PR for Startups: 4 Ways to Get PR for your Business

Navigating the intriguing world of modern business can be a challenging task for even the most established of businesses. For startups, the business landscape is painted differently, with several unforeseen defiances that they have yet to encounter. Luckily, startups have found some comfort in using Public Relations as a way to build better brand awareness and firmly establish themselves in a cutthroat market. 

In the United States, the average success rate of a new business or startup hovers around 51.3%. Further reading reveals that most entrepreneurs struggle to establish themselves within the market and find new businesses. PR generated over $88 billion in 2020 alone, and projections look to surpass $120 billion in the next four years. 

Startups have found success in using PR firms and PR agencies as a way to build better media coverage of their services, products, and platforms. Although it might set them back a pretty penny, startup entrepreneurs are now using the internet and personal connections as a way to generate more pr efforts for their entrepreneurial ventures.

It’s not a given that every new startup will become the next Amazon or Tesla. Bringing to life a product or service, yet unknown to the market is a daunting task. Even for some of the best entrepreneurs in the world, this can be an ambitious task. Public relations, whether paid, unpaid, or self-taught, still offers better marketing efforts and awareness during an early-stage startup.

To further elaborate on this topic, this definitive “guide” has brought together various elements to offer a better insight into how startups can create a PR campaign that will put them in the lead. 

What Is Public Relations for Startups?

The digital world has changed everything from communications to leisure. Technology and software are now found in our everyday lives. As the shift occurred, PR has endured immense change in recent years with the advent of online blogs and digital newspapers. 

The landscape of PR is a lot different from that of two decades ago. 

The American Marketing Association (AMA), a platform for professional marketers, defines public relations as follows:

“That form of communication management that seeks to make use of publicity and other unpaid forms of promotion and information to influence the feelings, opinions, or beliefs about the company, its products or services, or about the value of the product or service or the activities of the organization to buyers, prospects, or other stakeholders.”

Essentially, today, we understand PR as a form of free publicity. For startups, this can boost interest and hopefully transpire into increased revenue. 

Startups make use of PR to even out the playing field. With this, they can tap into the marker to have a better idea of where the core focus on the product or service can be placed. 

Ultimately, startup entrepreneurs should consider PR as a way to build relationships. 

Building relationships with affluent and influential communities can become a great asset to the business. From bankers, investors, journalists, news anchors, editors, marketers, and advertisers – these are the people startup entrepreneurs should keep close to when developing a PR strategy. 

What Is Unique About PR Strategies for Startups?

Public relations is an expensive attribute to any company’s marketing budget. For startups, it’s a no-brainer to minimize costs as much as possible. Around 29% of startups fail due to financial complications. Indicating that using these communication professionals can build up quite a hefty bill. 

Nowadays, startups in the research phase have become smarter in collecting user and market-related data. Although some entrepreneurs may have limited resources, there are still simple ways in which they can collect contact information for both clients and media personalities. 

To foster better understanding, startups make use of public relations surveys. 

A public relations survey can be administered to various categories of respondents. In this case, it will usually be either a targeted market, journalists, news companies or various media platforms. 

Some of these surveys may reveal the deeper insight that startup entrepreneurs may have missed during the early phases of their development. Ultimately, it’s now important for many companies to consider these surveys as an important aspect of their PR strategy. 

Once enough data has been collected from these surveys, both entrepreneurs and PR teams will have a more definitive guideline about public impression. 

Here are a few reasons why PR strategies for startups are unique:

Establishing a Credible Brand: PR helps entrepreneurs establish their businesses in a market overrun by competition and uninformed clients.

Building Media Relations: With a good strategy, a startup could essentially learn how to garner lasting relationships with journalists and media influencers. More so, expand their network to other potential clients and investors. 

Finding Potential Collaborative News Sites: Thousands of media companies constantly seek to share the next big trend. If a startup can collaborate with a media partner from the beginning, it can be more than a ‘once-off’ opportunity.

Fine-Tuning the PR Outreach: Looking to target not just media influencers or journalists, companies can now also better understand their target audience. 

Clearly Communicate Startup Ecosystem: From the get-go, a company can communicate about its service or product. More so, this can be entailed in creating a credible brand. 

Build a Digital Footprint Through Trusted Sources: Using major media sources and acclaimed journalists, an online presence will be considered to be more reliable and noteworthy.

Better Understand the Extent of The Marketing Strategy: From the PR strategy, business owners and entrepreneurs will be able to conduct better research on the ongoing marketing plan. Where any pitfalls may be, or perhaps where new resources need to be implemented. 

