Americans formed a record 280,000 new businesses in Q1 2020. This news arrives following an upward trend in new business creation over the last 10 years. The increasing presence of startups among American businesses demonstrates the importance of public relations agencies to create startup-specific public relations strategies. The recent Business Wire webinar on Startup PR, touched on three challenges public relations professionals often experience when working with a startup client.
- Conveying the Importance of Untested and Unfamiliar Products
Each startup wrestles with the universal challenge of selling an unproven and unfamiliar product on the market. Often, the reputation and familiarity of a client aids in the process of earning them media coverage. Since startups are often little known, it can be a challenge to create a compelling reason for journalists to write about them.
Reporters want to see startups demonstrate the commercial viability and real-world impact of their product. In other words, they need to understand why their audience will care about the startup.
One of the ways to give a startup credibility is by leveraging notable founders or celebrity investors involved in the company. The public can trust that the reputations of already established and proven executives lend legitimacy to the young venture. Highlighting these individuals will provide proof points behind a compelling message.
- Maintaining a Consistent Drumbeat of Coverage
Unlike mature and established companies, many startups do not have enough new products or milestones to translate into consistent noteworthy announcements. Often startups will plan for an announcement at the launch of their company but then find themselves grasping at straws to maintain the interest of reporters.
One way to maintain consistent coverage and interest in your startup client is to tell the stories of customers. You may create multiple launch announcements to include the impact of the launch on your customers. These customer stories should be surprising, impressive and compelling. Not only do customer stories earn media attention, but happy customers are one of the best third-party validators of proof of concept.
- Establishing Early Expectations with Your Client
Anyone who has worked with a client new to public relations is familiar with the question, “How are you going to get me into The New York Times?” While coverage in national business outlets is exciting, it is important to manage the expectations of your client. Startups are notoriously short on capital, which means the great investments in labor to earn coverage in a national outlet may be a lost cause.
Rather than targeting big-name outlets, it is a best practice to explain to your client the benefits of pitching smaller publications. Placements in smaller outlets often require less labor than placements in nationally recognized media. In addition, these placements often earn a greater bang-for-your-buck as you are better able to tailor outreach to meet your customers where they are.
Eventually, this strategy of pitching to smaller outlets may lead to attention by national business media. Often publications like The New York Times and Gartner look to the “groundswell” of smaller publications to track public interest before they commit to developing a story.
Navigating public relations success with a startup client can be a challenge. As the number of startups in the United States continues to expand, this category of clients will likely grow in prominence as well. Adjusting your public relations strategy to the unique position of a startup will be beneficial in leveraging their credibility and newsworthiness