant to every business if we see the current market scenarios, especially startups. But before discussing more, let’s understand what public relations are? Many of them know about it, but some may not, and we believe in carrying everyone with us.

What is Public Relations (PR)?

In the simplest term, Public Relations is a strategic communication process that builds mutually beneficial relationships between organizations and their public. Not only companies, actors, and many others hire PR agencies who work in building brand image, and they promote across various platforms. They are also responsible for creating hype and a brand image among audiences.

Today, in the digital world, we are socially connected to everyone. A good tweet or a brand mention from the right person can get you more market exposure than your entire advertising campaign. Imagine a statement from leading publications like Mashable, Forbes, TechCrunch, etc. They are no small feat; instead, such mentions can help you build a winning PR strategy.

Understand that your potential customers are looking up for your products and services online rather than going to the offline market. They are following tweets, retweeting, sharing from influential people and PR professionals, reading reviews, and sharing their experience with your brand with their peers. A great PR strategy for startups will help you use all these communication channels.

After our research, we found three reasons why new startups should consider investing in PR. Get a cup of coffee, and let’s begin:

1- It Helps You Showcase Your Story in the Best Possible Way

2- It Helps You Make Friends, Not Just Official Contacts

3- PR is Affordable (It may vary)

1. It Helps You Showcase Your Story in the Best Possible Way

What’s the most exciting aspect of your business, something that’s trendy? No, it is, of course, your story. PR first allows you to talk about yourself, including your experiences, the idea behind your startup, the factors that drive you, and many others.

Audiences out there want to hear your personal story, including how you managed to come here, and if done rightly, telling your story can open up many opportunities for you. Square, for example, won the battle by telling people its story as a part of its PR strategy for startups. 

Also, ensure that the story you’re going to tell must have a clear vision, and audiences should not get confused. 

Next, make a good list of the top media outlets and blogs relevant to your domain and reach out to them. Also, start your blog and try to cover the more relevant content that demonstrates your expertise and your purpose of being.

Trust us; these are enough to build your foundation to start telling and sharing your story with the world. But if you are confused about how to begin telling your account, you might reach out to some experts who can help you suggest a good story. Then, all you need to do is get out there.

2. It Helps You Make Friends, Not Just Official Contacts

As a startup, there is a need to develop strong social relationships with the media. And to do so, you need to make friends and not just contacts. When you have only dozens of references, your sales pitch hardly impacts you. You may try your best to state your case, but it will still be just cold calls for your contacts, and all your efforts will be wasted. Worst still, your media contacts are more likely to think that you are just trying to reach out to them for coverage, lacking the authenticity that social relationships require.

To make a lasting impression on audiences, you need to think beyond these cold emails. Do the writers have the ability to cover your story? Do they understand what you want? Once you are clear about these, you need to consider another factor: What is it you are offering them, apart from your story?

You need to invest in a relationship and make friends with these media people; otherwise, the chances are slim that these writers will willingly invest their time and effort in your startup. So the secret lies in cultivating a genuine relationship, and it’s two-fold.

• Develop a strong relationship
• Say thank you

Media people will only listen to you when they know you care about them and their audience. A proper PR strategy for startups helps you to get to know them. When reaching out to your media friends, do anything but annoy writers with your cookie-cutter emails. They can easily understand a mass email, which isn’t good news for your startup’s reputation.

3. PR is Affordable (It may vary)

Startups almost always run short of money. As a result, you must invest your time, resources, money, and energy in many things to make your product or idea work. As a result, spending money on your marketing plans often takes a back seat. But it would help if you got the word out about your startup, without which you are more likely to fail in your attempt.

PR is your secret weapon to ensure your success in the marketing world. Why? Because it not only helps you reach a more extensive and influential audience but also costs less than advertising. And when it comes to adding credibility, nothing can beat an effective PR strategy for startups. It has a simple winning formula: Tell your story clearly and truthfully through the most relevant media outlets. If done right, this can help you convince the most skeptical consumers to invest in your brand.

You can also quickly develop your story’s PR packaging by combining the right kind of text, video, images, and graphics. In addition, the cost of such PR packaging is usually a fraction of what you would otherwise have to spend on advertising and large-scale marketing campaigns.

Conclusion

For a startup, it is always about quality over quantity. Focus on developing strong relationships with relevant media outlets and creating more and more friends out there. Convert your existing contacts into something more meaningful and personal; PR is the tool to do it. Be truthful about yourself as well as in your approach. Ensure your critical key messages articulate your business value when going public. Media members can spot a lie miles away, which will only ruin your market reputation before you step into the marketplace.

With the right kind of PR strategy for startups, you can launch your startup on the right foot. 

Do you have any more doubts about why your startup needs to plunge into a PR agency? We are sure there aren’t any.

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Karan Jain

Born in the family of entrepreneurs and have inherited the same. Started building applications in order to pay for my tuition. Later founded a tech company, marketing agency, and media outlets.