Creating Hype Around a New Product, Service, or Platform: Stirring news around a new trend is simply a way to bring attention to a new product or service on the market. With a dynamic PR strategy, there is room for entrepreneurs to accomplish this. 

Finding a suitable and cheaper way around the high prices acquired by PR professionals – entrepreneurs can, to some extent, take marketing efforts into their own hands. 

Yet, with so much already going on, trying to get a new business off the ground is extremely time-consuming and difficult if not well-equipped. 

The PR strategy will encapsulate everything the entrepreneur or media contacts will need. With this, they can use it as a guideline to help better navigate the market and where the focus is needed most.

For startup companies, creating a digital footprint with influential individuals and communities will help lead to better returns in the long run. That’s the core essence of a good PR strategy. 

To be ahead of the curb, many entrepreneurs look towards PR as a way to increase business awareness. It allows them to study their market better. Through this means, the startup can place itself in the center of where it’ll be most vital and financially successful. 

4 Things You MUST Do for Your Press Release for Startups

From its inception during the rise of printed newspapers and media, press releases have been at the center of public relations. 

Nowadays, press releases or news editorials have become a way not just to share breaking news but to give readers an accurate and concise breakdown of important events. Press releases are a simple yet important part of any PR plan. 

In its entirety, a press release won’t draw in millions of new clients for a startup or deliver effective media coverage. Either can be completed through paid media and other PR tactics during the early stage of the company.

There are, of course, a couple of things one must consider beforehand. Journalists and news anchors craft press releases in a particular way. From the perfect headline to the flow of the information and then finally the boilerplate – press releases can be a tricky craft to master. 

There is a stark difference between a press release and a news editorial.

Press Release: Short, concise, and to the point. Usually filled with just the necessary information that the reader will need to have a clear idea of the situation. Mainly used for breaking news stories, or for other events to stir more interest.

News Editorials: Still a short, but yet longer written piece than a press release. A news editorial will contain ample information about a new product and service. With a news editorial, companies or startups are looking to better sell their product. The flow of the news articles is also important, but overall, this isn’t used to create more interest in certain events. 

It might sound confusing now, but ultimately, a press release is where one wants to talk about your new startup.

Consider the following four things when working on a press release to gain media coverage:

Network with Relevant Journalists

Objectives between the journalist and business owner will largely be different. Some journalists will cover events and stories closely related to the business. 

What we should understand here is that we should think like journalists. 

Looking for or networking with relevant journalists can be a daunting task. With thousands of journalists available, pairing up with someone who is the right fit can make the rest of the work a lot easier. 

Consider social media as a good place to start. Today, journalists of all caliber use social media. Track a journalist who shares interests similar to those of the business. Understand what they enjoy talking about and sharing via their social media channels. 

From there on out, you can approach them by mentioning them in a Tweet or perhaps on a different social media post. Your interaction should be attention-grabbing from the very first get-go. 

Keep in mind that a few interactions via social media are a good start. You should keep the conversation going with further interactions via email or on the phone. Social media is simply the hook and bait, further networking efforts will help set the foundation of a new startup-journalist relationship. 

Write Top Notch Email Pitches

Research conducted between July 2019 and June 2020 revealed that marketing emails sent in the publishing sector have the highest click-to-open percentage of 19.36%. In the United States, around 90% of online users are considered email users, as opposed to search or social users. 

Email has become a leading platform of communication for many. Today, you can share information faster and more conveniently via email than ever before. Although a popular medium of communication for a majority of internet users, crafting that top-notch email pitch is what will captivate the attention of the receiver. 

As of October 2021, more than 8.6 billion spam-related emails are sent daily in the United States alone. Email users, and in this case, journalists or media influencers, are not looking to open or read an email that will sound or look like a spam message. 

Here’s a simple example:

Imagine you’re writing to a journalist about a new type of toothbrush you just invented. The journalist works for a high-profile news company and is considered an important figure in the industry. 

Bad Example: NEW TOOTHBRUSH BRAND ON THE MARKET!!! TAKE A LOOK AT THIS INCREDIBLE DEAL!!

Good Example: Oral Hygiene Brand Launching Sophisticated New Products

Albeit simple and somewhat too long for the subject line, these two examples stand in contrast with one another. The first represents a form of spam email, while the second can seem relatively more professional. 

Crafting that perfect email pitch is not just about getting the subject line spot-on. It’s about delivering enough information without sounding too commercial or sales. The delivery of every email one sends to a journalist should be unique, personal, and informative. 

