5 PR tips to cut through the noise

The crypto industry is high-speed, ever-changing, and increasingly crowded. Innovative projects launch every day, and new tech on its own isn’t enough anymore to catch the media’s attention. Carving a place for your startup in the crypto scene is all about building reputation trust, crafting a memorable narrative, and getting your story to the right people.

Here are five PR strategies to give your crypto startup a competitive advantage: 

Craft a compelling narrative

Your narrative needs to demonstrate that you’re doing something different. Why does your tech matter? What pressing problem or inefficiency are you solving? 

What sets you apart could also be your leadership, use case, or values. Brainstorm with your team to create a simple sentence or phrase describing your unique brand. Use clear, direct, and concise language to show your company’s unique value. How would you explain what your company does to another industry expert? What about to your mom?  

Expert tip: For a cohesive message, keep your narrative and language consistent across your website, social media pages, press releases, and other content.  Create engaging, shareable visual content

In the crypto world, visuals go a long way. Having something tangible helps customers visualize your offering and grants it substance in a virtual world. If you don’t have the bandwidth or skills to produce videos, shortform reels, or professional graphics, simple screenshots or screen-recorded videos can be a great place to start. 

What are your technologies’ greatest strengths? If your leader stands out, include a short video interview or platform tour led by them. If your company focuses on simplicity and efficiency, show how much faster your technology can get things done with a comparison video or interface images. If your story or values set your project apart, add an “our story” video. 

It’s great if potential users find your content on your social pages or website, but even better if they find it when your posts or links are shared by reputable voices. Consider what form, tone, and content might most encourage your target audience to share your videos and photos. 

Expert tip: Keep a close eye on social media trends and participatewhen you can. Many corners of crypto are full of memes and lighthearted material, and contributing similar content can help you engage with your audience. 

Leverage thought leadership

Most successful crypto projects are great because of the exceptional leadership behind them. By leveraging guest articles, joining panels, or contributing commentary on hot topics, you can position your key team members as go-to voices in the space. 

Thought leaders don’t just talk about their technology; they offer insight on current topics, share their opinion on industry news, and discuss innovations. Take a step back from promoting your project, and instead share your voice. Do you have an unpopular opinion, a funny or interesting industry story, or a unique lesson you learned? Share it, and demonstrate your involvement and strong position in the field. Building yourself and your team as respected thought leaders reflects this prestige back on your company. 

Don’t know how or are overwhelmed with submitting your thoughts to an outlet? You can start with a simple X, Reddit, or Discord post. 

Expert tip: Keep a close eye on the latest developments and topics being discussed, and be ready to join the conversation with a timely opinion article or commentary.

Announce key news with the right timing

Crypto is a fast-moving industry, and urgent news can come at lightning speed. This can be challenging in the PR world, where placing longer embargoes and having weeks to pitch stories is the norm. This requires you to be agile and work quickly when sharing news. 

A new development or tech innovation may need to get out to the media right away, so pitching needs to get underway ASAP. Having a list of relevant media ready can help you get started. Set up a workflow plan ahead of time (editors, graphic designers, writers) so the press release text and messaging can be put together without any hiccups. 

When news comes up, discuss with your team whether it needs to go out right away or would benefit from a more traditional PR outreach plan. More time to reach out to a greater number of journalists and secondary contacts can maximize the coverage. You can also work around other industry events or product announcements that may drown out your news.

Expert tip: Plan as much as you can for time-sensitive announcements. Prepare press release, graphics, and pitches as much as possible so you can hit the ground running. 

Build relationships with industry journalists 

A great message doesn’t matter if you’re not getting it to the right people. When sharing your news with journalists, don’t just send it to anyone at your target outlets. Take time to carefully research and compile a curated media list. See who is writing about similar stories or topics, and consider how your news might be interesting to their readers. 

When pitching your story to these chosen journalists, don’t just share your news, but tie is back to their beat and how it can add value to their coverage. The end goal is to create a lasting relationship with the journalist; you provide relevant, exciting news they can share with their readers, and they provide great coverage for your startup. 

Expert tip: Offer key journalists interviews with your leadership team, a tour of the office, or other extras. This is a great way to build a relationship and show the journalist that you value them and their work. 

Great PR work can give your crypto startup visibility and reputation, which is priceless in such a high-speed and crowded industry. While some crypto teams choose to manage PR on their own, many rely on the expertise and experience of PR agencies like SlicedBrand to get the job done. Regardless of the method you choose, prioritizing PR is a vital move to get your startup the attention it deserves.