8 Ways to Jump Start PR for Your Startup

In order to get noticed by the media, every startup employs a system of outreach and communication that results in coverage. This is how your startup builds its brand and finds success in the marketplace. Effective communication and PR leads to effective media coverage and product or service adaptation by the marketplace. Sometimes your PR strategy just needs a bit of a jump start to really get moving. 

Whether your startup would be what journalists may consider mundane or boring, or your startup is literally working on the most exciting innovation since sliced bread, your PR strategy is what will set you apart. Within an always crowded market, there are ways to stand out to the media and productive PR can propel you forward rather than stagnate your success. So how can you win media attention? Follow these simple but effective PR strategy methods.

Create owned media

Before you start pitching the press, you have to give them something to look at and gather information. Your startup might exist as a perfect picture in your mind, but journalists need something a bit more tangible. Your PR strategy should include basic starting tips such as promoting your owned content (website and blog posts) on shared media, as well as your earned media (early media coverage) on your shared media and owned media. Creating your narrative content that highlights aspects of your company from service or product to founders lays the foundation for when you start pitching journalists.

Lead with the news

Announcing your startup to the world will have much more of an impact if you lead with the news. What are you doing different from other players in the market? What is unique or value added? These are the items that are appealing to journalists and will help propel your startup to the top of the field. The news doesn’t have to be super substantial, but it does have to be relevant to the work you are doing and the goals of your startup. While it doesn’t necessarily have to tie into current events, if your startup is working on a solution to a modern problem, be sure to explain that solution to eliminate any guesswork.

Early to rise

Your PR strategy shouldn't be an afterthought, it should be built alongside your product or service offering. Delaying your PR until launch day puts you at a disadvantage when it comes to getting on the editorial calendars of journalists. An early PR strategy also helps with attracting investors (as they generally like to know how their investment will play out) and is a good way to develop early relationships with journalists prior to launch. 

Highlight your story

Your story isn't just a bullet-pointed list with boxes that you've checked on the way to launch. Your PR strategy should include all aspects of your startup's story, from failures to personal stories of the founders and team members. Your startup's history is much more than just an idea and a product or service, it's the time spent and the people involved. Speaking early to your story can often lead to early publicity.

Press releases

Press releases are one of the oldest and most effective tools for getting basic news about your startup out into the wild. Regardless, press releases should always meet a certain set of criteria. They should be newsworthy and well written. Consider your audience. Will they find this interesting? Does it require niche targeting? Do you have any visuals? Press releases are an economically effective way to get out some of your most situational news.

Measuring success

A PR strategy, no matter which way you split it, is an investment in the future of your startup. It's announcing that you have something to say, something to sell and a story to back it up. A solid PR strategy will offer similarly solid PR measurement to measure PR and business objectives. Analytics are just as important to a PR strategy as a well-written pitch. Your startup will want to know how its PR strategy has performed, PR measurements will deliver that data.

Miss miscalculations

As your startup launches its PR strategy, you'll want to skip repeating some of the mistakes that have nearly doomed other startups in the eyes of journalists. For instance, apply a human approach to pitches instead of automation. Skip the crazy launch parties and overwhelming amount of follow-ups. Be cognizant of lead times, and deadlines with your embargoes. This will improve your chances for coverage, if journalists have enough time to consider what you are pitching.

Stay focused

Launching a startup can sometimes be exhausting, daunting and scary. But if you've constructed a well-thought out and effective PR strategy, you can start working on the next round. Now is not the time to sit back and relax, now is the time to start devising your next PR strategy for your next launch. After all, your PR strategy should be constructed to keep up with the speed of your startup, and you aren't planning on slowing down anytime soon are you?