Journalists talk about things they find interesting and what they think their audience will enjoy. Writing an email should be interesting enough for a journalist to follow up or perhaps reach out for additional information. 

Make Sure to Follow Up with Journalists

This is a critical step that a lot of new entrepreneurs and young business owners forget. 

Following up with journalists helps to build engagement. In many ways, a person wants to establish a standing relationship with a journalist or journalist. 

Don’t think of it as just a relationship. Think about generating more traffic towards the brand and the business. Whatever the product or service might be, you’re looking to generate better leads for it. Without the help of a well-known individual with endless media connections, the PR strategy will become relatively pointless.

As previously mentioned, following up will include sending a message via a social media platform or perhaps a follow-up email. 

Craft the message in such a way that it doesn’t sound or come across as too presumptuous. Although one isn’t looking to sell your brand and business, you’re simply looking to captivate the journalist’s interest.

Continue to Improve Your Email Pitches

When conducting a follow-up with the journalist or media company, keep improving on your email pitches. Every email sent could become a possible lead for the business. 

Email is a strategic mechanism that you can leverage in your favor. Keep it clear and concise, and ignore any unnecessary information. It’s not a sales pitch but simply a conversation starter that could lead to further communications. 

A good tip would be to research how a selected journalist or journalist interacts with the general public. Use social media or other forums as a source of reference. Through this, you will get a clearer picture of the language you can use and how they would like to interact with you. 

That doesn’t always mean that the hard work is now over. From here on out, look for more leads from other media companies or journalists. Grow your PR network as far and wide as possible, but keep the needs of the startup at hand. Selling a service or product to an audience that you don’t cater to would be counterproductive. 

Hiring a PR Firm vs Doing It Yourself

Startup entrepreneurs have the challenge of managing various aspects of their business, all with minimal funding. When looking to grow a PR network or branch out to various media sources. The aim is to have credible thought leaders and industry experts discuss your product or service. 

Yet, in the last few years, tech-savvy entrepreneurs and younger business owners have managed to take matters into their own hands when it comes to PR. 

Although this can save a huge amount of money, it’s not always said to have a high success rate. Word-of-mouth marketing is a primary aspect of a good PR campaign.

PR firms have an abundance of long-standing connections and media partners. This could be exactly what a startup needs, the proper guidance of PR professionals. Yet, this might seem plausible in theory, incurring costs could quickly stifle many entrepreneurs looking to use these well-established PR firms. 

So, what should you consider when looking to do it yourself, or use a PR firm? 

DIY – Do It Yourself

Pros

Lowering Costs: When setting out to handle your own PR case, you will incur lower costs and resources directed at marketing. 

Clearer Message: PR companies work with hundreds of new startups each year, and unfortunately – these PR teams won’t always get the message across as you would’ve liked to. You know your business best and would like to get the exact message across. 

Personalized Experience: Networking and building relationships will help you share a more personalized experience of the business with potential media partners and clients. Younger generations are prone to associate with brands and companies that can connect with them on an emotional level. 

Cons

Less Credible Sources: PR firms already have established connections with credible sources. Doing it on your own would mean having to look for a trustworthy source. 

Time-Consuming: Besides all the other aspects of the business, public relations can be a time-consuming activity. Consider whether you have the capacity to take up another challenge with an already busy schedule.

Minimal Skills and Knowledge: Some business owners just have the skills to easily network, while others aren’t as lucky. PR teams have years of experience and knowledge that they can put to use. PR professionals know exactly how the industry works and how to generate leads for the startup.

Although these values can vary across the board, in the wake of the recent global pandemic affecting nearly every industry. PR and communication has proven to be a key importance for a plethora of businesses.

PR goals should be centered around business goals. Target publications, and online newsrooms should be considered of severe importance to any startup, even in the midst of a global crisis. 

The CEO of Shonali Burke Consulting, Inc. elaborates on this. 

“It seems to me that the opportunity for PR pros is to really demonstrate their value across the length and breadth of an organization, not just as publicists.” 

Hiring PR Firm

Pros

Connections and Resources: These firms have a well-established and longstanding relationship with various media platforms. More so, their resources aren’t limited, as with experienced content writers, photographers, videographers, and SEO specialists.

Professional Relationship Building: Through their sources and networks, you will be able to connect with various individuals more professionally. 

Extensive Market Research: Firms that have been around for several years will have ample market research on a specific market. This enables them to understand better where the focus should be given and which media partners would work best for your niche. 

Cons

Price: This is the most common issue that comes to mind for many entrepreneurs. PR firms can be expensive, anything between $2,000 and $50,000. The level of quality will depend on the price you pay. 

