How PR can drive visibility for female founders

Over the years, increasing numbers of women have been pursuing careers in tech and founding their own startups. In fact, since 2009, there has been a 10% increase in female-led startups. Despite this significant increase, only 18% of funding goes toward startups led by women. Public relations is the key to increasing visibility, and visibility is crucial for startups that want better access to investor funding opportunities. 

It’s about time female-led tech startups get the recognition they deserve in a male-dominated industry. Securing earned media to raise brand recognition takes the right kind of PR know-how. Here are four ways PR can be used to increase visibility of female-led tech startups.

PR Tip #1: Highlight what makes your company unique

Tech startups are proliferating at a rapid pace, so as a founder, it is important to ask yourself what makes your company stand out from the competition? In the PR industry, this is also referred to as finding your “purple cow” – the thing that makes you truly different. In order to manage a successful PR campaign, you need to be able to share what makes your company stand out in a crowded market. You should be able to explain what makes your company unique or exciting which has the potential to spark media interest.  To identify your Unique Selling Point (USP), you need to also explore what your competitors are doing then reflect on what makes your product or service different. What problem does it solve or what dream does it realize? Journalists receive hundreds of pitches a day, and you need to make sure that your story catches their attention. Highlighting the fact that you are a female-led business is an important part of crafting your distinct edge, so be sure to include that information as well.

When working with Brayola, we identified their USP – making it easy and convenient to shop for the perfect bra online – and included it in all of our press outreaches. As a result, we were able to raise their visibility by landing them coverage on Forbes, Bustle, Seventeen, and many others. Our work directly helped the company to secure Series A funding and increase its customer base.

PR Tip #2: Develop strong relationships with journalists

Relationships are a two-way street and involve consistent and effective communication on both sides. Every relationship takes time, energy, and commitment, and building relationships with journalists is no different. As more and more female startup founders cultivate relationships with journalists, they help undermine the stereotype that the tech space is just a boys’ club. 

PR at its core is about getting earned coverage rather than paid coverage. PR is not about paying someone to promote your business or brand but rather, building strong relationships with the media and communicating the value your tech solution brings to the world. It is imperative to create an engaging story and to share it with a network of media contacts who see the value in disseminating the story across media outlets. 

When working with female-led startup 24me, we used our carefully cultivated network of media contacts to get the smart personal assistant app coverage on VentureBeat, Forbes, Fortune, CNBC, Mashable, and New York Times (just to name a few!). Not only did we get them great press, but they consistently landed at the top of the App Store charts. 

PR Tip #3: Position yourself as an industry expert

Along with being an inspiration to other women in tech or who want to enter the tech industry, you are an expert in your field, and your knowledge should be shared with the world. An important part of PR involves raising your visibility at a thought leader by disseminating your knowledge within the industry and to the broader public. 

Some great ways to do this are by getting booked as a guest on podcasts, writing guest posts at reputable news outlets, as well as speaking at in-person and online conferences or industry events. These mediums share your knowledge with niche audiences interested in learning from your expertise in a specific field. Another way to do this is to respond to journalists’ requests for expert insights and commentary in your area of expertise. These can be in the form of interviews or written responses to questions a reporter asks as they are writing their article. When cultivating relationships with reporters, you should be following them on social media, which is where journalists and publications often post their commentary opportunities. 

We raised the profile of Via Surgical’s Co-Founder, Lena Levin, with these exact tactics. As the founder of two medical device companies, she was the ideal person to share her experience with the medical and healthtech spheres as well as the mainstream media. We helped place multiple thought leadership articles for her in publications including TechCrunch, ThriveGlobal, MedTech Outlook, and elsewhere. As a result, she was sought out by podcasts including KevinMD. 

PR Tip #4: Working with a great female-led PR team 

Maintaining effective and transparent communication with your PR team is crucial to executing a successful PR campaign. These relationships must be grounded in mutual trust and understanding. It is important to see your PR firm as an extension of your own company. Ultimately, you are on the same team and both strive for the same end goal: your business success. 

So what could be better for a female-led startup than to partner with than a female-led PR firm?  Female-led PR firms, especially those specializing in tech, understand what it is like to work in a male-dominated industry. They will be able to fully capture your distinctive leadership perspective and communicate it to the world.

Get the coverage YOU deserve

According to Pitchbook, female-led companies continue to outperform their male counterparts by exiting quicker and at higher valuations. So let’s show the world what you’ve got! It’s time to close the gender gap in the tech industry by getting female-led startups the media coverage that will raise their visibility and get them noticed by investors. 

Gone are the days of the tech space being a boys’ club, and this is best demonstrated by increasing the visibility of the women who are leading the way. There are so many incredible female leaders in the tech startup sphere and it is about time they get the recognition they deserve in a traditionally male-dominated industry.