Top 5 PR Tips to Boost Your Health Tech Startup

The world of health tech has found itself in an interesting position. With major tech companies like Amazon and Apple investing millions in proprietary health tracking products, consumers are thirsty for the next generation of health-focused technology. 

From fitness apps to expanding access to healthcare knowledge, building communities and advancing research, this desire for health-centric products and services is extremely beneficial. The marketplace is primed and ready for your healthcare startup.  

So how do you get your message out there? What PR strategies should you employ in order to let the media (and by proxy, consumers) know that you've got the next best health tech product or service? After all, if you want to make the world a healthier place, someone needs to know about it.

Pitch your story, not your company

The entire point of your PR efforts is to get your company in front of the media and the public. While you could focus your PR on the company itself, the more appealing aspects of your company is the story that built your company, not just the name on your business cards and the product or service you provide. 

Your story should not only encompass the goals of your company and the rough beginnings that brought you to this stage; your story should be based on actionable data, facts, outcomes (trials) and statistics. Your story should relate to something larger than yourself, either tying to news (something innovative to solve a current problem) or related to the healthcare industry itself. Your story should express your unique perspective within an industry that often seeks to change the world. 

Be transparent

When dealing with the media it should always be recognized that they will eventually find out the truth. While building a healthcare startup, you don't want this discovery to be made after you've started your PR campaign, you want the truth to be part of your PR efforts. Absolute transparency is of utmost importance. It should be part of your company story, how your healthcare startup relates to the industry as a whole and how it is represented on social media channels. 

In many parts of the healthcare industry there is already a base distrust. This might be due to the complexity of the industry itself or the decisions of past healthcare firms. Regardless, your healthcare startup immediately benefits from running a PR campaign that is heavy on transparency. Be honest, tell the truth and your story will speak for itself.

Focus on relationships with media

Pitching your healthcare startup out of the blue, cold, to the media can be an arduous, disappointing process. They don't know you from the next healthcare startup at that point, and are already inundated with pitches from similar companies. Your PR strategy should include soft outreach from the beginning, not necessarily pitching a specific thing, but introducing your healthcare startup and story to the media. 

A lot of this is just familiarizing yourself with the media you want to pitch. Read what reporters in the healthcare space write about and plan your pitches accordingly. Some may be too specific, or just the right kind of specific. Subtly share their articles on social media, showing a light interest in their work. Offer expert commentary from your leadership team on sites like HARO, which can lead to inclusion in stories unrelated to your healthcare startup but build a foundation of familiarity.

Research, then pitch

The healthcare industry is no small thing and while your healthcare startup might be solving a specific issue or creating a unique product, your PR strategy should consider that you might not be alone in this. Stay up-to-date on whatever is going on in the industry around you and related to what you are working on. Your healthcare startup might absolutely be unique, but your pitching will benefit from the accuracy derived from wholly knowing your industry.

To that end you should be totally aware of any laws that may impact your business, so that you can include your compliance with them in your PR strategy. This ties into transparency, as journalists like to know that everything is above board and the right agencies and laws are being considered.

Publicize your publicity

As a healthcare startup you'll likely also implement some sort of social media strategy. Aligning your PR strategy with your social strategy is important in that you'll want to be constantly engaging with the publicity generated by your social channels. This means staying vigilant and prepared to answer questions from the media. 

Publicizing your publicity may sound pretentious, but everyone can't possibly see everything all the time. Highlighting your successes you achieve on social can enable opportunities for your community and evangelists to disseminate the story you are telling through these channels. Additionally, adding blog posts, newsletters and expert commentary can also help show that your healthcare startup is positively in the news. 

What this leads to is the opportunity for additional media attention. This all may seem a bit circular, but it speaks to the PESO model of PR marketing, specifically how shared media promotes your earned media. Yes, talking about your own company receiving positive press can lead to further press about your positive press. Communicate often and on brand and your story will always find a willing audience.