Less Personal Message: The firm might have the skills and connections, but do they understand what your business is about? The person who works on a PR case might be able to craft a good press release or editorial together, but it’s not always a given that you will get the message you want. 

Risky Rate of Return: It’s a bit of a gamble. In the beginning, it’s not clear whether or not a PR campaign will be successful. More so, once you have already paid and invested resources into the campaign, the return might not always be what you initially anticipated. 

In the age of digital media, PR firms can leverage several tools and platforms to assist your startup. Creating an online presence in an algorithmic era is becoming ever so challenging. But, on the other hand, not all startup owners will have the financial means to use PR firms in the beginning, which can become a major drawback for the business operating in a competitive market. 

Consider the financial means and the needs of the startup. There should be a clear plan, and although not everything in business will always go as planned. Having an idea of how to market and advertise your business, online or in printed media, should be an important aspect for any startup owner. 

Identifying Your Goals and Values

Whether a person considers using a PR firm, or doing it yourself, having measurable goals and objectives will help guide you to understand the practice of PR better. 

• Is the PR strategy or campaign meaningful? 
• What will the returns on PR investment be? 
• Who is the target audience?
• What are the competitors doing, and how can I do it differently?
• How will resources be distributed to achieve these goals? 
• What is the time frame in which these goals should be accomplished?

These questions, among others, can shape a foundation for startups on which they can build attainable goals. 

Goals should be considered as the main objective for every PR strategy, and startup entrepreneurs can consider the following as goals:

• Increasing client interest 
• Releasing products and services 
• Gaining more online traffic 
• Growing social media presence 
• Building networks with potential investors 

Take into consideration that achieving each goal will need to be further analyzed. A PR agency works to create a plan around each goal, with intricate objectives and methods. Through their varying network and skilled knowledge, startups have an easier way to manage each goal individually. 

On the other hand, the values of a new startup are key to its growing success. Modern companies and new startups are establishing company values to ensure employees will better understand the core elements of the business and how success can be achieved. 

Startup values will form a core part of the PR campaign. Thus, before executing a new PR campaign, look at how value propositions can form part of the overall message you’re looking to get across. 

Considering the following when setting up value propositions for a PR strategy: 

1. Does the product or service fulfill the market need? 
2. How will I get the product or service into the market?
3. Are there benefits to the specific offering?
4. How do you effectively communicate the benefits?

Just like goals, values can form part of the foundation for any PR strategy. Setting up these questions will help both owners and employees better understand the entirety of the business and what it’s looking to achieve. Through these concepts, startups can evaluate their presence in the market and determine how to grow their influence. 

Create Engaging Content

Content has become a global business, and having the right content to communicate the message is an essential part of the PR campaign. Without it, clients and potential customers will be left in the dark. 

Statistics have revealed that more than 96% of users regard content with input from industry thought leaders as important. 

However, although content, online or print, is important to any business, a strong emphasis on its quality should be observed as the campaign develops. For this, PR firms and digital marketers monitor how social media posts or news publications perform. Through this, adjustments can be made to improve the quality and performance. The more engaging the content is, the easier it will be to effectively communicate your message. 

A further study suggested that 62% of surveyed respondents felt that sponsored content can affect the credibility of content. The same study revealed that 41% of communication experts and PR people feel that organizations should consider sponsored content, as opposed to the 40% who have never paid for content. 

It’s not just amid a global pandemic that startups are looking to associate with credible media sources. Using sponsored content has always been considered a strong suit for any business looking to increase interest and build relationships. 

User Research

User research focuses on measuring how customers and the market respond to a certain product or service. Through the use of user research, startups will get a better picture of how to craft engaging content effectively. 

To better understand whether market demand exists, PR professionals and marketers set out to study and evaluate customers. 

In a recent study, around 90% of surveyed companies found that conducting personal and original user research as a successful attribute to their PR efforts.

Furthermore, the study gives some guidelines for conducting successful user research. 

These efforts include:

• Press Releases
• Blogs 
• Infographics 
• Social Snackables
• White Papers
• Webinars

In the beginning phase of any startup, proper user research will offer a better understanding of where the interest of your target audience lies. These efforts can also help build more relations with other companies, an online newsroom, or major publications. 

These are only a few of the simple ways in which startups and PR teams can monitor user research. There are ample metric tools, some free, available in order to track user research from a variety of markets and demographics. 

Social Media

Social media has become one of the leading sources for content distribution and public relations. Through the use of social media, companies can grow their influence. Both PR and social media are connected to communication. Offering real-time measurements and results through the use of various marketing tools. 

With social media, startups have the ability to: 

• Find gaps in the market
• Identify market competitors
• Build relationships with influencers and journalists
• Find journalists 
• Use it as a medium of communication 

Social media has made the world more connected than ever before, and companies can now effectively communicate with their followers and respond to any negative press. Today, social media is more than messaging and sharing ideas. It’s become a way to monitor users, and identify pitfalls in marketing plans. 

Overall, it’s imperative to include how social media can work with a PR campaign instead of against it. The possibilities of social media are endless. Using concepts such as guest posting, tags, and mentions, or deliberately addressing targeted markets. 

Newsjacking

Newsjacking has become a PR hack that is now used by major corporations and small to medium-sized businesses. For startups, newsjacking can mean capitalizing on news stories that are associated with your brand or niche.

It’s a process of using breaking news stories or stories of relevant importance as a way to intercept the market. Using a unique angle, PR professionals craft a story or advertisement in such a way that it can correlate with the story they’re looking to newsjack.

This PR stunt can grow attention towards your brand, but doing it effectively can be a challenge. 

Breaking news stories: PR professionals are constantly looking for breaking news stories which they can newsjack. Using these stories, startups can grow more interest in their brand, product, or service. When newsjacking, PR teams connect a business to a story that can offer them better leads and grow traffic.

Accuracy is important: Being accurate is extremely important. Newsjacking a story that has no relative connection to the startup can become confusing. Industry experts are looking to intercept markets of similar interest but from a different angle. 

Keywords are essential: When looking at Newsjack, certain keywords will be trending on the internet. Using these keywords in content and social media posts will increase the startup’s searchability. 

Newsjacking has proven to be successful for many companies, and it’s all around us. It’s simply how PR professionals create a strategy that will deliver the best long-term results. 

Industry Research

In many ways, industry research can be correlated to user research. The only key difference here is that industry research focuses on the broader market of the intended customers. One of the main reasons why startups fail is related to entrepreneurs misreading the market demand. This has been found in nearly 42% of cases. 

Industry research opens a channel of communication with the public and media. 

• Industry research allows measuring potential public engagement
• Build relationships with the community 
• Show results of PR campaigns 
• Identify problematic issues and engage in problem-solving 
• Allows PR to target an interested market or need a certain product or service
• Understand changing industry trends 

Industry research can be used as a benchmark to measure how a startup can execute a PR campaign. With this, companies can use collected data to better track and analyze how their influence is growing, and where potential threats in the market may lie. 

Overall, industry research is one of the main focal points for any PR campaign or strategy. Consider it as the foundation on which the campaign is built. From here, further evaluations can be considered and monitored.

Guest Blogs

The internet is massive, and with millions of websites and billions of users, intercepting the right channels of traffic becomes extremely complex. This effective PR marketing tool has allowed smaller companies and startups to generate better online traffic and increase searchability. 

Guest blogs put you in contact with a different audience that you may not be able to reach through traditional social media posts. With guest blogs, a company can increase backlinks from third-party websites that can lead users to their website.

Today, companies are not only using written content as a way to intercept traffic through guest blogs. Instead, photos, videos, product lists, company bios, or even LinkedIn profiles can be used on guest blogs. 

Using guest blogs can help:

• Increase website traffic 
• Grow awareness for a specific medium 
• A simple and affordable form of advertising 
• Increase ranking on search engines
• Improve SEO 

Companies still undermine the ability of guest blogs. Having a blog for your company website, with relative information and high-ranking keywords, not only increases search rankings but can also grow network links across various industries. 

Guest blogs have now become an important aspect of many PR campaigns. It’s an affordable method that grows online traffic and intercepts the market through simple channels that can deliver measurable results. 

FAQs

Final Thoughts

Today, PR may be considered the last priority for new startups. Although this may be the case, startups in any industry are entering a market with well-established competitors. Using PR allows the startup to build an image of themselves before launching their new service or product. 

Whether considering undertaking the immense challenge of PR yourself or using a PR firm, consider the needs of the business first. If the necessary resources are available, a PR firm can help to craft credible relationships with news sources and media outlets. More so, these teams of professionals are linked with sought-after journalists who are able to help grow interest in a new startup. 

Finally, public relations brings the startup closer to effectively communicating its message and brand. PR is used to establish an image of the startup in the minds of a target audience before the initial launch. Some startups begin their PR journey six months before launch with a good media kit. Ultimately, PR is the starting point of how a market thinks and views a startup. 

Walid Al-Hajj